Ahead of the Iron Bowl, our Christian Clemente chatted with Tony Tsoukalas of BamaInsider.com. Dive in for his assessment of the Iron Bowl and how he sees things shaking out Saturday.

CC: Bryce Young has really come into his own and solidified himself squarely in the Heisman race, what are some of the things he does well and what does he struggle with?

TT: Bryce Young has improved every week while answering critics along the way. At first, the common complaint was that he was afraid to run the ball. Then, he ran for 42 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee. Next, critics said he couldn’t connect on the deep ball. He’s answered that over the last foir games, going 11 of 17 for 437 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions on throws of 20 yards or more.

Young still needs to improve on his deep ball as he tends to overshoot his receivers on occasion. He did that twice last week against Arkansas. He also has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long which can result in big losses on sacks. One of those took Alabama out of field-goal range last week.

CC: Where does this Alabama team excel defensively and what will they look to do against Auburn?

TT: Alabama can get after the passer with the best of them. In my opinion, Will Anderson Jr. is the best player in college football at the moment. It seems like he’s in the backfield on every play. Alabama’s been struggling in the secondary, so it will look to give T.J. Finley as little time as possible in the pocket.

The Tide also ranks fifth in run defense, holding opponents to 85.91 yards on the ground. That will obviously be put to the test with a talented running back in Tank Bigsby.

CC: Who are some X-Factors that can swing the game Alabama's way?

TT: Everyone knows what Jameson Williams can do as a receiver. Over his last four games, the Biletnikoff Award finalist has recorded 30 receptions for 631 yards and seven touchdowns. He also leads the nation with four receptions of 70 or more yards this season.

While Williams’ receiving ability will be a threat Saturday, he could also prove to be the X-factor on special teams. He is currently averaging 37.44 yards on nine kick returns with two returns for a touchdown.

Ben Patton did not record a touchback during last week’s game against South Carolina. If he gives Williams a chance to return, it could be deadly for Auburn.

CC: Do you think there could be any issues from an Alabama standpoint of overlooking Auburn and just moving onto the SEC title game?

TT: Normally, I’d say there would be a chance for that. However, the Iron Bowl is hard to overlook regardless of how both teams are playing. Alabama safety Jordan Battle was asked about this on Tuesday. Here’s what he said:

“We know Auburn is the biggest game of the year, so we can’t look past this game. This is the Iron Bowl, the biggest rivalry, what we’ll be remembered for the rest of our lives. So we know we can never look past this game.”

CC: Game prediction? Who wins and why?

TT: Alabama 42, Auburn 20

Alabama fans won’t necessarily be happy if Auburn drops 20 points on its defense. However, the Tide’s secondary is susceptible to big plays at the moment, and there’s always a few bits of magic that happen when this game is played in Jordan-Hare. Ultimately, Young, Williams and John Metchie III have been a buzzsaw lately and will be too much for Auburn’s defense.

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