Crimson Red Sports

AUBURN, Ala. – Look no further than Trent Richardson to tell you just how good Alabama's defense is.

When he could have added even more flavor and love to his full-blown Heisman campaign, following a record performance against Auburn, he gloated about his defense rather than himself.

“We gave up more points than our defense did tonight,” said Richardson, who rumbled to a career-best 203 rushing yards in Alabama’s 42-14 win over Auburn. “That should tell you about our defense.”

It says that this game could have been a shutout for the Crimson Tide, who improved to 11-1 on the season. It tells you how overwhelmed Auburn was at home against the nation’s No. 1 statistical defense (191 total yards allowed per game).

As much as Alabama’s offense and special teams can be unpredictable, the one thing that has remained consistent all year is the tenacity and ferocity of Alabama’s defense.

“We want to go out and just dominant,” Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw said.

And that’s exactly what Alabama did against the Tigers. Auburn managed just 140 total yards of offense, averaged 2.5 yards per play, got nine first downs, converted 3-of-15 third downs and crossed into Alabama territory on five of their 10 drives.

Their longest drive on Alabama’s side of the field netted just 39 yards and resulted in a turnover on downs.