After a one-year visit to irrelevancy, the Iron Bowl once again will have a major say in the national championship race in 2023.

Eighth-ranked Alabama (10-1) has won nine straight games and needs to win its 10th in a row on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium to stay in the mix for a College Football Playoff berth. Auburn (6-5) will try to play the role of spoiler, but limps into the Iron Bowl after one of the most-shocking losses in program history last week vs. New Mexico State.

So how do the Crimson Tide and Tigers match up? We take a look in our annual Iron Bowl position-by-position breakdown:

Quarterback

Alabama’s Jalen Milroe has made one of the greatest in-season improvements in recent program history, and is capable of explosive plays as both a passer and a runner. He’s playing with an immense level of confidence after having to win the job twice this season, once in August and again after being benched in Week 3 vs. South Florida. It took Auburn coaches more than half the season to figure out they should stop rotating Payton Thorne with Robby Ashford, and give Thorne most of the reps. Both are capable runners, but Thorne is the only one who is a threat as a passer.

Advantage: Alabama

Running back

The Crimson Tide uses a backfield rotation of Jase McClellan, Roydell Williams and Jamarian Miller, who have combined for 1,364 yards this season. McClellan is also a capable receiver out of the backfield on screens and checkdowns. Auburn’s Jarquez Hunter has thrived as the feature back this year, averaging nearly six yards per carry. Backup Brian Battie is speedy and elusive (not to mention a dangerous return man), while Damari Alston and Jeremiah Cobb could both be No. 1 backs some day. Both teams rely on their quarterbacks in the running game, though Auburn doesn’t throw to the backs a ton.

Advantage: Even

Receiver/tight end

For the second straight year, Alabama does not have a true go-to receiver, with Jermaine Burton (29 receptions, 6 TDs) the closest thing to that. Tight end Amari Niblack has developed into a red zone weapon, with his four touchdowns second on the team. Wideouts Isaiah Bond, Kobe Prentice, Jalen Hale, Malik Benson, Kendrick Law and second tight end CJ Dippre are all capable of the occasional big play, but Ja’Corey Brooks — one of the heroes of the 2022 Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare — has missed several weeks with a shoulder injury. Auburn’s tight end, Rivaldo Fairweather, is by far its most dangerous receiving threat, with 33 catches and six TDs this season. Wideouts Ja’Varrius Johnson, Jay Fair, Caleb Burton and Shane Hooks have all had their moments, just not enough of them to keep defenses honest.

Advantage: Alabama

Offensive line

Alabama’s offensive line has played better of late, though it has rarely been the sum of its parts this season. Pre-snap penalties and sacks — 33 of them — have plagued this group all year. Left tackle in particular has been a trouble spot, with true freshman Kadyn Proctor and redshirt freshman Elijah Pritchett both taking their lumps in pass protection. One thing the Crimson Tide has been able to do well is run behind right tackle JC Latham, a true road-grader with a certain NFL future. Auburn loaded up with transfers and freshmen in the offseason, and has gotten solid-to-good results for the most part. Tackle Gunner Britton has been the team’s best lineman this season, though freshman center Connor Lew appears to have a very bright future. Lew has filled in the last several weeks for the injured Avery Jones (another transfer) and will be difficult to dislodge when and if Jones is healthy.

Advantage: Even

Defensive line

As it has for the last several years, Alabama rotates several players in the front three, without much discernable drop-off. Veteran end Justin Eboigbe (52 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 5 sacks) is playing at close to an All-SEC level, while sophomore Jaheim Oatis does things that don’t show up on the stat sheet to create havoc at the point of attack. Tim Keenan, Tim Smith, Jah-Marien Latham and Damon Payne also make the occasional big play. Auburn senior tackle Marcus Harris has had an excellent season, with 38 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. End Keldric Faulk has held his own as a true freshman, while veterans Justin Rogers, Jayson Jones and Zykevious Walker form the rest of what is a solid group.

Advantage: Alabama

Linebacker

Alabama’s Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell are among the best edge-rushing duos in both the SEC and the country, combining for 15 sacks and 20 tackles for loss this season. Inside linebacker Deontae Lawson, considered the quarterback of the defense, missed the Chattanooga game with an ankle injury, and it’s not yet clear if or how much he’ll play in the Iron Bowl. Sophomore Jihaad Campbell has also been highly productive on the inside, while Trezmen Marshall is a solid third interior defender. Auburn’s two outside linebackers, Eugene Asante and Jalen McLeod, have also been excellent at getting to the quarterback this season (17 TFL, 10.5 sacks combined). The inside linebackers haven’t been nearly as productive, though the return of Austin Keys from a thumb injury in late October has helped somewhat.

Advantage: Alabama

Secondary

Kool-Aid McKinstry came into the year as the big name cornerback at Alabama and has played well, but he’s been outshined by Terrion Arnold, who might challenge for All-America honors this year. Nickelback Malachi Moore is the most-experienced defender on the team, though he hasn’t put up big numbers this season. It’s freshman strong safety Caleb Downs who is the future star, however, having drawn comparisons already to all-time Alabama great Minkah Fitzpatrick. Free safety Jaylen Key missed the Chattanooga game with a thigh injury, and there is a significant drop-off to backup Kristian Story. Auburn plays four seniors and a junior (and sometimes five seniors) in its secondary, with cornerbacks DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett taking a back seat to no one and both likely to play in the NFL next year. Free safety Jaylin Simpson has taken a major step forward this season, and strong safety Zion Puckett and nickelbacks Keionte Scott and Donovan Kaufman have also been solid.

Advantage: Even

Special teams

Alabama kicker Will Reichard is having another excellent season, and should become college football’s all-time leading scorer this week or next. Veteran punter James Burnip has also been excellent. Kendrick Law has been good when he’s chosen to return kickoffs rather than take a fair catch. The coverage units are decent, though not spectacular. The one liability this season has been Kool-Aid McKinstry’s inability to cleanly catch punts, though Caleb Downs replaced him last week and ran one back 85 yards for a touchdown. Auburn kicker Alex McPherson has not missed a field goal or extra point all season long, though he hasn’t had as many opportunities as some. Punter Oscar Chapman is also consistent and highly productive. Brian Battie on kickoffs and Keionte Scott on punts are among the most-dangerous return twosomes in the SEC. The Tigers rarely allow a punt return, and have really been victimized just once on a kickoff return, a 60-yarder by LSU.

Advantage: Auburn

Coaching

Alabama’s Nick Saban has done his best coaching job in years this season, taking a team that looked like it might be headed for three or four losses and turned it into another dominator that has gotten better with each passing week. New offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and new/old defensive coordinator Kevin Steele took a few weeks to get things sorted out, but have done an excellent job of taking advantage of their players’ strengths. Auburn’s Hugh Freeze has made no secret of the fact that his team is overmatched talent-wise most weeks, but the case can still be made he’s gotten less out of his team than was possible or expected. It remains unclear if Freeze or coordinator Philip Montgomery is really running the offense, which is never a good thing. Veteran defensive coordinator Ron Roberts has gotten mostly good marks for his work this season, though the way his unit fell apart against New Mexico State is troubling.

Advantage: Alabama

Overall

Nothing is ever a given in the Iron Bowl, particularly when it takes place at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn has won three of the last five vs. Alabama when playing at home, and took a superior Crimson Tide team to four overtimes the last time the game was played on The Plains. Expect an electric crowd and an Auburn team playing with all the emotion it can muster on Saturday. Still, this Alabama team has been on a mission since the second half of the Ole Miss game on Sept. 23. There’s too much at stake to expect the Crimson Tide to fumble the bag now. The 2023 Iron Bowl will likely be close for most of three quarters, before Alabama takes over down the stretch.

Advantage: Alabama

Creg Stephenson has worked for AL.com since 2010 and has covered college football for a variety of publications since 1994. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @CregStephenson.