We’re just a few weeks from one of the weirder Iron Bowl matchups in recent memory.

Both Alabama and Auburn have taken untraditional routes to early November records that wouldn’t necessarily look odd without context.

No. 8 Alabama’s 8-1 coming off an emotional 42-28 win over LSU with its ninth different identity of the season.

Auburn, meanwhile, is 5-4 after winning consecutive SEC games with two winnable games left before playing host to the Crimson Tide. It’s been every bit of a transitional season with first-year head coach Hugh Freeze cleaning up the mess he inherited but playing spoiler for the archrival on Thanksgiving weekend would certainly foul a few family gatherings.

Before we get there, let’s take a quick look at some Week 10 notes from the state’s two SEC tentpoles.

Alabama

— It’s hard to overstate just how effective Jalen Milroe was running the football and completely changing the feel surrounding the way a defense combats this offense. His burst at the line is unlike any running threat in this offense and his size makes Milroe a battering ram when contact is necessary. That said, given the depth chart, limiting the fullback-style hits would be advised as this season hits the home stretch.

— The first half to second half breakdown of passes thrown to running plays tells a story. Alabama’s first-down split after halftime was 10/3 in favor of running plays. Where Milroe threw it 16 times (10 complete) in the first 30, he tossed to seven times (five complete) in the final 30. The Tide wanted to wear down LSU where the second half time-of-possession was 18-12 in favor of the hosts.

— If you told me Alabama’s longest reception by a wideout was 22 yards, I’d have a hard time believing the 14-point margin favored the Crimson Tide. But the big-chunk plays were dump downs or improvised throws to running backs Jase McClellan (42 yards) and Jamarion Miller (35 yards). Both converted third down plays in the second quarter that kept drives alive that eventually ended in touchdowns. Moments like that are the difference in games like that.

— Alabama has 41 punts through nine games, that’s 55th-most but James Burnip wasn’t needed much against LSU. He had just one boot against LSU when the team’s previous low punt count was three.

— Let’s talk about sacks. Alabama’s obviously been among the worst allowing QB hits but it allowed just two Saturday — both in the first half. An improvement, no doubt but the Tide still ranks 127th of 133 FBS teams with 37.0 sacks allowed.

— LSU’s first touchdown on the 46-yard touchdown pass was an anomaly for the Tide defense. Alabama’s allowed just 12 passes of 40-plus yards, tied for ninth fewest in the nation. And even when Texas hit a few home runs in the Week 2 game, they weren’t complete coverage busts like Malik Nabors’ big catch from Jayden Daniels to make it 7-0, LSU.

Auburn

— The Tigers look to have a new plan at QB and that’s the more traditional route. Instead of swapping Payton Thorne with backup Robby Ashford, Hugh Freeze stuck with the Michigan State transfer in the 31-15 win at Vanderbilt. In the past two games, Thorne completed 37 of 53 passes with five touchdowns to one interception in wins over Mississippi State and the Commodores.

— The bigger headline from Nashville was Jarquez Hunter’s career-high 183 rushing yards on 19 attempts. That included first-quarter touchdown runs of 67 and 56 yards to show the home-run threat this tailback can be.

— An offensive negative from Vanderbilt? The Tigers were 4-for-15 converting third downs. That’s 26.7%. Not good. Maybe a little worse considering Vanderbilt has the No. 123 third-down defense that’s allowing conversions 46.5% of the time.

— The story was better on defense. With the caveat of Vanderbilt having the 107th-best offense in the FBS, Auburn held the hosts to 266 total yards (below its average of 328.7) and just 12 first downs. Even better (for Auburn), the third-down conversions were successful just 2 of 14 times. The 14.3% rate wasn’t a season low for the Commodores who went 1-for-10 against Florida.

— The 5.0 Auburn sacks were a season high with six players contributing at least a half of one. Zykeivous Walker had a game-high two tackles for loss with a sack thrown in there.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.