Iron Bowl 2010: Tide's Roll Slowed (But Not Much), Bama Leads 24-0

The second quarter of the 2010 Iron Bowl opens just in time to see Auburn punt from their own 28-yard line. A zero-gain return and an 11-yard penalty back the Tide up to their own 17, but you'll just never guess what happens next: After running three shortish plays to bump them a little closer to midfield, Greg McElroy first rushes ten yards for a first down (wait, what?!), then throws a 60-yard pass to Mark Ingram, who's rumbling within arm's reach of the Auburn endzone when the ball gets punched out of the crook of his arm and recovered by Demond Washington. The Tigers take over on their own 1-yard line.

It won't do them a great deal of good. Auburn converts its first set of downs, but not its second, and the Tide get the ball back at midfield after a truly wretched punt that wiggles approximately 20 yards through the air.

We're about to see the first dent in Alabama's game, and it's not a substantial one. Julio Jones makes a monster 42-yard catch to convert the Tide's first third down in the series, but three no-gain plays in the red zone later, Jeremy Shelley is called upon to kick a 20-yard field goal. With 8:06 remaining in the first half, Alabama leads Auburn, 24-0.