Auburn RB Tank Bigsby may miss Alabama game with hip injury

Rivalry aside, defeating the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on the final Saturday of November was always going to be a tall order for the Auburn Tigers. 

That was before the Tigers learned they may be without a key offensive figure.

As Alex Scarborough reported for ESPN, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn told reporters on Tuesday that freshman running back Tank Bigsby is questionable for the Alabama clash because of the hip injury that Bigsby suffered in last Saturday's 30-17 win over the Tennessee Volunteers. 

"Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll have an idea of whether he'll be able to go or not," Malzahn explained. 

Bigsby rushed for over 100 yards in three consecutive contests earlier this fall but tallied only 24 yards on three attempts until he was knocked out of the Tennessee game. He leads Auburn on the year with 527 rushing yards, 92 carries and five rushing scores, and he's averaging 5.7 yards per carry. 

According to Christopher Smith of AL.com, PFF ranks Alabama's run defense as 49th in the country heading into this year's edition of the Iron Bowl. 

D.J. Williams and Shaun Shivers will shift up the depth chart if Bigsby can't play or is limited through Saturday. Williams has 183 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries, while Shivers has tallied 172 yards and one score on 36 attempts.