This is the compelling year for the Iron Bowl, or at least it should be.
Whenever Alabama and Auburn collide in Jordan-Hare Stadium, the unexpected can be expected. Auburn won the “Kick Six” thriller in 2013 — has it really been a decade? — while Alabama claimed the only series matchup to showcase overtime with the 24-22 outlasting of the Tigers two years ago that required four extra periods.
Alabama has won six straight Iron Bowls in Tuscaloosa by an average of 26.7 points, but Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban is 4-4 when the rivalry takes place on the Plains, which includes just two wins in his past five trips.
“People talk about all the crazy stuff that happens in this game,” Saban said in Monday’s news conference, “but since I’ve been here, the team that should have won the game won the game based on who played the best. The focus needs to be on how we’re going to play and how we’re going to execute.”
I can’t help but wonder if this is the last journey the 72-year-old Saban makes to Jordan-Hare as the Crimson Tide coach, just as I wondered a month ago if Saban was chewing on his final cigar inside Bryant-Denny after Alabama raced past Tennessee. Saban has an 11-5 record in the Iron Bowl — he is credited with the 2020 win even though he missed the game due to COVID as Steve Sarkisian filled in — but Auburn is the only Southeastern Conference foe he has faced at least four times without assembling a four-game winning streak.