College football’s best rivalries create excitement every year and not every other year.
The Iron Bowl has slipped in that regard.
Since Cam Newton led Auburn to a 28-27 triumph at Alabama during their memorable 2010 matchup, when the Tigers trailed 24-0 in the second quarter, the Crimson Tide have won the seven times since in Tuscaloosa by the average score of 44-19. That’s not rivalry-inducing.
It’s been a different story inside Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, the site of Saturday night’s showdown (7:30 on ABC), where the two rivals have split the past six encounters. Auburn’s 2013 win was instantly dubbed the “Kick Six,” denying Alabama’s bid to become the first program to claim three consecutive Associated Press national championships, but the Tide won the 2021 meeting in four overtimes and claimed the 2023 matchup on a fourth-and-31 touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe to Isaiah Bond with 32 seconds remaining.
Alabama second-year coach Kalen DeBoer won his first Iron Bowl with last November’s 28-14 snoozer in Bryant-Denny Stadium, and he can make series history by becoming the first on either side to claim his first two rivalry contests by prevailing on each campus.