It’s the Iron Bowl, so ESPN’s “College GameDay” didn’t take long Saturday to dive into Alabama-Auburn.
Kalen DeBoer caps his first regular season with the 13th-ranked Crimson Tide (8-3, 4-3 SEC. No. 13 CFP) against Hugh Freeze’s Auburn Tigers, with the team’s league championship hopes dashed and playoff chances damaged but alive. Both teams have failed to meet fans’ expectations, but statewide bragging rights remain up for grabs.
“There’s a huge advantage for the home team in this game,” Nick Saban said. “We were 7-1 when we played at Alabama. We were like 5-4 when we played at Auburn.
“I think Kalen DeBoer has a huge job in front of him in terms of getting his players to play this game. They had college football playoff aspirations and maybe that’s not the case, but this game is really important to the people in the state of Alabama. When you are born in Alabama, you have a birth right. You are either gonna be for Alabama, or your gonna be for Auburn. You grow up that way with great passion. This is a big game for a lot of people. It’s a big game for the players.”
Alabama is at risk of failing to reach double digit victories for the first time since Nick Saban’s debut season in 2007.
“You could almost feel the life of Alabama coming out of them in Norman,” Kirk Herbstreit said. “You just wonder – a week later – it’s a rivalry game if that helps, but what can he do to get them to engage, to be able to take advantage of the home field.
“You got Auburn on the other side that hasn’t had the type of year they envisioned even though they are getting a little better here lately. Man, the spirit of that game is going to be fascinating to see.”
Auburn (5-6, 2-5) must win to become bowl eligible and avoid a fourth straight losing season. But the Tigers are coming off a four-overtime win over No. 20 Texas A&M. Alabama was embarrassed 24-3 at Oklahoma.
“Kalen DeBoer’s first year there, filling in the boots of the GOAT, you’re not going to make college football playoff,” Pat McAfee added. “After everything they’ve done. And you can’t lose to Auburn at home in your first year. You’re trying to win over that fans base, win over the boosters, win over everything.
“They got their work cut out for them. Against Oklahoma last week, they gave up 257 rushing yards. And this crew got to see what Jarquez Hunter got to do last week for that Auburn team. He went bananas against Texas A&M, so there is a road for Auburn to win.”
Desmond Howard still believes the Tide is searching for an identity.
“Earlier this season, I said they were team stuck in between two worlds of who they were and who they wanted to be,” he said. “They still don’t have and identity. This is a big game for them. They are 4-3 in the conference. Auburn would love to send them out of the regular season just .500 in the SEC. Could you imagine that?”
Lee Corso gave an early prediction, even if Saban disagrees.
“After last week, Auburn is hot, Alabama is not,” Corso said. “Auburn looking for a big upset, and they are gonna get it if Payton Thorne plays a great game.
“Coach Freeze has beaten Alabama two times in his career. … I think it is a big upset.”
Saban’s reply?
“Not so fast,” he said. “Adversity causes some to break and some to be great, and that’s Alabama’s challenge today.”
