College football in Alabama is “a little different,” just ask former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.

He won the national championship and Heisman Trophy with the Tigers in 2010 and may be the most vocal former player in the media.

On a recent episode of his podcast titled 4th&1 with Cam Newton, the Auburn legend talked about how much college football means in the state. His point was best summed up by a quote former head coach Gene Chizik once gave Newton at Auburn.

“He said, Cam, the four most important people in the state of Alabama is the head coach of Auburn. It’s the head coach of Alabama. It’s the starting quarterback for Auburn, and it’s the starting quarterback for the University of Alabama. You’re one of those four,” Newton said Chizik told him.

Newton’s Heisman-winning season in 2010 was the only year he spent on the Plains, but he was still able to get a sense of the passion fans in the state have for college football.

“The State of Alabama does not have no professional sports,” Newton said. “Anybody from Alabama, whether you’re from Dothan, Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, Bessemer, you asked this one question on Thanksgiving: ‘what color you wearing?’”

Newton won the only Iron Bowl he participated in, beating Alabama 28-27 in a game that earned the nickname of “The Camback” after Auburn overcame a 24-0 deficit to beat the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa.

“Man, listen, call them crazy. I call them rambunctious, beautiful people. Belligerent fans,” Newton said. “Not all fans make it in this state.”

Newton also made a bold statement when comparing the excitement of an SEC matchup to a big game in the Big 10.

“A 8-2 or 7-3 SEC-SEC matchup is way better than a 6-0, 6-0 Big 10 matchup,” Newton said. “It’s just different brotha.”

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m