Neither the Wommacks nor the Studzinskis spoke much about it.

The elephant, and tiger, in the room.

That remained true for much of their visit to Lake Martin over the Fourth of July this year. Kane and Melissa Wommack brought their three boys, and Dom and Hayley Studzinski brought their three boys to meet up at the house they rented with Dave and Leslie Wommack, the parents of Kane and Hayley.

It was their first time all together in a long while, but no one really addressed the new family dynamic.

“Everybody kind of tried to avoid it actually,” Dave said.

“It” being the Iron Bowl.

The Wommacks and Studzinskis have never been on opposite sidelines for a game before. That’s about to change Saturday in one of college football’s top rivalries.

Kane is in his first season as defensive coordinator for Alabama football. Meanwhile, his brother-in-law Dom is the head football strength and conditioning coach for Auburn football.

As Alabama prepares to face Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, ABC), the family has some mixed emotions. The game creates a house divided while bringing the family together the week of Thanksgiving.

“You don’t get in this profession unless you can handle it personally and professionally,” Kane said. “That’s just how the Wommack family rolls.”

Now competing in the Iron Bowl

Kane called Dave before he made the decision to leave South Alabama for the Crimson Tide.

Dad what do you think about me going to Alabama as the DC?

Dave, a former SEC defensive coordinator himself, said he thought it would be a great move. His son, then South Alabama’s head coach, could always go back to that level if he wanted. Kane said he was pretty much thinking he would take the Alabama job.

Good for you. Go for it.

Then reality hit.

“Of course, we’re thinking right away, ‘Oh my gosh, at some point the Iron Bowl is going to be here,’” Dave said.

Dom followed Hugh Freeze from Ole Miss to Liberty to Auburn. So Kane’s brother-and-law and sister were already at the rival school. As soon as her brother took the Alabama job, Hayley peppered her parents.

I know you’re going to pull for him.

“We were like, ‘You don’t know who we’re going to pull for,’” Dave said.

I know he’s the son and you’re going to pull for him.

“I can remember saying I was going to have to pull a Mama Kelce and get that jersey that’s split down the middle,” Leslie said.

The Iron Bowl rivalry goes way back. So, too, does the competition between Wommack brother and sister. Hayley is a few years younger than Kane, but they’ve always been competitive.

The scouting report, via Dave and Leslie: Kane doesn’t like to lose at anything. But Hayley is probably the most competitive person in the family.

If Kane was throwing a baseball with Dave in the yard, or playing any other sport really, Hayley would come out with her glove, too. She went on to throw discus and shot put at Southern Miss. Kane and Hayley’s sibling rivalry even extended to water sports.

“Hayley wanted to be able to ski better than Kane, and Kane wanted to be able to ski better than Hayley,” Dave said. “About everything there was, they were competitive in.”

Now, they have the Iron Bowl.

Oxford origins

Kane thinks he mentioned the idea only to his wife, Melissa.

Man, Dom would be a great person for Hayley.

Kane knew Dom from their time working on the Ole Miss staff together, starting in 2012. Dave was the defensive coordinator, Kane was a graduate assistant and Dom was assistant strength and conditioning coach. (In other small world news, Dom played for now Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer at Sioux Falls).

During Ole Miss games, Leslie watched from the stands with the other coaches’ wives. She noticed how, if Dom saw trash, he picked it up. He even went out of his way to do it.

“It really impressed me,” Leslie said. “I just think it speaks to your character.”

So, when Hayley brought up that she was going out with Dom, Leslie approved.

I really like that guy. He always picks up the trash.

Dom reminded Leslie in some ways of her husband, Dave. A man of few words. Hardworking. Trustworthy.

Another key quality about Dom: He also worked in football. That wasn’t exactly a prerequisite, but Hayley certainly understood what that life meant.

“It’s really interesting that we’re now both doing that,” Kane said. “What’s come full circle is we followed my dad around the country for his job. Now him and my mom follow us wherever we’ve been.”

On Saturday, that will be Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Family plans for Thanksgiving, Alabama vs Auburn

The Thanksgiving plans sound a bit TBD.

Hayley is expected to bring her three boys and stay at the Wommack house later in the week. Dom will be traveling with Auburn, of course. Dave and Leslie plan to arrive by Friday.

When the Thanksgiving meal will take place is also a bit up in the air. Maybe Friday, or Sunday. But probably Friday, considering Sunday would mean eating after an Iron Bowl winner and loser is determined.

“We wish it wasn’t this way because it’s hard,” Leslie said. “We would never let a football game come between us. We’re family. We love each other.”

Come Saturday, Kane’s wife and sons will of course be rooting for Alabama, and the Studzinskis will be supporting Auburn. But Dave and Leslie have a tougher decision, with a child on each side.

Leslie decided she will sit with the home team each season. So that’s Melissa and Alabama this year. Dave expects to be on the sideline with Kane, like some previous games this season. Dave, now retired, provides his son an extra set of eyes, watching game film on future opponents and sending Kane his thoughts.

“In this kind of game where they’re playing each other, you just want everybody to do their best,” Leslie said. “I want the defense to play as well as they can, and Dom’s guys to be well prepared physically and mentally. You really do. I could not say who I am rooting for necessarily. I just want a good game and no matter what happens we’ll deal with it.”

“There’s a fence rider for you,” Dave immediately replied.

Then they both laughed.

There is some joy to this for the family. Sure, one family member must lose while another wins. But this weekend is also a gift. So often, the coaching profession pulled the Wommack/Studzinski family in different directions, like when Dom worked in Virginia and Kane coached in Indiana.

This weekend, coaching will finally bring them all together again, albeit as competitors.

“Sometimes, we see rivalries can bring out the best and the worst in people,” Kane said. “When you look across the sideline in arguably the greatest rivalry in college football and see a familiar family face … it always puts it in perspective that we play a great game.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.