Auburn is a heavy underdog in today’s Iron Bowl, but Hugh Freeze is counting on the crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium to be the great equalizer.

Freeze made an appearance on the SEC Nation pre-game show on the SEC Network on Saturday morning. During the course of the interview, he was asked what he wanted from Auburn fans vs. Alabama on Saturday afternoon.

“I need Jordan Hare to be what it has always been in this game — that is the most difficult place to play,” Freeze said. “And them creating about five false starts would be very helpful.”

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne will start his first Iron Bowl as the Tigers (6-5, 4-3 SEC) host the No. 8 Crimson Tide (10-1, 6-1). Freeze said making progress on first and second down will be key for Thorne and the Tigers.

“He’s going to have to throw some balls in some tight windows and he’s going to have to make those throws,” Freeze said. “It really helps if we’re not in third-and-long. You watch the third-down cut-ups of Alabama and there’s way too many 3rd-and-9, -10, -11. We need to keep that thing in third-and-three. So I think us winning first down will pay dividends for Peyton in both the passing game and the RPO game.”

Freeze also noted that he’d talked with former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn this week about what to expect in the Iron Bowl. He also noted the “David vs. Goliath” nature of the game, but said David won because “he believed he belonged on the battlefield,” something he hopes his team will carry this afternoon.

The Iron Bowl kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.