It gets weird at Jordan-Hare Stadium, especially in late November for the Iron Bowl. As the annual Alabama-Auburn rivalry game has drawn near, historic moments have recirculated like “Punt, Bama, Punt,” Bryce Young’s 98-yard drive in 2021 or whichever bragging point one fanbase gets to hold over the other.

But as Nick Saban stated on Monday, despite the “crazy stuff” that always seems to happen, the worthy team usually comes out of it with a win.

“I don’t think that anybody needs to pay attention to what happened in the past, what happened in the last game, what somebody’s record is,” Saban said. “Anytime you play in a rivalry game it’s going to be a highly competitive, tough, very physical game, that’s what everybody needs to get ready for.

“You know, people talk about all the crazy stuff that happens in this game. But since I’ve been here, the team that should have won the game won the game based on who played the best. So I think the focus needs to be on how are we going to play and how are we going to execute and do what we do and what kind of consistency are we going to be able to maintain in a difficult environment. We’ve had this challenge several times before, and this one’s going to be just as difficult as any of the rest.”

The Tide hasn’t beaten the Tigers in four straight games since the Iron Bowl was a Birmingham fixture in the 1970s and ‘80s. Nick Saban is 11-5 against Auburn since he arrived in Tuscaloosa. In each of those losses, Auburn has managed to outscore its rival in the fourth quarter. There’s also the 2013 Kick 6, a 16-0 run to rally in 2017 and Zakoby McClain’s 100-yard pick-six in 2019 to name a few momentum-changing moments.

In 2023, the No. 8 Tide (10-1, 7-0 SEC) are double-digit favorites over the Tigers (6-5, 3-4). Auburn is coming off a 21-point loss to New Mexico State, an FCS program. The Tigers allowed quarterback Diego Pavia to complete 19-of-28 passes for three touchdowns and 238 yards of offense. They’ll now turn attention to Jalen Milroe, a dual threat that’s created more plays out of the pocket recently.

“It’s a very difficult task for sure. I don’t know that you completely do that. You gotta hope that you do limit those explosive plays somewhat, but stopping him, no one’s really done that, so we’ve gotta mix up the coverages, mix up the plan, figure out if we can get pressure to him or not.” Freeze told reporters in the Plains.

Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on CBS. In what will be Auburn’s final home game of the season, the Tigers will host a set of high-priority recruits, and likely a few current Alabama commits, to make a good impression. Tide defensive back Malachi Moore, of Trussville, said on Monday that it’s a “little kid’s dream” to play in the Iron Bowl.

“Hopefully, we can solidify all the ones who are currently committed and maybe swing a few others to say ‘Man, I want to go help them build something. I know they can. They have the resources. They have the support.’ We just need some players to come and join us,” Freeze said.

The Tigers already flipped Foley five-star Perry Thompson from Alabama to Auburn in July. 2025 five-star Ryan Williams of Saraland has also been pursued by both sides.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].