Nov. 20, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- There are rivalries in college football. And there's the Iron Bowl. This Saturday will mark the 82nd time Auburn and Alabama have clashed, and this year's edition features a top-10 match-up where the winner will advance to Atlanta for the SEC championship game. The stakes don't get much bigger than that.
But the stakes are big every year. It's the Iron Bowl. Just ask any person who grew up or currently lives in the state of Alabama.
It's no different for the players who grew up in the state. Most of them were recruited by both Auburn and Alabama, and some even have former high school teammates playing for the other side. They understand better than anybody what this rivalry means, and they know there's just a different feeling when they take the field to play their in-state rival.
Don't just take my word for it. This is what some of those in-state players had to say about the Iron Bowl.
What does the Iron Bowl mean to you?
Kerryon Johnson: "I think it's so big because the fans care so much. Obviously as players, we care. But at the end of the day, we have other goals. Some people, this is what they live for. Whether you think that's sad or whether you think that's good, they're going to talk about it until the next game comes up -- every day, every hour, they're going to talk about it. That's what makes it so huge. The fan bases want those bragging rights. We want those bragging rights. We want to win. They want to win. We just have to go out there and play and see what happens."
Marlon Davidson: "It means a lot to me knowing that you've got friends over there and everything. It's an in-state rivalry. You always want to be the king of your state. It's a big thing for the Alabama kids that are playing for Auburn and for the ones over there that play for Alabama. It's just a chance to beat the people that you played with in high school."
Deshaun Davis : "It means a lot to me. Being from Alabama and being from Mobile, a lot of people are Alabama fans. I bought into this university for four years now, and I know what it means to the people that support us. We know there's a lot at stake."
Stephen Roberts: "It's very big, especially being close here from Auburn. It's just something that's been around for a long time. It's a straight dog fight, from whistle to whistle. There's going to be a lot of contact, and all you can say is `Buckle up because it's going to be a ride.' It's going to be a physical game. Both teams are bringing their best."
Tre' Williams: "The Iron Bowl is basically another holiday. Where I come from in Mobile, I had people who work on the weekends and they would take off work. People stop everything they're doing. People who are from out of town come back home. It's really like a holiday down there in Mobile or in the South period. I just remember experiencing all that, getting everybody together and watching it like it's the national championship or like it's the Super Bowl."
What are your earliest memories of the game?
Johnson: "I was a Florida State fan growing up, so I really didn't care as much until probably 2010 when Cam Newton made his comeback. Obviously, I had friends who cared. But that game really kind of made me realize how big of a game this really was. I watched that game and watched that comeback, and that was tremendous. I went to school, and kids then were bragging like they played. It was crazy. Right then, I started to realize. I was like, `Woah, people really do live and die by this.'"
Davis: "The biggest memory I'm pretty sure everyone would have was the Kick Six. I was actually in the end zone behind Chris [Davis] when he caught the ball. I was in the recruiting section. I'll always have that memory in my head. And of course the comeback in 2010 at Alabama. It was kind of crazy. I grew up an LSU fan, but I was actually rooting for Auburn that weekend. We got down and everybody was saying it was my fault because I jumped on the bandwagon and cheered for Auburn. But they ended up pulling it out."
Williams: "I have two. I remember witnessing Cam [Newton] come back on them on TV. But I was here when Chris Davis took it back. I actually witnessed that with my own two eyes. Those two moments showed me that despite how the season goes, despite how the beginning of the game goes, despite how you feel physically, this is the Iron Bowl. It will make you or break you. It's for bragging rights."
What sets the Iron Bowl apart from other rivalries in college football?
Davidson: "I don't know. It's hard to say. The fans take it big. The coaches take it big. Our coaches, they always say, `This will probably be the biggest game you'll play in your life.' Last year, it was a big game even though we didn't come out victorious. It's just the way the game was and how people treated the game. It was different."
Davis: "It's the conference that we play in and the talent level on both sides of the ball. You can just watch the game, and you can tell a lot of guys are going to play on Sunday. It's big bragging rights. When you think about the state of Alabama, you think about Alabama and Auburn. I think it's the biggest rivalry in college football, and I know a lot of people who would attest to that."
Williams: "Like I said, it's literally a holiday. A lot of things get cancelled. A lot of people come into town for it. Everybody knows about it, especially in the South. Everybody knows about the Iron Bowl. We really take it serious. During this game, you better not say anything that goes towards Alabama when you're around me. I don't really know much about the other rivalries, and of course, they probably feel the same way. But I don't think it's the same."
What makes Auburn different than Alabama?
Johnson: "You hear it all the time, it's Auburn family. It's hard to understand that. But when you come here -- anybody on the team will say this -- the people here are different. You can go to other places, and all they care about is winning. If you're not winning, they don't care. At Auburn, they love you regardless. They want to see you. They want to meet you. They want to know where you are, what you're doing. They want to know everything about you. And in terms of locker room and team as well, it's a bunch of guys who really care about each other."
Williams: "The atmosphere. You have an atmosphere like [the Georgia game], and when you witness something like that, you're like, `Man, I can't wait for them to be doing that because of something I did.' That's how I felt when I was a recruit and I came to the Alabama game or I came to the Mississippi State and we won by a touchdown. I was like, `Man, if this crowd is going crazy because of a tackle I made or because of a sack I made, that will be a special moment.' That [Georgia] game was a moment to remember, and of course, the Iron Bowl is going to be something to remember."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf