AUBURN, Ala. – Nothing fully prepares you for it, and once you've experienced it, you're never the same.
Heading into his 11th Iron Bowl and his eighth as Auburn's head coach, Gus Malzahn reminisced and reflected on coaching in college football's most intense rivalry.
Next Game:
Alabama
11/28/20
2:30 PM
TV: CBS
Radio: Auburn Sports Network
"I first coached in this game in 2009 as a coordinator," said Malzahn, who's guided the Tigers to three Iron Bowl victories as a head coach and called the plays in Auburn's 28-27 comeback win in 2010 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. "People would tell me what it was like. You've got to experience it to fully understand it and get a grasp of it.
"It changes you. I know after that first year it changed me. This is something that here at Auburn, I know me personally, I think about it 365 days a year."
As a true freshman last season, quarterback Bo Nix won his Iron Bowl debut, leading the Tigers to a wild 48-45 victory.
"It was huge for my teammates and for Auburn," Nix said. "To get a win that big against a really respected team, it's great for your confidence. It's what you come to Auburn for."
No. 22 Auburn (5-2) visits No. 1 Alabama (7-0) Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS. Andy Burcham, Stan White and Ronnie Brown will have the call on the Auburn Sports Network on 93.9 FM locally and on satellite radio on Sirius/XM 81.
"One of the reasons you come to Auburn is to play in the Iron Bowl," Malzahn said. "Our guys get extremely excited and this is a game our guys think about 365 days a year."
THREE QUESTIONS WITH…QB BO NIX
Q. How much confidence does winning last year's Iron Bowl give you?
A: It gives me a lot of confidence knowing I'm going into a tough place with similar guys – obviously we have a lot of guys coming back, a lot of the same skill [position] guy as last year, and a lot of guys on the defensive side of the ball doing the same thing. I feel comfortable. A lot of the guys that made big plays last year, they're back, and we're looking forward to Saturday.
Q. How badly do you want to win and how hard do you play?
A. You play as hard as you've ever played in a game in your entire life, just because of how much it means. There are a lot of people who come from out of state to play football at Auburn or Alabama because of the programs and then they get tossed into the rivalry, their eyes are opened and they see what it's all about. It's definitely a huge rivalry, the biggest in college football, and probably one of the biggest in sports, period. You've got to play extremely hard and refuse to lose.
Q. What are some keys to having success on Saturday?
A. Running the ball is going to be huge, making sure we stay in front of the sticks and keep second and third downs short. Be efficient on third down and score when we get in the red zone.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Gameday Program
This will be the 85th Iron Bowl. Auburn trails the all-time series 46-37-1.
Auburn leads the series 17-10 when the game is played on campus and leads 7-5 in games played in Tuscaloosa.
This is the 24th meeting between ranked teams and the seventh time since 2010 when both teams have been ranked.
Series: Auburn trails 46-37-1
On campus: Auburn leads 17-10
In Tuscaloosa: Auburn leads 7-5
Most AU points: 53 (1900)
Most AU points since series resumed in 1948: 49 (1969)
Longest Auburn win streak: six games (2002-07)
BY THE NUMBERS
6: Turnovers committed by Auburn in 2020, fewest in the SEC.
30: Auburn is the only defense in the SEC that has not given up more than 30 points in a game this season.
200: Auburn is the only SEC team to rush for 200 yards in four straight games this season (vs. Arkansas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, LSU).
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer