FIELD RUSH PREVIEW: THE 90TH IRON BOWL

Matti Tenney - November 27, 2025 

November 30, 2013. Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama. #4 Auburn and #1 Alabama are deadlocked at 28-28. Alabama gets the ball for the final time at their own 29, AJ McCarron at the helm. 15 seconds on clock to cement this team in Iron Bowl history. He starts the drive with an incompletion, then turns to TJ Yeldon who picks up 9. Bama calls a timeout with 7 seconds left. From their own 38, they turn to Yeldon again, and the gamble pays off. A 24-yard run flips the ball to the Auburn 39, but did he get out of bounds in time?

“What’s at stake here is obviously a hail mary for Alabama to break the tie, as if that’s all, the chance to go to Atlanta, the possibility of a third BCS appearance and championship. It’s when his right foot touches, and there’s a second left. CBS says there’s a second left, if it’s official.” 

The review did confirm that there was a second left, from the Auburn 39-yard line. This brought a big decision from Nick Saban. Saban will be remembered as one of, if not the greatest coach in CFB history. He will be remembered for his 7 national championships, his 206-29 coaching record with the Tide, his coaching tree that has extended branches throughout football at every major level, and his 145 draft picks (and 49 first-rounders). But tonight he’ll be remembered for trusting the leg of Adam Griffith.

“They’re gonna try a field goal? [He’s] one for two in his career. A redshirt freshman from Calhoun, Georgia, this is the third field goal he’s attempted in his career, 56 yards! For the win, but first, timeout taken.”

The anticipation grew higher as Auburn iced the inexperienced kicker. Starting kicker Cade Foster was on the bench after missing 3 field goals today. Saban could change his mind, send McCarron on the field to try one last heave, but no. Griffith trots back on and lines up from the left hash.

“Well, I guess if this thing comes up short, he can field it and run it out. Alright, here we go: 56-yarder, it’s got… no, does not have the leg, and Chris Davis takes it in the back of the end zone. He’ll run it out to the 10, 15, 20, 25-30, 35-40, 45-50, 45, there goes Davis! [oh my gosh] Davis is gonna run it all the way back! Auburn’s gonna win the football game! Auburn’s gonna win the football game! He ran the missed field goal back! He ran it back a hundred and nine yards! They’re not gonna keep ’em off the field tonight!”

The Iron Bowl had one of the greatest field rushes in CFB history. It has shaped the identity of the state of Alabama, and often the trajectory of entire seasons. Over 130 years later, the Iron Bowl remains as unpredictable and electric as ever. Alabama leads the all-time series 51–37–1, but as every fan of this matchup knows, the record book rarely tells the full story. 

This year’s edition lands at a moment of stark contrast for the two programs. Alabama enters the game at 8–2 and sits on the cusp at 10 in the most recent CFP rankings, still fighting to secure its place in the expanded College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide haven’t lost to Auburn in five straight meetings, which is their longest win streak in the rivalry since the Bear Bryant era of the 1970s. Nick Saban may no longer be on the sideline, but the expectation to win this game, and win it convincingly, remains the same. For Alabama, the Iron Bowl isn’t just the rivalry finale. It’s a postseason checkpoint, and one they cannot afford to fail after losing to Oklahoma a week ago.

Meanwhile, Auburn steps into this rivalry week from a very different direction. The Tigers sit at 4–6 and recently fired their head coach, leaving an interim staff to navigate the most pressure-filled game on the schedule. The season has not unfolded the way Auburn hoped, but the Iron Bowl offers something that even the toughest fall cannot erase: opportunity. A win would rewrite the narrative of the entire year. It would stabilize the locker room, inspire the fanbase, and send a message to recruits that chaos does not mean surrender. In a rivalry where legends have been born from desperation, Auburn has nothing to lose. And that in the end might be their sharpest edge.

History reminds us not to underestimate that possibility. Jordan–Hare Stadium has long been the setting for some of the rivalry’s closest and most chaotic finishes. Ten of the seventeen Iron Bowls played there have been decided by a single possession, including several in the last 10 years. From miraculous returns to improbable comebacks, the Tigers have often turned their home field into a pressure cooker, capable of rattling even the most disciplined road teams. Home field advantage may not define this rivalry, overall the home team has won just 18 of the last 32 matchups, but Auburn’s ability to turn tension into momentum remains one of the game’s great wild cards.

Kickoff will bring noise, emotion, and the weight of history. For Alabama, the mission is simple. Survive, advance, and preserve their shot at a run in December. For Auburn, it’s a chance to salvage something meaningful from a turbulent season, to shake the foundations of SEC hierarchy for one night, and to remind everyone, especially themselves, that chaos is a familiar friend in the Iron Bowl. 

No matter the records or the polls, the Iron Bowl has always been defined by its ability to surprise. On Saturday night at Jordan–Hare, with postseason hopes on the line for one team and program pride at stake for the other, another chapter waits to be written. And if history is any indication, it will be one no one forgets.

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