Auburn football: In a season of disappointments, the Tigers can still cause some for Alabama
If last year’s Iron Bowl is any indication, Auburn football could be due for yet another disappointment in a season full of them.
But it isn’t. The Iron Bowl hits different when it’s on the Plains in the simultaneously friendly and hostile confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium.
2021 will be an interesting one for sure, with Auburn looking to avoid a no-win November/four-game losing streak and Alabama looking to effectively keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
But, Alabama fans understand it could still be the first disappointing Iron Bowl for Crimson Tide fans of the not-so-roaring ’20s and the death knell to any chances of repeating as National Champions. While the odds don’t indicate that to be the case–with the Tigers opening as an 18 point underdog–recent history for this game in this city dictates that AU could have the advantage in a stadium ‘Bammers believe is filled with voodoo based on two win-less trips to Lee County the last two tries.
If Auburn football were to win the 2021 Iron Bowl against Alabama, that’d be one of the most logical explanations.
The Tigers are hurting after their third straight loss this month on Saturday to South Carolina after starting off the season 6-2 and with SEC Championship and CFP hopes. The Texas A&M loss broke the Tigers and the Mississippi State loss shoved them into the dirt. Losing Bo Nix ahead of the Gamecocks game was the metaphorical first scoop of dirt in the shovel and the way AU lost in the fourth quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium essentially covered up the coffin.
But remember, we’ve elected two presidents since Nick Saban left Auburn victorious. The home-field advantage is real when the inter-state rivals collide, and losing that winning tradition would leave a lasting stench in year one of the Bryan Harsin era.
With the vibe being so melancholy, Auburn football may have one last disappointment in store this season…for Alabama.
It’s the last face-saving play Harsin may have this season before turbulence potentially enters the picture in what should be a nation-wide whirlwind of an offseason.