It’s a very fair assumption to say that college football’s foundation is built on rivalries.
Texas-OU at the Cotton Bowl.
Ohio State vs. Michigan at Noon ET with the gray skies of a Midwest autumn as the backdrop.
And of course, the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn.
The last of that trio has the rare distinction of playing the occasional night game.
The thought of a Red River Game under the lights at the Cotton Bowl doesn’t feel right, or safe. Liquored up Texas and OU fans mingling outside around Texas State Fair after dark? Nope.
A Michigan-Ohio State game in prime time? Heck no! Can you imagine the precious Big Ten playing its marquee game on the calendar at night? Save that for a “classic Big Ten matchup” like Michigan State and Maryland at Ford Field on Friday night.
An Iron Bowl under lights is one of the rare beauties, or horrors (if your team lost) that makes this rivalry one of the best in all of sports.
Here’s a look back at the seven times these two battled under the lights.
1996: Alabama’s comeback caps off Gene Stallings final Iron Bowl
Gene Stallings statue is ready for some football. Alabama and Auburn fans visit the Walk of Champions outside Bryant-Denny Stadium before the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com)
Needing a win to clinch a spot in the 1996 SEC Championship Game, Alabama jumped all of the Auburn Tigers, grabbing a 17-3 lead to end the first quarter. In the game’s second stanza, Auburn matched Alabama’s 17 points with 17 of their own thanks to two big plays. A 57-yard touchdown pass from Dameyune Craig to Karsten Baily, and a 34-yard pick-six by Auburn’s Brad Ware, just before halftime.
After adding a 34-yard field goal from Jaret Holmes, who hit three on the day, the Auburn Tigers extended their lead to 23-17. After putting up 17 points in first quarter, the Crimson Tide offense went missing.
Under the dark skies of Birmingham’s Legion Field, Alabama marched 74 yards in 10 plays capped off by a Freddie Kitchens touchdown pass to Dennis Riddle from six yards out, giving Alabama the 24-23 victory following the extra point.
However, the epic comeback became more meaningful after a 61-year-old Gene Stallings officially announced his retirement.
Following the contest, Stallings announced his retirement following the end of the season.
“It was time to pass the torch,” Stallings said after the game, calling the opportunity to coach at Alabama, “a dream come true.”
Stallings and Alabama would have one more moment of glory together, defeating Michigan in the Outback Bowl, 17-14.
1997: Auburn gets its revenge, dishes heartbreak to Bama
A year after watching Alabama clinch a spot in the SEC championship game with a victory in the final seconds, the tables were turned. It was Auburn playing for a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
Entering the game at 4-6, Alabama limped into the Iron Bowl under first-year head coach Mike DuBose, the Crimson Tide had a chance to ruin Auburn’s season.
The game came down to the teams two kickers. Auburn’s Jaret Holmes, who may have been the hero in the ‘96 Iron Bowl got a chance to play hero in the ‘97 version.
After nailing three kicks a season before, Holmes needed four to put Auburn over the top vs. the Tide in 1997. Entering the fourth quarter, a four-win Alabama led 17-12. Holmes nailed a 31-yard field goal to make it a two-point game with just over nine minutes left.
With Alabama painstakingly running the football and taking time off the clock, it appeared that Auburn was headed towards a loss. However, as the clock ticked under a minute remaining in the ballgame, Auburn’s defense arrived to save the day, delivering a hit to Ed Scissum causing a fumble, giving the Tigers new life on the Jordan-Hare Stadium turf.
42 seconds remained on the clock, and Auburn still needed to get deeper into field goal range for Holmes to get a shot. 21 seconds later, Holmes got his shot, from 31 yards out. As the kick went through the uprights, the Auburn crowd erupted as Terry Bowden hugged and assistant, Auburn now led 18-17.
But Alabama still had a chance.
Following a kickoff return aided by an Auburn facemask penalty, Alabama kicker A.J. Diaz had a chance to shock the Auburn crowd in a way not seen since Van Tiffin in 1985. The only problem here was Diaz was doing it on his first-ever career field goal attempt, from 57-yards out. The Diaz kick was missed, landing in the end zone, preserving Holmes’ place in Auburn and Iron Bowl lore.
1998: Alabama dominates struggling Auburn team
Alabama coach Mike Dubose is hoisted by players Sam Matthews, left, and Garrison Wagstaff, right, following the Crimson Tide’s 31-17 win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Legion Field in 1998.
Remember how wonderful the 1997 season was for the Auburn Tigers? Well, the 1998 version of the Iron Bowl saw a Tiger program entering that game having fired head coach Terry Bowden six games into the season, and defensive coordinator Bill Oliver took over to finish the final five.
Despite Auburn being a mess, the Tigers jumped out to a shocking 17-0 lead. Then Alabama unplugged the offensive cord, blew on it, and plugged it back in to the tune of 31 unanswered points. The victory gave Alabama head coach Mike DuBose his first-ever win in the series as head coach.
A key play in Alabama’s domination of Auburn was a 43-yard touchdown pass from Tide quarterback Andrew Zow to Shaun Alexander, putting Alabama up 21-17, and cruising from there.
One notable thing that surrounded the ‘98 Iron Bowl was the future of the game in Birmingham. Mike Gottfried, an ESPN college football analyst at the time noted of the importance the Iron Bowl’s place in Birmingham.
“I’m a traditionalist,” Gottfried told The Birmingham News, “It was electric in Auburn, too. The crowd was into it the whole way. From Auburn’s perspective, that’s where it always should be.”
It turns out, 1998’s Iron Bowl was the last played in Birmingham, starting in 2000, Alabama joined Auburn in putting the game on campus.
1999: Shaun Alexander carries Alabama to history
Alabama running back Shaun Alexander points towards the Alabama faithful in the north endzone of Jordan-hare Stadium after scoring the first of three touchdowns in the fourth quarter in Auburn, Ala on Saturday, Nov. 20, 1999. (Mobile Register/G.M. Andrews) SPORTS HuntsvilleHuntsville
A theme from AL.com this week has been trying to discover if Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium is truly haunted.
If you were to ask an Alabama fan before the 1999 Iron Bowl if Auburn’s home field was haunted, you might get a resounding yes. Since 1989, Alabama had gone winless at Jordan-Hare Stadium, when Auburn finally opened the doors to its in-state rivals.
A decade of frustration was put to bed by Shaun Alexander’s three touchdowns in the 4th quarter to give Alabama a 28-17 victory over Auburn.
Alexander’s three touchdowns came off of 182 yards on 33 carries, 142 of those yards in the second half vs. Auburn. Alexander’s performance isn’t just iconic for Alabama fans, but also historic.
In the ‘99 Iron Bowl, Alexander broke the Alabama career rushing yards record held by former UA running back Bobby Humphrey.
“Most people thought I’d get that record against LSU,” Alexander said after the game. “It was a long time coming. But it certainly means a lot to it in a win over Auburn, especially at Jordan-Hare Stadium.”
Alabama used this victory as a springboard to their first SEC championship victory since 1992, and an appearance in the Orange Bowl.
2003: Auburn’s streak hits two, Cadillac rides
Auburn running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams carries the football during an SEC game against Alabama on Nov. 22, 2003, at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.(AP Photo/Dave Martin)
A year after upsetting a top 10 Alabama on the road for their second-straight Iron Bowl win in Tuscaloosa, Auburn was looking for its first Iron Bowl win at home for the first time since 1997.
To beat Alabama, they’d have to go through one of Alabama’s favorite sons to do it. Welcome back former Alabama head coach Mike Shula to the Iron Bowl. The former Alabama quarterback, and one of the folk heroes of the 1985 clash has returned to help restore glory to the Crimson Tide.
In his first Iron Bowl since the 1980s, Shula was met with the present state of the rivalry, in the form of an 80-yard touchdown on the game’s very first play.
Carnell “Cadillac” Williams sprinted down the sidelines to strike the first blow, driving the Auburn fans into a frenzy. Things got crazier when, after Alabama scores on a safety Alabama uses some big-play opportunities once again as Jason Campbell connected with Ben Obomanu for a 64-yard touchdowns pass. Add in a John Vaughn field goal, it was 18-2 Auburn lead at the end of the first quarter.
However, Alabama wasn’t out of it just yet.
In the second half, the Crimson Tide stormed back right out of the gate with a Brandon Brooks 96-yard kickoff return to open the second half. Minutes later, Shaud Williams runs in for a score, and suddenly Auburn’s lead is now 18-16.
Cadillac came to Auburn’s rescue for a second time, a one-yard run with over seven minutes left in the game. Despite Alabama scoring with 63 seconds left in the game, it was too little too late, Auburn wins 28-23.
After the game, Shula losing his Iron Bowl debut would make it known that he wasn’t too happy about coming close.
“I can say this, we’re real tired of building character,” Shula said after the game. “I’m tired of saying the word ‘close’ and the players are tired of hearing it,”.
Mike Shula would not beat Auburn while head coach of the Crimson Tide, being fired in 2006.
2007: Saban’s Iron Bowl debut, Auburn wins six-straight
Alabama coach Nick Saban wears a long face near the end of a 17-10 loss to Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007. (PHOTO BY DAVE MARTIN) SPORTS Mobile Registerph
Everybody knows how the Nick Saban run at Alabama ended, but the 2007 Iron Bowl matchup gives you a peak into how the Saban era at Alabama began.
The Crimson Tide were fresh off a 21-14 loss to Louisiana-Monroe and lost their third-straight game. Meanwhile, Auburn had been blown out by Georgia, 45-7.
It was a classic mid-2000’s SEC football game, tremendous defense and less than desirable offense. Both teams failed to get over 120 yards passing, and neither got over 300 yards of total offense. Auburn finished with 282 yards while Alabama finished with 225.
The magic number wasn’t a big one however, it was the number six. It was the sixth-straight victory for Auburn over Alabama. Auburn had not seen this type of dominance in the rivalry since the 1950s, and beating one of the best college football coaches in the game made it even sweeter.
“To do this six times in a row is an accomplishment for the players, and the coaches have a little something to do with it,” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said after the game. “This is truly a players game, and in turn a fans game (because) they get into it and get the players motivated.”
It would be the last time Tuberville beat Alabama, the following season, the Crimson Tide handed Auburn a 36-0 shutout and Tuberville would resign at the end of the season.
In a way, Auburn’s sixth-straight win felt like the dawn of one era, and watching another fade into the sunset.
2014: Alabama wins highest-scoring Iron Bowl ever
Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper (9) catches a 75-yard pass for a TD during the third quarter of the Alabama vs. Auburn Iron Bowl football game, Saturday, November 29, 2014, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt)
Total yards: 1169
Total touchdowns: 12
Total points: 99
It’s hard to follow up a game such as the “Kick Six” from 2013, but if the 2013 Iron Bowl gave football fans a dramatic ending that not even Hollywood would believe, its successor was a crazy, wild, and unhinged sequel that not even Hollywood would believe.
This is the type of game that’s usually seen on an EA Sports video game, instead it was seen under the lights of Bryant-Denny Stadium as Alabama was seeking revenge for a heartbreaking defeat a season ago. That itself right there provides enough box office hype.
And then kickoff began.
Alabama’s TJ Yeldon opened up the scoring with an eight-yard touchdown. A pair of Auburn field goals from Daniel Carlson, and an Amari Cooper touchdown gives us a 14-6 score at the end of the first quarter. Normal, right?
Then, the Iron Bowl took on the form of a Big 12 game. Auburn put up 30 points while Alabama scored 20 in the second and third quarters, highlighted by Amari Cooper’s 75-yard pass from Blake Sims to make the score 36-34 Auburn.
And Alabama wasn’t done scoring yet.
In the fourth quarter, Alabama’s offensive explosion continued with a Blake Sims 11-yard run for a touchdown, grabbing the lead from Auburn. Sims connected with Deandrew White to extend Alabama’s lead to 48-36. Then to cap off the scoring spree, Derrick Henry slams the door on Auburn with a 25-yard score. Auburn added a late touchdown to make the score 55-44, Alabama in what is one of the wildest Iron Bowls of all time.
An Iron Bowl at night provides a special wrinkle that other rivalries struggle to provide.
And if these games tell us anything, the 2025 Iron Bowl will be one to remember.
