Nick Saban describes how difficult it will be to play in Jordan-Hare Stadium

Alabama and Auburn appear to be heading in different directions entering Saturday’s Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Crimson Tide have won nine consecutive games and are undefeated in SEC play, while Auburn is coming off of a 31-10 loss to New Mexico State at home.

That doesn’t mean that Saturday’s game will be a cakewalk for Alabama, though. The Crimson Tide have had their share of struggles at Jordan-Hare Stadium and have lost two of their past three games at Auburn.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban was asked Monday what makes Jordan-Hare Stadium such a tough place to play.

“If we’re going to have success there, we’re going to have to execute,” Saban said. “I mean, anytime you play on the road in this league, it’s a difficult place to play. This is no different.”

The one game Alabama won in its last three matchups at Auburn was a four-overtime thriller in 2021.

Still, Saban believes ultimately it comes down to playing well and executing. If his team does that, the Crimson Tide should be just fine.

“You know, people talk about all the crazy stuff that happens in this game, but since I’ve been here, the team that should’ve won the game, won the game, based on who played the best,” Saban said.

“So I think the focus needs to be on how are we going to play and how are we going to execute and do what we do, and what kind of consistency are we going to be able to maintain in the difficult environment.”

It should give Alabama some confidence that it played well on the road in its most recent road test at Kentucky earlier this month. Still, there’s no denying that Auburn has given Alabama issues at home in recent years.

“We’ve had this challenge several times before, and this one’s going to be just as difficult as any of the rest,” Saban said.

Paul Finebaum discusses his thoughts on Auburn heading into Iron Bowl

Alabama is a 14.5-point favorite for Saturday’s matchup against Auburn, but SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum isn’t counting the Tigers out.

“I would say this Auburn team is better than the one two years ago that led all Alabama 10-0,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “That was a good Alabama team. Bryce Young was on his way to a Heisman trophy. They beat Georgia in the SEC Championship game. So that wasn’t like, you know, one of Nick Saban’s worst teams, like we thought this team was. I also don’t want to tell you, having covered the game for 40 years, that anything can happen. But Auburn’s nowhere near Alabama right now.”

That’s not to say Alabama can’t be upset. The Crimson Tide are the far better team right now, but hostile environments change ball games.

“For Alabama, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong,” Finebaum said. “They won big. They had a banner day. Their fans are already looking ahead to Georgia. They’ll hear the throw out the record books and you know, the all the great Iron Bowls, but Nick Saban at Jordan Hare Stadium has been his waterloo.”