Greg McElroy shares what makes Iron Bowl one of the best college football rivalries

College football rivalries are aplenty in the sport, but few are revered quite as much as the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn.

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy has a unique perspective on the annual rivalry, having played in the game as an Alabama quarterback. He thinks there are a few reasons the Iron Bowl is truly unique among college football rivalries.

“I’ve been a part of it, a bunch of them, and have lived with the outcomes of many,” McElroy said on the ESPN College Football channel on YouTube. “It’s the only rivalry to me where almost every single one has a story.”

Ken Stabler‘s run in the mud in 1967. Punt Bama Punt, an Auburn win in 1972. Bo Over the Top, another Auburn win in 1982. The Kick, Alabama’s 52-yard game-winning field goal in 1985. The Fumble, an 18-17 Auburn win in 1997. Honk if you sacked Brodie Croyle in 2005. The Camback, with Auburn erasing a 24-0 deficit to win courtesy of Cam Newton in 2010. The Kick Six in 2013. A four-overtime game in 2021.

There are so many vivid memories for fans in the Southeastern Conference and across college football.

“Now there are obviously some years where it isn’t competitive and the game is forgotten,” McElroy said. “But even the worst Auburn team has given some of the best ‘Bama teams great games. Even the most average ‘Bama team has given some of the best Auburn teams great games.”

College football rivalries, too, are often intensified when the stakes are high.

When the two teams meet, it usually is the end of one’s chances to win the division and represent in Atlanta in the SEC Championship Game. And because of the timing on the calendar — around Thanksgiving — it’s usually a game watched with relatives and family around.

“This rivalry, the fact that it’s in this state with not a massive population, you’re forced to pick a side,” McElroy explained. “You live in the state of Alabama, you choose Auburn or Alabama and you choose them at birth. If you choose neither, they both hate you.

“That should sum up the rivalry beautifully, and the fact that they play each other with many houses divided on Thanksgiving Day is pretty remarkable in and of itself. I think it’s one of the most intense rivalries you’ll find in the sport.”