Paul Finebaum discusses his thoughts on Auburn heading into Iron Bowl

Auburn doesn’t match up well with Alabama this weekend, but ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said to never rule anything out in the Iron Bowl.

Nick Saban won’t overlook the Tigers before Alabama plays Georgia for the SEC Championship in December. Auburn meanwhile, just got waxed by New Mexico State and this game means everything.

Having already clinched bowl eligibility, Hugh Freeze and Auburn just want to cause chaos and beat their arch rival.

“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.”

Freeze was honest about the Iron Bowl motivation after a loss to New Mexico State. He was asked if anything good could be taken from the game.

“No, other than maybe it inspires us to play harder,” Freeze said.

It’s all about testing the team. And for Auburn, Freeze said this will be a good measuring stick ahead of the Iron Bowl.

“It’ll test us. That’s the great thing about this sport,” Freeze said. “Early on in our journey here, this is something I hope sits in the craw of our stomach and makes us sick, and gives us a reminder in the future that you have to earn your right to win a football game every single time you’re out.”

Alabama’s won the last three Iron Bowl meetings, including two blowouts. Auburn took the Crimson Tide to four overtimes in 2021.

Auburn’s last win in the Iron Bowl came in 2019, a 48-45 win at Jordan Hare. This year’s edition kicks off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.