Auburn fans have longed to see the team plant the flag at the Iron Bowl clash since their last victory in 2019. Three head coaches have changed hands since then, but none have been able to outsmart Alabama. Alex Golesh, the new man in charge, and a lot younger than his predecessors, is working hard to flip this script. He’s getting into Dixieland groove right from spring camp!

Footage from spring camp at Auburn shows that Golesh and Co. have an entire practice segment marked for the Iron Bowl. The video showed the Tigers practicing while ‘Dixieland Delight’ rang out on the speakers, the anthem of Alabama football. It is the same anthem usually followed by a not-so-family-friendly chorus aimed straight at Auburn during the Iron Bowl. Golesh’s move definitely put the Tigers in the setting to face Alabama later on.

“As a competitor in any way, you strive for the competition to be elite,” Golesh said. “This is the greatest conference in the entire country… The hair on my arm just stood up thinking about the Iron Bowl.”

So now, Alex Golesh is manufacturing discomfort, forcing his players to live inside the chaos they’ll face in Tuscaloosa on November 28. It’s going to be a brutal environment, as the underdog Auburn will be playing in front of a sea of red, with Dixieland probably ringing louder than it did at practice. This session at Auburn allowed the players to get a taste of what that eventful day could look like.

“It’s a little bit different,” OL Jack Leyrer said. “You have the music going in the background… there’s supposed to be a different vibe.”

“I think everybody in the state knows how much the game means to the people around the city,” Auburn safety Eric Winters, an Alabama native, chimed in. “So, just having that one period where things feel a little bit different, because that game does feel different.”

In each of the past six showdowns, Auburn came close to winning every home game. It has taken absolute miracles from the Tide to win those battles, which went down to the fourth quarter. In the 2025 Iron Bowl, both teams were tied at 20 in the 4th quarter. But Ty Simpson connected with Isaiah Horton for the third time that night to take the game away. Auburn tried to fight back, but ended up fumbling in the next drive. 2026 is the 7th straight year Auburn fans will be hoping for redemption.

That’s why Auburn is familiarizing itself early with what’s waiting for them. This is important because fans are slowly feeling like the Iron Bowl has become a lopsided rivalry where the Tigers have lost momentum. 

Alex Golesh is trying to break a cycle

Of all people, it’s the players who feel the urgency. As OL Tai Buster put it, people feel like the Iron Bowl has “lost its juice.”

“Coach Golesh is trying to bring that back, so he makes the Iron Bowl (period) full intensity, just going all hard as you can, giving it your all, because that’s what the Iron Bowl should be like,” he added. 

Alex Golesh is building everything with that game in mind, including the roster overhaul. Auburn brought in 39 transfers and added 21 freshmen this offseason. The headliner is QB Byrum Brown, who followed the head coach from USF and arrives as one of the most intriguing portal additions in the country. Now, with talent and a sharp mindset, 2026 could rewrite Iron Bowl history. 

“What you’re going to get from me, from our staff and as we get rolling our players, is the hardest-working, toughest, grittiest program in the entire country,” Golesh said. “We’re going to work day in and day out. We’re going to find wins at every single margin we can find.”

Golesh was also hired by Auburn within a day of the 2025 Iron Bowl loss. The program was done giving chances to Hugh Freeze, and needed someone dynamic. While at South Florida last year, Golesh defeated in-state giant Florida in its conference schedule. Auburn was getting someone who could pull off the impossible.

The Tigers need preparation for what it feels like when it goes wrong, and belief that it won’t this time. So yeah, blasting Alabama’s fight song at a Tigers’ practice might look strange from the outside and even feel uncomfortable. But that’s exactly why Alex Golesh is doing it.