Switching conferences brought a shift in rivalries for Auburn head coach Alex Golesh as well. If you asked him about his greatest rivalry in CFB from 2004 to 2005, when he was a student assistant at OSU under then-head coach Jim Tressel, he would say it’s the one in which Ohio State takes on the team up North. But the former Buckeye, now the Tigers’ head coach and his greatest rival in college football, no longer has ‘The Game.’

“I don’t like to super care about what the success has been or hasn’t been. To be totally honest with you, this team hasn’t played Bama, and we’ll be prepared to go play week 12 when it’s time to go play,” said Golesh, per AL.com. “We’ve put an emphasis on what that game is. It’s the greatest rivalry in college football, and it’s important to our fan base. It’s important to our alums. It’s important to me… I haven’t played Bama as the Auburn head coach.”

After completing three seasons at USF, Golesh joined Auburn. The new head coach is scheduled to make his Iron Bowl debut on November 28 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. However, the matchup hasn’t favored the Tigers.

Alabama has historically dominated the Iron Bowl rivalry, leading the all-time series 52–37–1 against Auburn. While Nick Saban was dominant against nearly every opponent, Auburn remained his most successful rival. During his 17-season tenure, Saban won 12 games against the Tigers. But before Saban’s arrival, Alabama had lost six consecutive Iron Bowls from 2002 to 2007.

Then, in 2008, Saban ended this streak with a 36–0 shutout victory. The legendary Alabama head coach finished his career with four consecutive wins against the Tigers. Alabama is currently on a six-game winning streak in the series, its longest since the 1970s. Last season, Alabama won 27–20 at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Golesh was hired one day after that loss.

Auburn last defeated Alabama in 2019 with a 48–45 victory under coach Gus Malzahn. Alex Golesh’s career record against Alabama is 0–2 as a head coach at USF. He faced Alabama in 2023 and 2024 and lost, but when he was an OC at Tennessee in 2022, the Volunteers defeated the Crimson Tide 52–49. Then in 2026, he’ll face them again, but this time he’ll be better prepared.

During the 2026 spring practices, he implemented a dedicated “Iron Bowl” period, a high-intensity session where Alabama’s stadium anthem, “Dixieland Delight,” is blared over speakers to prepare players for the rivalry’s hostile atmosphere. However, this rivalry is known for unexpected endings.

More about the Auburn-Alabama rivalry

In the 2013 Iron Bowl, Auburn’s Chris Davis returned a missed Alabama field goal 109 yards for a TD as time expired to upset the Tide. Meanwhile, in 2023, the Tide secured a dramatic 27–24 win on a last-minute TD pass often called the “Grave Digger.” Then, in 2010, led by Heisman winner Cam Newton, Auburn overcame a 24–0 deficit to win 28–27 in Tuscaloosa, eventually winning the National Championship.

In 1982, freshman Bo Jackson leaped over the D-line for a late TD, ending Alabama’s nine-game winning streak in legendary coach Bear Bryant’s final Iron Bowl. Now, how the Tigers’ 2026 Iron Bowl rivalry unfolds remains to be seen, but the winner will receive the Foy-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy, which is traditionally presented during halftime of the teams’ first basketball meeting of the season.

The “Iron Bowl” moniker was coined by Auburn coach Shug Jordan in 1964 because the game was historically played at a neutral site in Birmingham, a city famous for its iron and steel industry.