Playoff or not Coach DeBoer better not lose to Auburn on Saturday

With the disappointment of probably not being a part of the 2024 playoff field, the Iron Bowl still remains and Coach DeBoer better not lose to Auburn on Saturday. Life has been tough on the road for the Crimson Tide this year but the best rivalry in college football is in Tuscaloosa this year.

This is a home game that Alabama hasn't lost since 2010. Ironically enough this was the last season Alabama had a three-loss regular season. That however was a Cam Newton led team and not a Payton Thorne led one which still isn't a good team.

Auburn enters this game with a lot of confidence after beating Texas A&M last week, and with a win would become bowl-eligible. The players have been talking a lot of trash and come in overly confident especially since the Tide looked so pedestrian in Norman last Saturday.

If Coach DeBoer and his staff thought it was rough this past week, they haven't seen anything yet. We know not beating Auburn will get you fired quicker than anything else and hopefully they understand the magnitude of the game in the state of Alabama. A loss to one rival in Tennessee was bad enough, but losing to both rivals hasn't happened since 2006.

To be fair the players have to be ready to go as well. Nobody seemed ready for the trip to Norman when the SEC was on the line, but now it is about pride. I am not always sure if this generation takes the rivalry as seriously but it still means so much to so many so everyone needs to come out Saturday with their hair on fire. The same energy we saw against LSU has to be there on Saturday. There are few things worse than going another 364 days before you can get revenge on Auburn. Hopefully, this is the mindset going into this game, because I am confident when the Tide is on they are one of the best in the country.