60 minutes left Auburn football to continue their season. With a victory, the Tigers become bowl eligible. Despite losing too many times late in games, the 2024 Tigers would qualify for a bowl with a win against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

While the team looked dead in the water after blowing a 21-0 lead, they managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat with a superb quadruple overtime thriller of a victory against Texas A&M SATURDAY.

After losing four straight games that seemed to sink in this season, the team has won three of its last four games. Now they stand head to head with Alabama with more than just real pride on the line and a chance to keep playing.

The right time

Auburn heads into the Iron Bowl on a hot streak, while its opponent limps in. Alabama, seeing its playoff hopes fade, will struggle to muster the passion needed to play in a game. Even one as big as the Iron Bowl. Some feel like this game is just one game in a disappointing season.

No SEC championship, no playoff game. Additionally, a quarterback who struggled against Oklahoma. The Tide looks tired and unmotivated. Yet, without hyperbole, with everything that has gone wrong for the Crimson Tide, this greatly benefits Auburn.

Truth be told, the Tigers need to win this game a lot more than the Tuscaloosa team does. An Auburn victory would, in a sense, salvage a lost season. An Alabama victory would be a consolation prize after a series of missed goals.

Temporary absolution

For Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, a win would serve several purposes outside of obvious bowl eligibility. Freeze did not shine during his two seasons on The Plains.

Whether it was throwing his team under a fleet of buses or devoting himself to a questionable quarterback, people mostly wanted Freeze to leave Auburn, or at the very least, stop seeing the same mistakes match after match.

However, the late-season surge has quieted the complaints, at least for now. Combined with an exceptional recruiting classFreeze bought himself some time and grace. Now, with an Iron Bowl victory, he could really endear himself to fans.

If sunshine is the best antiseptic, an Iron Bowl will win favor with a fan base and an administration that desperately wants to see a return to greatness.

More importantly, a win on Saturday could put Freeze back on the path to respectability. You still hear jokes about his career and his problems at Oxford. As long as they still exist, success, whether good or bad, obscures memories.

Preview

The 2024 Iron Bowl alone represents a potential turning point in Auburn football’s rebuild. Besides being the rivalry game in the South, this year’s version resonates more deeply for Auburn. After the Harsin era of futility and defeat, hope existed for Hugh Freeze.

After a disappointing year so far, the team can exorcise the demons of recent failures. Fans, alumni and pundits want to believe that hitting a proverbial milestone will lead to further success. Enduring heartbreaking losses toughens players and coaches as a whole.

On the other hand, winning brings confidence. Heading into this game, an optimistic Auburn team could emerge victorious from last year’s biggest game.

The next 60 minutes will decide how people remember the 2024 Auburn football team.