Iron Bowl Records: The Complete History Behind College Football’s Fiercest Rivalry

Few rivalries in American sports carry the weight of Alabama versus Auburn. Every fall, the Iron Bowl records get another entry, and every entry matters to a state that splits its loyalty down the middle. There’s no fence-sitting in Alabama football—you’re either Crimson Tide or Auburn Tiger, and the Iron Bowl is where that divide…

Few rivalries in American sports carry the weight of Alabama versus Auburn. Every fall, the Iron Bowl records get another entry, and every entry matters to a state that splits its loyalty down the middle. There’s no fence-sitting in Alabama football—you’re either Crimson Tide or Auburn Tiger, and the Iron Bowl is where that divide plays out on the field.

The rivalry dates back to 1893 and has been contested annually since 1948, producing 90 total meetings and one of the deepest record books in college football. Understanding the Iron Bowl records—the series history, the streaks, the single-game milestones—is the best way to appreciate why this game still stops the state of Alabama cold every November.

This guide breaks down everything worth knowing: the all-time series record, the biggest blowouts, the tightest finishes, the individual performances that became legend, and where the rivalry stands heading into the 2026 meeting.

Quick Facts Table

The Origins of the Iron Bowl

The rivalry’s name traces back to Birmingham, Alabama, which was once a major industrial hub known for pig iron, coke, and steel production, similar in stature to Pittsburgh during that era.

For decades, the Alabama-Auburn game was played at Birmingham’s Legion Field, a neutral site that split tickets evenly between both fan bases.

The “Iron Bowl” name itself is credited to former Auburn coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan, who used the phrase in 1964 when discussing the rivalry with reporters. The name stuck, and it has represented the series ever since.

Notably, the series wasn’t always continuous. The two programs didn’t play each other for more than 40 years, from 1907 until 1948, amid a mix of political and financial disputes between the schools. Since resuming in 1948, the game has been played every year without interruption.

From Legion Field to Home-and-Home

For most of the 20th century, the Iron Bowl was a Birmingham institution. Alabama served as the designated home team in even years and Auburn in odd years, with all games played at Legion Field.

That changed in 1989, when Auburn broke tradition and hosted the game at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time. After one more Birmingham appearance in 1991, Auburn moved its home games permanently to Jordan-Hare beginning in 1993.

Alabama continued playing its home games in Birmingham through 1998 before shifting permanently to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa starting in 2000, establishing the true home-and-home format fans know today.

Iron Bowl All-Time Series Records

The Overall Series

Alabama holds a commanding lead in the all-time series, standing at 52 wins, 37 losses, and 1 tie through the 2025 matchup. That works out to roughly a 58% win rate for the Crimson Tide across 90 meetings.

Both programs rank among the most decorated in major college football history. Alabama sits third all-time in total wins among FBS programs, while Auburn ranks 13th. Together, the two schools have combined for 38 SEC championships — 30 for Alabama and 8 for Auburn.

Win Streaks

The longest winning streak in Iron Bowl history belongs to Alabama, which won nine consecutive meetings from 1973 to 1981 under legendary head coach Bear Bryant.

Auburn’s answer came a generation later: a six-game streak from 2002 to 2007 under head coach Tommy Tuberville, a run Auburn fans still refer to fondly given the level of Alabama’s program at the time.

More recently, Alabama has won six straight Iron Bowls since Auburn’s last victory in 2019, extending into the 2025 season. That current streak is Alabama’s largest since the Bryant era, though it hasn’t approached the historic nine-game run of the 1970s.

Home-Field Trends

Alabama has been particularly dominant at home in the modern rivalry. Auburn has not won a game at Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2010, when quarterback Cam Newton led a 28-27 comeback victory that is still remembered as one of the signature wins of Auburn’s national championship season. That drought will reach 16 years by the time the two teams meet again in Tuscaloosa for the 2026 Iron Bowl.

Even with Alabama’s overall series edge, hosting the Iron Bowl hasn’t been an automatic advantage across the full sample of games played at each school’s true home stadium.

Both programs have had stretches where the road team found a way to win, which is part of why the “home dominance” narrative applies more to specific eras — like Alabama’s current run at Bryant-Denny — than to the series as a whole.

It’s a good reminder that Iron Bowl history rewards looking at recent trends and full-series numbers separately, since the two can tell very different stories depending on the timeframe.

Ranked vs. Unranked Matchups

The Iron Bowl has produced its share of ranked-versus-unranked drama over the decades, and those games have generally broken in favor of the ranked team.

The rare exceptions become especially memorable when an unranked squad knocks off a ranked rival, treating that result as a landmark upset in the series—one that fans in the state still bring up years later, regardless of how either team’s season ultimately finished.

Historic Blowouts and Nail-Biters

Biggest Margins of Victory

Alabama’s most lopsided win in series history came in 1948, a 55-0 shutout. On the other side, Auburn’s largest margin dates back to 1900, when the Tigers won 53-5.

Highest-Scoring Game

The most points ever scored in a single Iron Bowl came in 2014, when Alabama defeated Auburn 55-44 — a combined 99 points in one of the most offensively explosive editions of the rivalry.

Classic Finishes

Some Iron Bowl games are remembered less for the final score and more for how they ended. In 1985, Alabama kicker Van Tiffin hit a 52-yard field goal as time expired to beat a No. 7-ranked Auburn team 25-23 at Legion Field—long considered one of the best finishes in series history.

Nearly three decades later, the 2013 Iron Bowl produced arguably the most famous single play in college football history. With the game tied and time expiring, Auburn’s Chris Davis returned a missed 57-yard Alabama field goal attempt 109 yards for a touchdown, delivering an Auburn victory in a moment now known simply as “the Kick Six.”

That same 2013 game also featured Amari Cooper’s 99-yard touchdown reception from quarterback AJ McCarron — the longest possible passing play in football, since the field itself is only 100 yards.

Individual Iron Bowl Records

Rushing

Alabama running back Derrick Henry set the modern standard in the 2015 Iron Bowl, rushing for 271 yards on 46 carries in a win over Auburn.

That total stands as the most yards from scrimmage by a single player in Iron Bowl history, surpassing a rushing mark that had stood since Bo Jackson’s era at Auburn decades earlier.

Passing and Receiving

Amari Cooper caught a 99-yard touchdown pass from AJ McCarron in the 2013 Iron Bowl, setting an Iron Bowl record that, by definition, can never be broken—no receiving touchdown can exceed the length of the field.

Coaching Records

Nick Saban, who led Alabama for 17 seasons, finished his Iron Bowl coaching tenure with a 12-5 record against Auburn — a dominant mark, even though it never included a streak matching Bear Bryant’s nine straight wins from the 1970s.

Saban’s teams participated in some of the most talked-about Iron Bowls of the last two decades, including the 2013 loss on the Kick Six, which stands as the signature blemish on an otherwise commanding record against the Tigers.

Every Alabama coach in this rivalry measures themselves against Bear Bryant, the standard of excellence. His nine-game winning streak defines his legacy, and his tenure marks the longest sustained stretch of Iron Bowl dominance by either program. Current and future Alabama coaches inevitably compare their multi-year runs against Auburn to Bryant’s remarkable achievements.

Stadium and Attendance Notes

Bryant-Denny Stadium, where Alabama hosts the Iron Bowl in even-numbered years under the current rotation, has a listed capacity of 100,077 and regularly ranks among the highest-attended venues in American football on a per-game basis.

Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, meanwhile, has built its own reputation as one of the loudest environments in the sport, particularly for night games. Both venues have hosted era-defining Iron Bowl moments since the shift away from the old neutral-site format at Legion Field.

The Most Recent Iron Bowl: 2025 Recap

The most recently completed Iron Bowl was played on Nov. 29, 2025, at Jordan-Hare Stadium, where Alabama came away with a 27-20 win. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Auburn rallied to tie the game at 20 in the second half.

Facing fourth-and-2 from the Auburn 6-yard line with under four minutes remaining, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer elected to go for the touchdown rather than attempt a field goal.

Quarterback Ty Simpson connected with Isaiah Horton for the go-ahead score, sealing the win and pushing Alabama to a 10-2 regular-season record.

The victory helped clinch Alabama’s spot in the 2025 SEC Championship Game, where the Crimson Tide fell to Georgia, 28-7. Alabama went on to close the season with an 11-4 overall record, including a College Football Playoff first-round win over Oklahoma and a Rose Bowl loss to Indiana.

Looking Ahead: The 2026 Iron Bowl

The 91st meeting between Alabama and Auburn is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 28, 2026, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, with Alabama serving as the host team. As of this writing, the television window is listed as Flex, with the network to be officially assigned closer to game day.

The 2026 season also marks a notable shift for Auburn, which hired Alex Golesh as its 33rd head coach in November 2025. Golesh arrives after three seasons at South Florida, where he went 23-15, including a 9-3 mark in his final year with the Bulls.

He enters the 2026 season as a first-time Power Four head coach, taking on a rivalry game that historically defines seasons in the state of Alabama. Kalen DeBoer, meanwhile, enters his third season leading Alabama.

As always with any season preview, roster and depth-chart specifics remain fluid this far in advance. According to the latest available scheduling information, the game will close the regular season for both programs, continuing the tradition of the Iron Bowl serving as the final and most consequential game on the calendar for both fan bases.

Expert Analysis: Why the Series Looks the Way It Does

Alabama’s advantage in the all-time series and its current six-game winning streak reflect two distinct eras of sustained excellence — first under Bear Bryant in the 1970s and 1980s, then under Nick Saban from 2007 to 2023. Both coaches built programs capable of dominating the SEC for extended stretches, and the Iron Bowl numbers show it.

Auburn’s periods of success, by contrast, have tended to arrive in shorter, sharper bursts—the Tuberville-era streak from 2002 to 2007; the 2010 national championship run under Gene Chizik; and the 2013 “Kick Six” season under Chizik that nearly produced a second consecutive national title appearance.

Auburn often shapes its identity in this rivalry by producing signature, program-defining moments instead of maintaining extended stretches of dominance.

Heading into 2026, the coaching dynamic adds a new layer. Golesh’s offensive track record at South Florida suggests Auburn may lean into a faster-paced, pass-heavy approach, a departure from some of the program’s more run-oriented eras.

Whether that translates into results against an Alabama program still built around DeBoer’s system will be one of the defining storylines of the rivalry’s next chapter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the longest winning streak in Iron Bowl history?

Alabama’s nine consecutive wins from 1973 to 1981, under head coach Bear Bryant, is the longest streak either program has produced in the rivalry.

What is the “Kick Six”?

It refers to the finish of the 2013 Iron Bowl, when Auburn’s Chris Davis returned a missed Alabama field goal 109 yards for a touchdown on the final play, giving Auburn the win. It’s widely regarded as one of the most dramatic plays in college football history.

Who holds the Iron Bowl single-game rushing record?

Alabama’s Derrick Henry rushed for 271 yards on 46 carries in the 2015 Iron Bowl, the most yards from scrimmage by any player in the rivalry’s history.

When and where is the 2026 Iron Bowl?

The 2026 Iron Bowl is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 28, 2026, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, marking the 91st meeting between the two programs.

Who are the current head coaches in the rivalry?

Kalen DeBoer leads Alabama, entering his third season in 2026. Alex Golesh leads Auburn, entering his first season with the program after being hired in November 2025.

Why is it called the Iron Bowl?

The name references Birmingham’s historic status as a major iron and steel-producing city, where the rivalry was played for decades. Former Auburn coach Shug Jordan is credited with popularizing the term in 1964.

Conclusion

Nearly 130 years after the first meeting, the Iron Bowl records tell the story of two proud programs that have spent generations defining Alabama football.

Alabama maintains an edge in the all-time series and showcases a recent streak that reflects eras of sustained dominance, while Auburn’s record book features moments — the Kick Six, the 2010 Newton comeback, the Tuberville-era streak — that have become part of college football lore regardless of the final series tally.

As the rivalry heads into its 91st meeting in 2026, with a new head coach on the Auburn sideline for the first time in years, the record book remains the one thing both fan bases can agree on: it’s the best rivalry in the sport, and every November, it adds another chapter.

Note: Figures reflect the most recently completed Iron Bowl (2025) and publicly available scheduling information for 2026 as of this writing. Coaching records, rosters, and season outlooks for 2026 will continue to develop as the season approaches.