Iron Bowl injury update: Wednesday availability report reveals latest ahead of Alabama-Auburn rivalry

The 90th edition of the Iron Bowl kicks off at 7:30 pm ET Saturday from inside Jordan-Hare Stadium as No. 10 Alabama (9-2, 6-1 SEC) squares off against Auburn (5-6, 1-6 SEC) in a game with wide-ranging implications. That’s especially true for the Crimson Tide, who are 6-point road favorites according to BetMGM in Saturday night’s primetime showcase on ABC.

Following its 23-21 loss to Oklahoma two weeks ago, this season’s Iron Bowl is effectively a play-in game for Alabama, which can secure a berth in next weekend’s SEC Championship Game in Atlanta with a win Saturday. A convincing victory could also serve to reinforce the 10th-ranked Tide’s College Football Playoff resume after missing out last season. Meanwhile, Auburn is still trying to secure bowl eligibility for the first time since 2023 in its first season under Hugh Freeze, who was fired Nov. 2 following a disappointing 10-3 loss to visiting Kentucky.

The Crimson Tide has dominated the contentious rivalry series recently, winning five straight and 13 of the last 17 games since 2008, the second season under former head coach Nick Saban. Prior to that, though, the Tigers had won six straight between 2002-07. Of course, playing inside Jordan-Hare Stadium is always a challenge for Alabama, which has won the last two on the road by a combined five points.

Alabama Crimson Tide

OUT:
DB Kameron Howard
LB Jah-Marien Latham
DB Dre Kirkpatrick Jr.
RB Kevin Riley
LB Abduall Sanders Jr.
TE Josh Cuevas
TE Danny Lewis Jr.
DL Jeremiah Beaman

Probable:
WR Germie Bernard
LB QB Reese
OL Parker Brailsford

Auburn Tigers

OUT:
CB Champ Anthony
WR Horatio Fields
LB Demarcus Riddick
WR Sam Turner
OL Connor Lew

OUT (First Half):
S Sylvester Smith

Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway reveal how nervous Alabama should be for Iron Bowl vs. Auburn

The Iron Bowl’s longstanding history of surprising results, as well as the lopsided implications for Alabama, have ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit believing this year’s game could be “scary” for the Crimson Tide.

“Kind of like Ohio State-Michigan, whoever has everything to lose and the other team has nothing to lose, in this game – Auburn-Alabama and Ohio State-Michigan – I’ve seen way too many examples of upsets happening,” Herbstreit said on Monday’s episode of the Nonstop podcast with co-host and fellow ESPN analyst Joey Galloway. “But on paper, anytime (we’re talking about) a rivalry game and (we think) this’ll be a blowout, oh, does that make you nervous.”

Galloway agreed, and even pointed to Alabama’s inconsistency and propensity to lay an egg in games they should win handedly — specificially citing last season’s 24-3 loss in Norman to a .500 Sooners squad — with why the Tide could be on upset alert in Saturday’s Iron Bowl.

“I’ve seen Alabama, even this season, they go and play Oklahoma at home and they just don’t have their fastball,” Galloway added. “So, I’ve seen Alabama these past few years just not have their fastball sometimes. I would love to say Auburn has no shot, (but) I don’t think that’s the case.”