No. 16 Auburn’s 52-0 thumping of Samford would lead fans to believe that the celebration will last a few days as the team prepares for next week’s Iron Bowl. But for some players, the celebration may have ended as soon as they went into the locker room.
Auburn running back Kam Martin, a senior who has taken part in the Iron Bowl for the last three seasons, already has heard teammates talking about the 83rd edition of the rivalry.
“Guys are already talking about it. That’s what is on everyone’s mind," Martin said. “We got to do it for the guys that are from Alabama. We got to do it for those guys because they did it for us in Texas when we played Texas A&M."
The game against Samford proved valuable for the Tigers as they put up 544 yards of total offense and the defense shut out Samford. The shutout was the first for Auburn’s defense since 2018 against Liberty, and the first game Samford had not put points on the board in almost 20 seasons.
The game was a big boost of confidence for Auburn after struggling in the first three quarters the week prior against Georgia. A boost of confidence which quarterback Bo Nix believes that, as a team, Auburn needs not only for the Iron Bowl but for next season.
“I’d say we’re really confident,” Nix said. “Obviously, we’re still kind of frustrated after the season that we’ve had, but to finish strong would be great heading into next year.”
Now Nix, who went to so many Iron Bowls growing up, will get his first opportunity to play in one next week. The freshman quarterback knows the stakes will be high, but is looking forward to another first in his young collegiate career.
“Super excited,” Nix said. “Obviously growing up you watch all these games, the Kick Six and things like that and you just want to be in a game like that. There’s a lot riding on this game, two great teams and it’ll be fun.”
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