The battles between the squads of Auburn’s Bruce Pearl and Alabama’s Nate Oats have provided quality entertainment since 2019 and brought the rivalry to levels last seen during the Sonny Smith-Wimp Sanderson era in the 1980s. However, no game in this historic series has been greater than the one that will be played Saturday at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa between the No. 1 Crimson Tide and the No. 2 Tigers.

Saturday’s game will mark the first time in history that a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game has happened between SEC programs, which indicates how well each team has developed in recent years.

“I don’t think many people would have picked Auburn and Alabama to be that team,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said this week of the matchup. “And yet, you know, since 2017 and 2018, Alabama and Auburn have won eight championships. I guess, over the last eight years, it’s kind of run through the state of Alabama.”