AUBURN | It would have been easy for Robby Ashford to become an Alabama fan. Growing up in a family that mostly cheered for the Crimson Tide and having a brother-in-law that played for Auburn's rival, it would have been simple.
But that isn't Ashford.
"It was just always something about Auburn," the quarterback said. "When I was younger, it was just one; I loved to be different. I think that was probably one of the biggest things. I didn't want to be like my whole family."
So instead of sporting a Joe Namath jersey, it was the blue-and-orange Bo Jackson outfit that Ashford's grandmother got for him one Christmas, helmet and all. And while it took a detour close to 2,500 miles to Oregon and back, Ashford will enter Saturday's Iron Bowl wearing his own Auburn jersey as the starting quarterback for the Tigers.
So how will he, and more importantly, his family handle it? The signal-caller is not worried at all.
"It's been good just to see how much this game brings our family along too, just together, like it does for a whole lot of families," Ashford said. "This game means everything. So it's cool to just know I'm about to go out there and play in the Iron Bowl after years of growing up and watching it."
Ashford and Auburn's offense have a huge challenge ahead of them as they face a Tide unit that ranks 11th in the country in scoring defense, allowing a mere 17.2 points per game. And, as expected, Pete Golding's group will try and shut down Auburn's rushing attack, which has come on over the past three weeks, putting up 259.3 yards per game. The quarterback hopes his arm can become a threat on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
"I know I haven't played to my capability," Ashford says of his passing.
With it being his first season at Auburn, it will also be his first experience playing in the Iron Bowl. As he said, he grew up watching the game, but as a Tiger fan, does he have any Auburn-Alabama game that stands out? Like many Auburn fans, he pointed out one specific battle 12 years ago.
"I might say 2010 with Cam," Ashford said. "Just to go into a hostile environment like Bryant-Denny in the year they were having, just to see that, to come back and everything and then for him to go on and win the Heisman after that. But just to watch that game, the comeback was crazy because I feel like nobody, even myself, my little young self, expected that to happen."
Oh, and don't think he wasn't paying attention to what happened three years later.
"The Kick Six," Ashford said. "I mean, you can't deny that one. I mean, Kick Six is just something that that one's really like a movie too. But I think those two are definitely my favorite."
As for realizing he is about to take the field in arguably the greatest rivalry in college football, Ashford feels the emotion of what the game means.
"I just woke up today like, 'Man, it's Iron Bowl week for real,'" he said. "So I mean you just come out there and just a different level of excitement. I mean, there's something you mark in your calendar."