AUBURN | It was the seniors that helped keep this team together after losses to Florida, LSU and Georgia.

It was those same seniors that inspired Auburn to its biggest win in two years, knocking off No. 5 Alabama 48-45 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“Awesome. Awesome, man. Awesome, man,” said junior linebacker K.J. Britt. “It’s way bigger than me. It’s way bigger than everybody else. It’s all about the seniors, man. And they’ve got one to remember.”

All 25 of Auburn’s seniors and their families were honored in a pregame ceremony before the 84th Iron Bowl. Fourteen of those seniors either started against the Tide or played a key part in the win including safety Jeremiah Dinson, who had 10 tackles.

“It means a lot to me, man. Just, we wanted to send the seniors off, myself off the right way,” Dinson said. “I’ve been waiting on this game forever, to be honest with you. The Iron Bowl, man, people got bragging rights for 365 days. That’s all I heard when they beat us last year—Alabama, Alabama.

“But, man, I’m just so happy. I’m blessed at how far God has brought me to this point, and just to go out like this on my Senior day, it means a lot to me.”

Senior safety Daniel Thomas added eight tackles and a tackle-for-loss while senior cornerback Javaris Davis has three solo tackles. Senior defensive linemen Derrick Brown had another dominating performance with seven tackles and 3.5 tackles-for-loss. Marlon Davidson added two more tackles and a quarterback hurry.

Offensively, senior offensive linemen Prince Tega Wanogho, Marquel Harrell, Mike Horton and Jack Driscoll helped the Tigers run for 181 yards, the most against Alabama since 2013. Senior wideout Will Hastings made a leaping catch to set up fellow senior Sal Cannella’s spectacular touchdown grab, his first of the season, in the second quarter.

“I mean, we won it for Auburn,” Brown said. “It's not just about us. This rivalry is for everybody in this state that wears the AU on their hat or across their chest.”

Seventh-year coach Gus Malzahn paid tribute to his seniors and the leadership they provided after the game.

“They're some great football players, but they're even better people,” Malzahn said. “In this day and time in college football, the highs are high and the lows are low. I mean, it's easy to turn and point fingers. That's what the whole world really wants you to do, but our leadership hung in there and they didn't flinch.”

Auburn moved up to No. 11 in the CFP Rankings Tuesday night. The Tigers will receive their bowl bid Sunday.