AUBURN | There are very few coaches who can say they have defeated a Nick Saban-coached Alabama team more than once. Former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn is one of them, taking down the Crimson Tide three times. Dabo Swinney has beaten his alma mater twice, both in national title games.

And then there is Hugh Freeze. During his time at Ole Miss, he led the Rebels to victories against Saban in back-to-back years, including a thrilling 43-37 win in Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2015.

Now the head man at Auburn, Freeze is aware of how important it is to beat the Tide consistently.

"Well, you don't take this job if you're not built to want that," he said. "I welcome that. I want it. I want to be in that arena. I want to—I just really, really, really enjoy that type of game."

His first win against Alabama in 2014 was when Ole Miss and Freeze jumped onto the national radar. The Tide entered the game as the top-ranked team in the nation, with Blake Sims, T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper leading a powerful offense. Trailing 17-10 going into the fourth quarter, Bo Wallace threw two touchdown passes in the last six minutes, and an interception by Senquez Golson with 37 seconds left sealed the comeback victory. Hours later, Freeze led "Hotty Toddy" cheers in downtown Oxford.

But beating Alabama as the head coach at Ole Miss is different than when you are wearing the orange and blue on the Plains. It can save your job when on the hot seat, make you an Auburn legend, and, if you fail, get you fired.

And while Freeze admits to being good friends with Nick and Terry Saban, he hopes his hiring might worry them a bit.

"I hope they're a little nervous today," Freeze said.