AUBURN | Hugh Freeze was one play away from earning the first signature win of his Auburn tenure and ending the Tigers stretch of losing seasons.

Then Jalen Milroe, who had an eternity to throw, completed a touchdown pass on 4th and 31 with 32 seconds left to give No. 8 Alabama a 27-24 win over the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

It still stings 370 days later.

“To sit in this seat and lose one like we did last year, it still doesn't sit right,” said Freeze. “And I know that the Auburn faithful have had to endure that, and we want to change that feeling in this building, for our fanbase and this state. That's a tall task.

“Their roster is deeper, but it was deeper last year, too, and we had a shot to win it. We've got to find a way to keep ourselves in it and give us a chance to win, and try to change that, hopefully start to make that a regular expectation.”

Auburn will have its first opportunity for redemption Saturday afternoon in the 89th iron Bowl. But they’ll have to do it in Tuscaloosa where AU’s hasn’t won since 2010, which was another great game in this fierce in-state rivalry.

It was 14 years ago that Cam Newton led Auburn back from a 24-0 deficit to a 28-27 win in the Camback. Since then, AU has lost five games in Bryant-Denny by an average of 29.8 points.

“Last year was disappointing. You saw how we lost,” said senior Jalen McLeod. “We just got to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Every Iron Bowl is going to be a close game, so we know it's going to be a close game. It's going to be down to the last second. It's going to be a game of inches and we just got to fight.”

You didn’t have to play in last year’s game to understand the heartbreak of loosing in that fashion or the importance of giving the Tigers their first win in this rivalry since 2019.

Sylvester Smith, a native of Munford, Ala., watched from the sidelines as he took his redshirt last season.

“One of the biggest reasons I came to Auburn was for this game,” said Smith. “Growing up a lifelong Auburn fan just being in a position where I’m going to be playing against these guys is just big. It’s a big deal not only for me but for everybody.”

According to Freeze, the first step in Auburn having an opportunity to upset No. 13 Alabama is believing they can do it.

“You have zero chance of winning if you don't have a belief that you can do it,” he said. “And I think somewhere along the line in these difficult losses, we've started believing more. And hope has become a real thing -- that you can go on the field and beat good football teams you've played close games with them, but you can win them.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.