Auburn Football: How Strong Can the Tigers Expect to Finish 'Amen Corner'?

“Amen Corner” is a reference in sports that is commonly used to refer to the 12th and 13th holes of the Augusta National Golf Club. To Auburn fans, it is more importantly used in reference to the Georgia and Alabama games that finish Auburn’s schedule every year.

Coach Pat Dye used the reference during his coaching tenure at Auburn and the phrase stuck. Auburn started the season with both games looking like a stretch to win; now the Tigers have to feel like they are more than able to come out with a victory or two.

Auburn has this week off to prepare for the road test that they will face on the 12th; the Tigers will face Georgia between the hedges. Traveling to Georgia is a tough task, but facing Alabama at home will be one of the biggest tests of the season.

Expect Auburn to play both games well, but Auburn is likely to finish the month of November with a loss. Here is a breakdown of the two rivalries and what to expect this coming season from “Amen Corner.”

“Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry”

Auburn and Georgia will meet this season for the 115th time in the two schools' history. The game has been nicknamed the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” as it is one of the oldest rivalries to be played in the South and it is the longest rivalry in the SEC.

Auburn’s first football game was played against Georgia in 1892 at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. That same game is where the legend of the “War Eagle” battle cry was rumored to have begun.

Auburn leads the series by a slight margin with the overall record being 54-52-8. Auburn had lost four in a row before last season’s reprieve came with an Auburn victory. What used to be seen as the friendlier of the major two rivalries, the Georgia game has begun to have its bad blood as well.

Auburn is facing a Georgia team that started the season roughly with losses to Boise State and then to South Carolina, but the Bulldogs have bounced back by winning every game since the Week 2 defeat at home to the Gamecocks.

This coming week as the Bulldogs prepare for New Mexico State, three of their running backs have been suspended for failing drug tests. One of the three is starter Isaiah Crowell. With those three suspended and Richard Samuel lost for the season with injury, Georgia will be preparing very short-handed this week.

That lack of continuity at the position could cause some issues for the Georgia offense as they head into the Auburn game following this week.

Auburn will enter the game with two weeks’ worth of rest after playing nine games in a row. The Tigers will be looking to get healthy and prepared to travel to Athens with the hopes of knocking off their second Eastern Division team on the road this season.

Auburn will have to play their best game of the season as they face the Bulldogs at home and in the heart of a Georgia roll. Georgia will absolutely beat the Aggies this week, putting their win streak at seven.

If Auburn wants to beat expectations and make it into a New Year’s Day bowl the Tigers must get a win against the Bulldogs in the coming week. Using this week off to rest and prepare is a much needed gap in the schedule for the Tigers.

“Iron Bowl”

The story of the “Iron Bowl” has made it into the national spotlight in the past season. The Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide in a historic come-from-behind victory on their way to the national championship.

Shortly after, a travesty occurred on the Auburn campus. The Toomer’s Corner oak trees that are rolled after big Auburn athletic victories were poisoned. Allegedly by a rogue Alabama fan named Harvey Updyke.

The poising brought the rivalry and its bitterness into the national spotlight, but the rivalry has always been known as one that would put families and marriages to the test. The recent success of both teams has caused for the attention to grow, but it also has seemed to fuel the depth of the rivalry.

The Auburn/Alabama game has been played a total of 76 times, this season will mark the 77th meeting. The Crimson Tide holds the edge in the series 40-34-1.

This year will only mark the 11th time that the game has been played at Jordan-Hare Stadium as the annual rivalry met in Birmingham every season until 1989. Since 2000, the Tigers hold the edge in the rivalry 8-3.

This season will be a big test for the Tigers as they host Alabama in Auburn. Of the two games that will make up “Amen Corner,” this looks to be the least winnable. Alabama is a veteran team that has destroyed every opponent so far this season. Even if they manage a loss this week to LSU, the Tide will still be looking to blast Auburn in front of their home crowd.

Both teams face lower division opponents before the “Iron Bowl” giving them the ability to plan and practice for the huge game to finish the season. This will be a tough test for the Tigers and the Tide, but the most likely outcome is a Tide victory.

What Can the Tigers Expect From “Amen Corner”

The Tigers will head into the month of November with one monkey off their back by being bowl eligible. They are now playing for placement and national exposure. Winning one of the two games that make up “Amen Corner” will put Auburn in the driver’s seat to finish the season.

Losing both of these games would return Auburn to the mediocre discussion, and there wouldn’t be anyone who would be lobbying to put the Tigers in a New Year’s Day bowl.

Auburn is sitting bowl eligible, but they need one of these wins to help build themselves more value for the finish to the season, and the Tigers will also look to win against their bitter rivals to close the season. One thing is guaranteed, Auburn will be fighting for victory as “Amen Corner” comes next week.