Spare me the hand-wringing.
If a little pushing and shoving in Birmingham got under somebody’s skin Thursday night, that sounds like a them problem.
Alabama and Auburn turned an exhibition into something far hotter than a dress rehearsal, and they did it in front of a loud, split crowd at the BJCC that sounded like it cared plenty. The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers 87-85 in a game that counted for nothing in the standings, but that did not keep it from feeling like a real event from the opening tip to the final whistle.
The game, branded “The Feud,” arrived dressed up as a revenue event and ended up looking like a rivalry with a pulse. It also came with the kind of edge you usually only get when the season is actually on the line. There were no records at stake, and both teams were missing pieces, but none of that blunted the temperature inside a 17,000-seat arena that was packed with what looked like an even split of Alabama and Auburn fans.
Auburn coach Steven Pearl did not oversell it after the game.
“That felt like a Sweet 16 game in October,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said.
That was the feel in the building, too. Every loose ball mattered.
Every whistle got a reaction. Every made shot had a little extra force behind it.
The intensity carried into the kind of scuffles that made this whole thing impossible to mistake for a casual exhibition. The teams mixed it up after last year’s game in Tuscaloosa, and they did it again twice Thursday night in Birmingham. For all the skepticism around an exhibition that was built to generate money, the night made one thing clear: these two programs were not treating this like a meaningless preseason run.
A YouTube broadcast of the game drew 83,000-plus viewers even without much publicity, another sign the idea had real pull beyond the arena. And the setting fit the moment. The matchup was played in Birmingham, the largest metro area in the state, and the crowd responded like it had been waiting for a chance to watch this rivalry in a different kind of setting.
There was also the business side of it all, which was right there in the open. Auburn signed the contract with the game’s organizer on Aug. 25, according to documents AL.com obtained through an open records request.
Revenue for both programs is still to be determined, but the crowd and the corporate sponsorships suggest it should top what Birmingham exhibitions have brought in before. Alabama was paid $25,000 to play in the first Ballin in Boutwell game back in 2024, when these showcases still needed a charity component.
The NCAA has since loosened the rules around preseason exhibitions, and this one showed exactly why these games have become attractive. It brought in money.
It gave both programs a stage. And it put one of the state’s fiercest rivalries in front of a huge audience during a time of year when football has the state in a different kind of grip.
The real payoff, though, comes later.
Alabama and Auburn will meet twice in the regular season, with the first game set for Jan. 30 in Tuscaloosa and the rematch on March 6 in Auburn. Those games already have the sort of juice that comes with this matchup, and the recent history backs that up.
The schools played a No. 1 vs. No. 1 game in February 2025 that came with all the hype but ended up being a competitive dud.
There have also been buzzer-beaters and overtime games in atmospheres more often associated with Tobacco Road than with Football Country.
Those were big nights in the ordinary sense. Thursday was different.
This one took the rivalry, lit a match, and dropped it into October.
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The first look at Alabamas preseason rotation came in a familiar setting, with the Tide meeting Auburn in an exhibition game in Birmingham as part of the build-up to the regular season. Even without the result carrying any record-book weight, the game offered an early peek at how Nate Oats may sort through his roster, and the opening stretches were heavy on the kind of minute-by-minute clues fans tend to track this time of year.
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Alabama Showed Something Tide Fans Will Love In Auburn Clash
Alabama got a useful early test in Birmingham and passed it with a narrow 87-85 win over Auburn in an exhibition game at Legacy Arena. The Tide showed a balanced scoring punch, with four players reaching double figures and Amari Allen leading the way with 23 points, a sign of depth that should catch the attention of Alabama fans as the season approaches.
Auburn made it plenty uncomfortable, with Kevin Overton pouring in 26 points and the game turning chippy at times as the physicality ramped up. Tahaad Pettiford and Bukky Oboye both fouled out in the scuffle-filled matchup, leaving plenty to sort through for both sides, but Alabamas ability to answer in a game like this is exactly the kind of takeaway Tide supporters will like. [Read more 🡒]