Tim Keenan III Thinks Going Undefeated in Career Iron Bowls will be 'New Trend'

The Crimson Tide nose tackle has played in the last three games between Alabama and Auburn.

Nov 30, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne (1) throws under pressure from Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Tim Keenan III (96) during the second half at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama won 28-14. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

Alabama football defeated Auburn by a 27-20 score on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, marking the sixth consecutive Iron Bowl win for the Crimson Tide and third straight road victory in the rivalry series. What that also means is that no one currently on No. 10 Alabama's roster has ever experienced a loss to the Tigers (including sixth-year Wolf linebacker Jah-Marien Latham).

Nose guard Tim Keenan III is 5-0 in career Iron Bowls, having played in three of them, two of which came in Auburn. Alabama's longest winning streak during the rivalry prior to the current one was three games (2014-16). The Crimson Tide and Tigers traded wins from 2017 until 2020, the first year of Alabama's ongoing run of success in the win-loss column opposite Auburn.

Saturday's triumph earned Alabama (10-2, 7-1 SEC) a spot in the SEC title game, which kicks off at 3 p.m. CT on Dec. 6 (ABC). Absent those stakes, the rivalry is still important, and Keenan thinks that future Crimson Tide players will be able to experience what he did and play their collegiate careers without tasting defeat at the hands of their in-state rivals.

"It's always a great time going against lil' bro," Keenan, one of Alabama's defensive captains, said on Monday during the SEC Championship Game players' teleconference. "Having some fun. Going 5-0 with my time here, so I feel like that's gonna be the new trend, to go undefeated against lil' bro."

Keenan redshirted in 2021, the season Bryce Young led a 97-yard touchdown drive to tie the game in regulation before the Crimson Tide won 24-22 in four overtimes. That year, Alabama defeated Georgia to win the SEC crown before losing in a rematch to the Bulldogs for the national title. Keenan's Iron Bowl debut was 2023, when Jalen Milroe connected with Isaiah Bond for a 31-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-goal in one of the most memorable plays in the rivalry's history.

Auburn has not traveled to Tuscaloosa and left with a win since 2010. In Keenan's sole Iron Bowl appearance at home (2024), he recorded one sack and a quarterback hurry with three total tackles. The Crimson Tide was victorious that day, 28-14, in Kalen DeBoer's first career contest against Auburn. DeBoer is now 2-0 in the series as Alabama's head coach, and as was the case in 2021, the program will face Georgia for the conference championship after its Iron Bowl success.