Iron Bowl Preview? Internet Says Auburn Wins Picture Day Against Alabama

College football rivalries do not take the summer off. You can count on fan bases to find something, anything, to argue about, even when there are no games to watch.

This week? The argument is team pictures. Auburn and Alabama both released their 2026 squad photos, and fans put them side by side. Auburn's rows are straight and even. Alabama's rows bend, stack and overlap.

So War Eagle declared a winner, and Alabama fans said the whole thing doesn't matter. Typical. The losing side believes it's all meaningless. The side that won thinks they're correctly reading the tea leaves for what will happen on Nov. 28.

Auburn and Alabama fans argue over picture day

The post that started it came from X user Bradley B. Groover on Aug. 10. He placed Auburn's photo next to Alabama's and wrote, "Look how much cleaner Auburn's team picture looks." He then said Auburn wins picture day, and more than two million people have viewed the post since.

Auburn's players sit in tight rows in front of the hedges at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Alabama's players are spread across stadium seating, and the numbers do not line up.

Groover followed up the next day with old Alabama photos from the Nick Saban years. "No Crimson Tide human-Jenga happening. Under Saban, he would've never allowed this," he wrote.

Y'all? It's on.

Look how much cleaner Auburn's team picture looks. Im not ocd but the jumbled mess Alabama looks like drives me crazy. Auburn wins picture day 😄 pic.twitter.com/hgNP8SA7Sb
— Bradley B. Groover (@GrooverBrad) August 10, 2026

That comparison landed on a sore spot, because Alabama fans have spent two seasons measuring Kalen DeBoer against Saban. Alabama's director of player development, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, answered on X. "Focused on getting better. We will worry about picture day when it matters," Clinton-Dix wrote.

Don't respond! Just adding fuel to the fire.

The replies split exactly the way you would expect. Auburn fans posted "Hang the banner" over and over. One made a fake gold trophy labeled "Picture Day National Champions."

Alabama fans pointed at the win column instead. "Auburn fans care more about a team picture than success from their program," one wrote. A video breakdown from Lucy Rhoden of the whole fight put it plainly: "College football is the dumbest sport in the world."

Previewing Iron Bowl 2026

DeBoer is 20-8 in two seasons and enters year three with the Tide. Alabama went 11-4 last year, reached the SEC Championship Game and won a playoff game. Indiana then beat the Tide 38-3 in the Rose Bowl. But Alabama expectations remain outsized. Paul Finebaum has spent most of August ramping up the pressure on DeBoer. So besides picture day, you know something ain't right in Tuscaloosa.

Auburn is starting over with new head coach Alex Golesh. He's coming off a nine-win season at South Florida.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown (17) talks with head coach Alex Golesh during the first day of football practice at the Woltosz Football Performance Center/ | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The 42-year-old coach brought his USF quarterback, Byrum Brown, along with him. Talk about Cam Newton reincarnate. The 6-foot-3, 232-lb. signal-caller threw for over 3,000 yards and ran for 1,000 yards last season. Not to mention his 28 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing touchdowns.

Earlier this week, I projected Auburn to hit the over on their 6.5-win total. Maybe the Tigers can count one of those wins coming against Alabama.

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