While Auburn may not be a part of the College Football Playoff, the Tigers do own the distinction of playing three of the four teams this season that will vie for college football's top prize.
In the second week of the season, Auburn lost 14-6 at Clemson, and then a couple of months later handed Alabama its only loss of the season 26-14 in the Iron Bowl to close out the regular season. Auburn also handed Georgia its only loss of the season, a 40-17 beating on Nov. 11, but then lost to the Dawgs 28-7 in the rematch in the SEC championship game.
ESPN decided to break down Alabama vs. Clemson Part III (Monday, 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN and the ESPN App) through the eyes of Auburn coaches and talked with five of them on both sides of the ball anonymously to get their candid insight on Monday's Allstate Sugar Bowl clash. It's worth noting that Auburn held both teams to season lows in points (14) and Clemson to a season low in total offense (281 yards).
The consensus among the Auburn coaches was that both teams are so good up front defensively that it may come down to which offensive line holds up the best.
"They're the two most talented defenses we played, and we played some good ones," said one Auburn coach. "They're both so good and so talented on defense that I can't separate them and wouldn't want to have to separate them. So it's probably going to hinge on who plays the best and the most consistently in the offensive line."
If that's the case, another Auburn coach thinks Clemson could have the advantage in that area.
"I think Clemson may be a little bit better in the offensive line," the Auburn coach said. "Alabama's offensive line isn't what it has been. They're still good, but not what they've been in the past. They're not dominant, and they've been dominant in the past. Alabama wasn't very effective against us on third down (3-of-11). They were in too many third-and-longs, and we got a good pass rush. But to be fair, Tom Brady is a lot better in third-and-5 than he is in third-and-10."
Auburn's defense gave both teams trouble, but on different downs. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Clemson averaged just 2.9 yards on first down, its lowest output of the season on first down. Alabama averaged just 3.4 yards on third down, the Tide's lowest output of the season on third down. Moreover, both Clemson and Alabama were pressured far more in their games against Auburn than they have become accustomed. Alabama faced its highest pressure rate of the season (59 percent), while Clemson faced its second-highest pressure rate (33 percent).
One of the wild cards, according to the Auburn coaches, will be Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant, who was only making his second career start against Auburn on Sept. 9 and has gotten a lot better since that game.
"He's a tough kid and stuck his head in there pretty good against us a couple of times," an Auburn coach said. "We knew going in that he would probably be a little raw, but Alabama's not going to have that advantage. Even back when we played him, you could tell it wasn't too big for him. He stepped up and made plays when he needed to."
In Clemson's two touchdown drives against Auburn, Bryant was 4-of-4 on third down, and he scored both of Clemson's touchdowns on runs of 3 and 27 yards.
Nonetheless, all of the Auburn coaches ESPN spoke with for this story said that Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts, even with the Tide's inconsistency in the passing game down the stretch, was the more difficult of the two quarterbacks to prepare for because of his ability to create.
"I know he gets torched about his throwing, but [Hurts] is really, really scary," an Auburn coach said. "He's the scariest guy we played, probably, with the way he can create and break you down. I'm not taking anything away from Bryant because it was his second game, but they're different. Hurts just puts more pressure on you because you can have him defended pretty well, and he comes up with something on his own. It's hard to prepare for that."
Another Auburn coach added: "They're both about the same defensively, but the quarterback from Alabama is the difference. He's really good when things break down. He's better than most running backs you're going to see and is hard to tackle, and he's better throwing it than he's given credit for."
Hurts was 12-of-22 for 112 yards against Auburn, and 26 of those yards came on a pass to Calvin Ridley in the final minutes when the outcome had already been decided.
"One thing that surprised me is they couldn't get the ball deep to Ridley against us," an Auburn coach said. "When Ridley gets vertical on you, he's as good a route runner as we played. He runs NFL-type routes, but we got pressure on Hurts and never let him set his feet in the pocket and didn't give him a lot of scramble yards because that's where he kills you.
"[Hurts] is the hardest player to defend we played because he's an explosion waiting to happen. Now, if you can get him out of sync, it's a different story, and Clemson is good enough to do that, especially with their speed upfront on defense. But you have to respect his scramble ability."
Another Auburn coach thinks Bryant being able to hit some explosive plays down the field in the passing game will be critical to keep the Alabama defense honest.
"And I think Clemson's offensive line is good enough to keep him in some manageable third-down distances," said the coach. "One of the other things to watch is whether or not the Clemson receivers can make plays down the field against the Alabama DBs. If they can, then I think Alabama could be in trouble. There may be an opportunity there, too, because I'm not sure Alabama is great in the secondary."
One of the things separating Alabama first-year offensive coordinator Brian Daboll from former coordinator Lane Kiffin, according to the Auburn coaches, is that Kiffin was more unpredictable.
Said one Auburn coach: "Lane always had one of those 'Where did that call come from?' in him. It was always in the back of your head. You knew it was coming, but didn't know what it was going to be."
One of the mistakes Alabama made against Auburn, according to one Auburn coach, is that the Tide didn't use their stable of running backs enough.
"Let them run the ball. Get them 30-plus carries and Hurts 10 to 12," the Auburn coach said.
Clemson's running game will also be key, especially against an Alabama linebacker corps that has been plagued by injuries. Inside linebackers Shaun Dion Hamilton and Dylan Moses are both out for this game.
"Clemson's got to be able to run it enough so Alabama can't just tee off, but this Alabama defense isn't the same with some of those injuries at linebacker," the Auburn coach said. "Their depth has really been tested."
Ultimately, one Auburn coach thinks the fact that Alabama lost its last game in the Iron Bowl and lost last year against Clemson will work in the Tide's favor.
"They're always hungry, but it will be at another level for this game," the Auburn coach said.
But another Auburn coach added: "Clemson's relaxed, and they know they can win. They did it last year. They won't be tight."