Tim Keenan takes pride in beating 'lil bro' Auburn five times: 'That's gonna be the new trend'

Alabama defeated Auburn 27-20 on Saturday to secure its sixth consecutive win in the Iron Bowl. During a teleconference on Monday, Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan III reflected on the victory, while poking fun at the Crimson Tide’s rival.

“It’s always a great time going against lil’ bro, having some fun, going 5-0 in my time here,” Keenan said. “So, I feel like that’s gonna be the new trend to go undefeated against lil’ bro.”

As it often has been in recent years, the Iron Bowl was a close game on Saturday. Nonetheless, Alabama escaped with a one-touchdown victory.

In the win, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson only tallied 122 passing yards, but he ultimately threw for three touchdowns, without tossing an interception. Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Horton scored all three receiving TDs for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama only recorded 280 yards of offense in the win, compared to Auburn’s 411. Nonetheless, the Crimson Tide squeezed two turnovers out of the Tigers and ultimately capitalized on Auburn’s mistakes.

Auburn not only struggled to take care of the ball, but it lacked discipline in general. Auburn committed 10 penalties in the loss, knocking itself backward 84 yards.

Less than 24 hours after the game’s conclusion, Auburn announced it was hiring USF’s Alex Golesh to be its next head coach. Evidently, Tim Keenan isn’t concerned for his Crimson Tide.

In fairness, Keenan has faced four different Auburn coaches in the Iron Bowl during his five years at Alabama, and defeated each of them. He doesn’t expect anything to change for future Alabama players.

For now, Keenan must focus on the next task ahead of the Crimson Tide. On Saturday, Alabama will square off against Georgia in the SEC Championship. While Alabama is almost guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff whether they win or lose Saturday, Keenan wants to leave no doubt in the CFP selection committee’s mind.

“We’re a 10-2 team in the SEC,” Tim Keenan said. “We go out and play hard. Of course, it’s the SEC Championship. It’s a big deal. We’ve already beaten this team before.

“We’re going to go out there and make sure we do the same thing. But, we’re going to make sure we handle business on our own end and not leave it up to the committee to make decisions for us.”

Alabama and Georgia will square off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday with the conference title on the line. The game will air live on ABC.