AUBURN, Ala. — There are fourth-year seniors at Auburn who, before Saturday, had never beaten Alabama in the annual showdown known as the Iron Bowl.

These young men were still in high school during the famed Kick Six game here four years ago. They might have been middle-schoolers in 2010, when Cam Newton led the Tigers to victory in this game and then to the national title.

“I didn’t want to come to Auburn and keep losing to Bama,” the junior fullback Chandler Cox said.

“The whole nation was watching tonight,” Cox added. “Everyone wants to see Bama lose. And we did that for the nation.”

The 26-14 upset victory for the No. 6 Tigers (10-2, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) placed them a win away from the College Football Playoff. Auburn will face No. 7 Georgia (11-1, 7-1) — a team it beat here, 40-17, a couple of weeks ago — next Saturday in Atlanta in the SEC championship game.