When Charles Barkley spoke to Alabama’s football team during the preseason, Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts challenged the former Auburn star to a friendly Iron Bowl wager.

“Jalen Hurts challenged me to a bet, and I ain’t forgot, Jalen,” Barkley said on JOX 94.5 FM’s The Round Table on Tuesday. “So, I’m either going to wear an Alabama jersey on TV or he’s going to have to wear (an Auburn jersey) on campus. … I’ve got the jersey coming. … But my Tigers need to win because I don’t want to wear that crap on TNT.”

The 82nd Iron Bowl matchup will kick off on Saturday, Nov. 25, in Auburn, Ala., and the rivalry game will be a winner-take-all for a chance to play in the 2017 SEC Championship Game.

Both teams’ regular-season finale will be Hurts’ 27th career game and his 26th as Alabama’s starting quarterback. With Hurst leading the Tide into Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 10-0 (7-0 SEC) record -- UA will host Mercer this weekend -- to face its in-state rival, Barkley had nothing but positive things to say about him. In fact, he defended Hurts’ criticisms.

“How many games has he lost?” Barkley asked. “So, anybody that thinks he needs to do more is an idiot.

“The guy came in as a true freshman and he lost one game in two years and people want him to do more? C’mon, man. The dude’s lost one game in two years and people are saying he needs to do more. See, that’s why you don’t need social media because if anybody’s saying that on social media, they’re just a moron.”

Obviously wanting his Tigers (8-2, 6-1) to win next Saturday, Barkley provided a lot of praise for Alabama during the 1-hour radio segment. He even said he thought the Tide was the best team in the country before the injuries started to pile up in Tuscaloosa.

And he shared his experience and some of his message to the team from earlier this year.

“It was really awesome,” Barkley said. “Coach Saban asked me to speak to the team. … The kids were great. We talked about life. It’s different for these kids today. They ask these kids about Charlottesville, they ask these kids about the anthem, they’ve got social media. It’s a different animal now. … I told these kids to be careful. It’s different for them now.

“There’s somebody in Athens, Ga., who’s going to say something to you on the internet, waiting on a response. There’s somebody in Starkville, somebody in Gainesville, somebody in Auburn going to be trying to do stuff to upset you, and you’re an 18-year-old kid. You have to be really careful about your response. Because it doesn’t matter what they say to you, but your response is the one that’s going to go -- what do they call it -- viral. That’s different.”

The 2017 Iron Bowl will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will air on CBS on Nov. 25.

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).