Perhaps no Iron Bowl had buzz quite like 2013’s. A year before the College Football Playoff began, it was a quarterfinal played between the No.1 Crimson Tide at the fourth-ranked Tigers.

With two philosophically different offenses and Alabama’s three-peat hopes hanging in the balance, the pregame hype undersold what happened in Jordan-Hare. Dubbed the “Mother of all Iron Bowls” in the buildup, the game will forever be known for the Kick 6.

The iconic ending decided the SEC West title on an evening Alabama knew it had to modernize its offense.

The 84th Iron Bowl to kickoff Saturday afternoon on the same Auburn turf will look a little different.

That buzz is less of a roar than a hum in a rivalry game that lacks some of the stakes and offensive expectations.

For a change, neither team has a path to Atlanta for the SEC championship and only Alabama has an opportunity for a playoff spot. Arizona State helped the Tide cause last week by the beating No. 6 Oregon team Auburn clipped on opening weekend. Even with a win at Auburn, the Big 12 champion and/or Utah could make a claim should the Utes win the Pac-12 and the top three seeds hold serve.

Then there’s the regional superiority angle.

The Iron Bowl hasn’t always determined the West representative for the SEC Championship Game, but it’s featured the divisional winner 10 of the last 11 years. Only 2011’s LSU-Georgia game -- fittingly this year’s matchup too -- was devoid of Yellowhammer state representation.

Eight of the last 10 SEC champions were named either Alabama or Auburn -- six for the Tide and two for the Tigers.

Both will watch LSU and Georgia next Saturday after occasionally unsettling seasons involving quarterback play and offensive production.

Auburn struggled at times with true freshman quarterback Bo Nix taking over for two-year starter Jarrett Stidham. The Tigers have the No. 48 offense in terms of efficiency as rated by ESPN after finishing 2013 at No. 8 and 2014 in sixth.

That 2014 Tiger offense led by quarterback Nick Marshall hung 630 yards on Alabama -- a number no offense has approached in the five years since. LSU came the closest Nov. 9 with 559 yards but still fell 71 yards short of that 2014 Iron Bowl outburst, one that ended in a 55-44 loss for Auburn.

In a separate efficiency rating that calculates the scoring advantage per possession, Auburn is No. 52.

Alabama, meanwhile, is No. 1 in that efficiency formula and No. 3 in ESPN’s. That comes with a serious catch that waters down the Iron Bowl quarterback matchup to some degree. The Tide’s offensive success was largely secured with Tua Tagovailoa throwing the passes, while his dislocated hip forces backup Mac Jones into the prime role for the Iron Bowl.

Tagovailoa had 252 of the 342 total Alabama throws for the nation’s third-best passing offense this season. Jones had starts against overmatched defenses from Arkansas and Western Carolina while completing wins over Tennessee and Mississippi State after Tagovailoa’s injuries.

The third-year sophomore has enough potential to be named the nation’s No. 10 starting quarterback in Pro Football Focus’ ranking of all 130 FBS first stringers. It’s based largely on the receiving talent around him and accurate games against FCS Western Carolina and Arkansas’ No. 118 defense. He completed over 80 percent of his throws in each of those two starts and is 55-for-77 this season (71.4 percent) with seven touchdowns to one interception.

It’s just hard to expect him to equal Tagovailoa’s generational talent, vision and mobility that changed the way Alabama played offense. Jones will also face a defensive front like Alabama hasn’t seen all season led by Nagurski Award finalist Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson. Both were named SEC defensive lineman of the week three separate times.

Nix was 96th in the Pro Football Focus ranking citing the rookie’s tendency to run into pressure and his low success rate throwing under duress. His six interceptions rank second-to-last among starters in the SEC, though he’s gone three games without a giveaway. Four of the six came against top-10 teams Florida and LSU entering a game against an Alabama defense whose 15 interceptions rank second nationally.

This, a Jones vs. Nix showdown, just doesn’t have the same pop as some in the past decade. Though not necessarily a rivalry built on quarterback play, it has included a Heisman winner in Cam Newton and two runners up in AJ McCarron and Tagovailoa.

There’s no SEC title on the line and only a chance of a playoff for Alabama even in victory.

A Mother of all Iron Bowls this is not, but that’s a high burden to reach.

A 55-44 final isn’t likely either given the state of the offenses and the defensive challenges each face.

It’s still Alabama vs. Auburn, though, even without the deafening buzz.

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.