A football season made peculiar by a pandemic had to have a peculiar Iron Bowl, and the 2020 Auburn-Alabama football game checked that box with the announcement Wednesday that Tide coach Nick Saban had tested positive for the coronavirus.

This time, the legendary coach will get no reprieve from a false positive as he did prior to the Georgia game. He will definitely miss the contest in Bryant-Denny Stadium at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS.

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix’s effectiveness wins praise from Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban. (Shanna Lockwood/AU Athletics)

Team physician Dr. Jimmy Robinson and head trainer Jeff Allen issued a joint statement on Saban’s condition.

“This morning we received notification that coach Saban tested positive for COVID-19. He has very mild symptoms, so this test will not be categorized as a potential false positive. He will follow all appropriate guidelines and isolate at home.”

Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian will oversee preparations within the football building and lead the team on game day. He is a former head coach at Southern Cal and Washington.

Alabama is the unanimous No. 1 team in the Associated Press ranking and the first unanimous No. 1 in the regular season since 2018; Auburn is ranked No. 22. The Tide and Tigers sit in the same positions in the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings that were released Tuesday night.

This marks the 24^th time in Iron Bowl history that Alabama and Auburn will face one another with each being nationally ranked. The Crimson Tide received all 62 first-place votes after beating Kentucky 63-3 last Saturday.

After 84 meetings dating back to 1893, Alabama leads the series 46-37-1. Recent history makes the contest even more of a rivalry as the Tide and Tigers have split the past four meetings, each winning at home. The most recent was Auburn’s 48-45 victory a year ago on the Plains.

Auburn’s most recent win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa was the 2010, 28-27 thriller known as Camback because it was a comeback engineered by Tiger quarterback Cam Newton.

Speaking to media earlier this week and careful to take nothing away from his opponent, Saban said his squad made many mental mistakes in last year’s Iron Bowl.

Alabama running back Najee Harris (22) scores one of the many Tide touchdowns in last week’s game with Kentucky. Auburn hopes to present more of a challenge for No. 1 Alabama on Saturday. (Crimson Tide)

“We didn’t play very well in the game,” he said. “We couldn’t make plays when we needed to make them. We gave them a couple of pick sixes for touchdowns. There’s a lot of things to be learned in every game that you play and there’s a lot of lessons to be learned in that game for us. We’re going to have to execute a whole lot better to have success in this game.”

Those interceptions returned for touchdowns don’t make Auburn coach Gus Malzahn forget that Bama QB Mac Jones, now a Heisman candidate, played a solid game last year. Now, a season removed from stepping in for injured Tua Tagovailoa, Jones is looking very confident.

“You can tell he’s got more experience,” the Tigers coach said of Jones. “I think he did a solid job last year, especially when he had talent. He’s really confident. I’ll tell you what, their offensive line is probably one of the best I’ve seen in our league.

“They’re really good with the run-block and protection,” Malzahn continued. “When they’re able to run the football and they do their play-action, they do a great job protecting. The thing that really stands out to me is the rhythm and the timing and his throwing with his receivers.”

Saban is complimentary of the Auburn signal-caller.

“Bo Nix is a very effective quarterback in every regard,” he said. “He’s a very good passer. He’s got some very good skill guys at receiver. He can extend plays. He can run quarterback runs when they need him to.

“This is going to be a very challenging game for us in a lot of ways,” Saban said, “and we certainly need to play our best football this season to be able to have success in this game.”

Troy at Appalachian State: The Mountaineers (6-2) lost to a Sun Belt Conference foe for the first time last Saturday as they fell 34-23 to No. 16 Coastal Carolina. App State aims to start a new conference win streak as it hosts the Trojans (4-4) at 7 p.m. Central on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina. Troy is coming off a 20-17 loss to Middle Tennessee State, a nonconference opponent.

South Alabama at Arkansas State: The Jaguars (3-6) are riding a four-game losing streak. They’ll try to break that string of defeats at 2 p.m. Saturday in Jonesboro, Arkansas, as they face the Red Wolves (3-6).

HIGH SCHOOLS

Class 7A (Wednesday, Dec. 2): Thompson was No. 1 in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association ranking, and the defending state champs have done nothing to merit a drop from that position in returning to the championship game. The Warriors (13-0) face No. 6 Auburn (11-1) at 7 p.m. in Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Class 6A: No. 2 Mountain Brook (12-1) travels to No. 3 Pinson Valley (10-2) on Friday.

Class 5A: Who has the advantage in a rematch, the team that won the first meeting or the squad that came up short? No. 3 Pleasant Grove (10-2) hopes to reverse its fortunes Friday against No. 1 Ramsay (13-0), which won the first meeting this season 33-26 on Oct. 22.

Win 2💍‼️@RamsayFootball @CoachNelson18 @dprice_qb17 @AL5AFootball https://t.co/MkNquPNFcP

— ‼️Kam•Ivory (@IvoryKamren) November 21, 2020

Class 4A: No. 8 Etowah (10-2) hosts No. 3 Gordo (12-1).

Class 3A: No. 2 Piedmont (12-1) ventures to No. 1 Fyffe (13-0).

Class 2A: No. 3 Leroy (11-1) welcomes No. 8 Abbeville (11-1).

Class 1A: No. 1 Brantley plays at No. 2 Linden. Each team is 13-0.