No one knows about beating Auburn more than Malachi Moore. Following No. 13 Alabama’s 28-14 victory over the Tigers, the graduate safety became the first Crimson Tide player to play in and win five Iron Bowls.

It has been an emotional year for Alabama as a program, from a heartbreaking overtime loss to Michigan in the College Football Playoff, the end of Nick Saban’s legendary coaching career and the ups and downs of Kalen DeBoer’s first season. Through all the changes, one constant has been Moore, a team captain and emotional leader.

It’s unclear where Alabama’s playoff fate lies after its 28-14 win over Auburn, and Moore may never suit up in an Alabama uniform again; if his five-season Alabama career has wrapped up, he finished it in the most picture-perfect way, the fifth-year player may have saved his best Iron Bowl performance for last, making play after play against the Tigers.

He totaled three pass breakups, with two coming in the first quarter and his third on a highlight play in the second. Seven minutes into the second quarter, Auburn quarterback Peyton Thorne targeted running back Jarquez Hunter on a Texas route. The ball hit Hunter right in the numbers—and so did Moore, delivering a stadium-shaking hit that jarred the ball loose and forced an incompletion.

Moore finished the night with four total tackles, 0.5 for loss, a quarterback hit and three pass breakups. Fellow defensive back Bray Hubbard said Moore’s energy and physicality are a big bolster to the team.

“He’s a great player, man, he’s physical,” Hubbard said. “Using the shoulder pads to break the ball up, that’s a tone-setter… We love hitting. So, when a big hit happens like that, everybody gets fired up.”

Moore, a Trussville, Alabama native, made his Iron Bowl debut in 2020, playing 69 snaps and recording three tackles and an interception in a 42-13 win. He played a lesser role in the 2021 and 2022 matchups before returning to a more prominent position in 2023, when he played 60 snaps and totaled three tackles in a 27-24 win.

Earlier in the week, Moore spoke about what rivalry means to him as he grew up in Alabama.

“As a competitor, you come to Alabama for games like this, for the Iron Bowl,” Moore said. “You grew up watching it on TV, seeing guys make big-time plays in those games. So this is a game you can really go out there and create value for yourself and your team.”

In a sense, this year’s Iron Bowl can be viewed as a microcosm of Moore’s career at Alabama: a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and a DB who has fought back in the face of adversity. Like he did against Auburn, Moore made play after play in a scrappy and adversarial game against his arch rivals.

Alabama's head coach praised the defensive back postgame as a player who has stepped up when the team has faced challenges.

“When guys were in-and-out, or weeks where we were up against it with some dings and the rotation wasn’t always consistent with some of the play around him, dealing with injuries or guys working through stuff, he just continued to stay the course,” DeBoer said. “Tonight, loved seeing him flying around. His energy, in a positive way, being something every feeds off of. He loves this place, more than I think anyone could ever imagine. We see it every day in practice, and it’s great whenever it carries over to the game, and you can see it as well.”

Moore will leave Alabama as a player remembered for his accolades, such as being the first Alabama player to play and defeat Auburn five times, but also his ability as a leader who showed up when the team needed him the most.