HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Sen. Ted Cruz said the turnout and raucous reception he received Sunday at a pair of campaign rallies in Alabama reminded him of the Iron Bowl.

With Alabama and Auburn yet again predicted to be the cream of the crop in the Southeastern Conference, the Texas Republican’s 2016 presidential campaign might want to plan now for a tailgate at the college football classic.

Cruz plans to make his stand during the so-called SEC Primary in March on Super Tuesday. Cruz’s campaign has taken to calling that swath of the U.S. “Cruz Country” because of its traditional conservative, evangelical base — his target demographic.

He outlined some of that strategy aboard his campaign bus after a large outdoor rally in sweltering Georgia heat behind Sprayberry’s Barbecue in Newnan, Ga., on Aug. 8.