The Auburn Tigers all but had the game won before a fourth and goal from the 31-yard line that will now go down in Iron Bowl lore. Auburn loses the Iron Bowl late 27-24 off an Isaiah Bond touchdown catch. That play put the Crimson Tide up 27-24 and a pick-six made the final score.
Auburn had its way on offense in the game with its rush attack featuring Payton Thorne, Jarquez Hunter, and Damari Alston. The Tigers rushed for a total of 244 yards and were led by Hunter with 93 yards. The passing game was a struggle at times only throwing for 93 yards in the game. The defense gave up big plays but was mostly bent but not broken. Jalen McCleod had eight tackles and Marcus Harris had one and a half sacks. The Tigers end the regular season at 6-6 and Auburn loses the Iron Bowl for the fourth straight year.
Auburn Loses the Iron Bowl Late 27-24
Auburn Weathers Early Storm
After a bad first possession that resulted in a three-and-out, the Tigers were forced to punt to the Crimson Tide. The Alabama offense then proceeded to move the ball down the field. It did so with the running game featuring Jace McClellan and Roydell Williams. McClellan started the drive with an 11-yard run, and Williams closed it with a two-yard touchdown run to go up 7-0 with 10:53 on the clock. Auburn had a chance to get off the field on a third and 17, but Jalen Milroe found Malik Benson over the middle for a 33-yard play. That catch put Alabama at the Tigers’ 22 yard line.
After both teams traded punts the Auburn offense got going with the rush attack. It started with two big runs from Hunter. He took the first one for 11 yards. He followed that up with an even bigger gain of 42 yards to get the Tigers to the Alabama 15 yard line. Alston gave Hunter a rest and closed out the five-play drive with a four-yard touchdown run. The Tigers had survived the early storm and tied the game at seven with five minutes left in the first. After Auburn started the Iron Bowl slowly, the Tigers were tied with Alabama.
Back and Forth Battle
After Auburn tied the game, the Crimson Tide were on the move once again. Alabama went on a 12-play, 56-yard drive that took 5:51 off the clock and ran over into the second quarter. It appeared that Milroe had found Amari Niblack for a touchdown, but the quarterback was past the line of scrimmage. The Crimson Tide settled for a Will Reichard field goal of 32 yards to go up 10-7. The Tigers’ offense would work their way to midfield before stalling out and having to punt. Oscar Chapman got off a good one and put the Alabama offense starting at its own one-yard line.
The Tiger defense was able to force an Alabama punt after the offense had gained two first downs. On a third and four play, defensive back Nehemiah Pritchett made a great play to break up a potential completion from Milroe. Alabama was able to flip the field and put the Tigers at their own 12. That did not matter though. The Auburn run game got the Tigers back on the scoreboard and quickly. On the second play, Alston ran for a gain of 56 yards and had another 15 added due to a facemask penalty. Now at the Alabama 12 yard line, receiver Ja’varrius Johnson took it in for a 12-yard rushing touchdown.
Alabama got the ball back trailing 14-10 with 2:17 left until halftime. The Crimson Tide did not trail for long. With 1:33 left Milroe found a wide-open Jermaine Burton for a 68-yard touchdown due to busted coverage. Alabama was now up 17-14. Both teams exchanged punts, and Auburn had a chance to put up points getting the ball with 17 seconds remaining. Thorne got a big pickup of 19 yards to get to the 49-yard line. The Tigers had to settle for a hail-mary attempt that resulted in an interception by Terrion Arnold as time expired.
Tigers Take Lead
Alabama was set to get the ball first to start the second half. To keep any momentum the Tigers needed to hold the Crimson Tide out of the endzone. They did allow a field goal by Reichard of 22 yards. Auburn responded with its Thorne and Johnson connection. On a third and three, Thorne found Johnson over the middle for a pickup of 37 yards to get to the Alabama 31 yard line. Two plays later after a timeout, the two connected again for 27 yards for a touchdown. Johnson was completely uncovered on the play, and it gave the Tigers a 21-20 6:36 left in the third. As night began to fall, Jordan-Hare Stadium came alive.
A theme of the game for the Auburn defense has been putting some pressure on Milroe but constantly losing contain. Starting at their own 25 yard line, Milroe broke open a run of 37 yards to get to the Tigers 38. Bond made a reception of 16 yards on the following play to get to the 22, but the Auburn defense once again bent but did not break. They held to a field goal attempt that was missed by Reichard to keep the lead at 21-20. Auburn looked to have a chance to win the Iron Bowl after three.
Alabama Pulls a Miracle
Auburn added an Alex McPherson field goal of 21 yards with 10:15 remaining in the game. The Tigers went on a 16-play, 72-yard drive that took 8:18 off the clock. The drive started with 3:33 left in the third. The big play of the drive was a 22-yard run by Thorne on a second and 17. That play got Auburn to the eight-yard line, but they were unable to punch it in for six.
Both teams traded punts, and Alabama had the ball with 6:19 remaining at its own 18. The Auburn defense did its job and forced an Alabama punt. The Tigers had not turned the ball over until that moment. While attempting to fair catch the punt Koy Moore dropped the ball after slipping. That mistake gave Alabama the ball at the Tigers’ 30. After being sacked by Marcus Harris for a loss of nine, Alabama faced a third and 20. Milroe escaped from the pocket to run for 19 yards, which set up a huge fourth and inches play with 2:38 left.
The Crimson Tide attempted to get the Tigers to jump offside, and when Auburn did not jump Milroe tossed it to Williams. He picked up three yards on the run to get the first down. After that, it appeared to unravel for Alabama. On second and goal from the Auburn eight yard line, the snap went past Milroe for a loss of 18 yards. Then, on the following play, Milroe was hit with a penalty for passing beyond the line of scrimmage. That set up a fourth and goal at the 31 with 43 seconds remaining.
After both teams used timeouts, Auburn decided to only rush two defenders and let Milroe sit in the pocket untouched. He eventually found Bond in the back of the endzone for a touchdown to give Alabama the lead of 27-24 with 32 seconds left. Auburn closed the game with a fumble on a Thorne sack. He then threw an interception to Arnold on the final play. Auburn loses the Iron Bowl late 27-24.
