AUBURN, Ala. – Jalen Milroe and Isaiah Bond rescued No. 8 Alabama’s playoff hopes, connecting for a last-minute touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 31 to beat Auburn 27-24 on Saturday.
Bond caught Milroe’s desperation heave in the left corner of the end zone with 32 seconds left to give the Crimson Tide (11-1, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) a 10th straight win in the latest dramatic Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Trailing by four with 1:43 left, Alabama had first-and-goal at the Auburn 7 before moving backward. The Crimson Tide lost 18 yards on a bad snap and were pushed back 5 more yards with an illegal downfield pass on third down after Milroe crossed the line of scrimmage.
Two years ago, Alabama needed four overtimes to beat the Tigers on the Plains, where the Kick Six went down in college football history a decade ago.
Alabama nearly returned an interception for another touchdown on the final play. But this game will be remembered around the state for fourth-and-31, a play where Auburn didn’t try to put any pressure on Milroe before he spotted Bond.
Ja’Varrius Johnson scored on a 27-yard touchdown catch and a 12-yard run to put the Tigers (6-6, 3-5) in position to win.
Milroe passed for 259 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 107 more yards. Jermaine Burton had 107 yards receiving, including a 68-yard touchdown. Bond had five catches for 75 yards.
Payton Thorne passed for 91 yards and a touchdown and ran for 58 yards for Auburn. Jarquez Hunter ran for 93 yards and Damari Alston gained 85.
Favored by 12 1/2 points in this one, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, Alabama gets to face No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game with the playoff hopes intact, if still precarious.
A muffed punt gave Alabama the ball on the Auburn 30 with 4:48 left. But cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett upended a scrambling Milroe a yard shy of the first down on third-and-20. Roydell Williams took a pitch and converted the fourth down, setting up the go-ahead score.
Midway through the third quarter, Thorne hit a wide-open Johnson for a touchdown that put Auburn ahead 21-20. Alex McPherson’s 21-yard field goal made it 24-20 with 10 minutes left.
THE TAKEAWAY
Alabama: The Crimson Tide were pushed to the brink after picking up steam as the season headed toward the Iron Bowl. They outgained Auburn 451 yards to 337.
Auburn: Rebounded strongly from a 31-10 loss to New Mexico State, propelled by a running game that never got going in that game but produced 244 yards in this one.
UP NEXT
Alabama heads to Atlanta to face the Bulldogs.
Auburn awaits its bowl destination.
___
Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here.
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
