13) AUBURN 18, ALABAMA 17
AUBURN, Ala. -- Jaret Holmes' fourth field goal of the game, a
39-yarder with 15 seconds left, rallied No. 13 Auburn to an 18-17
victory over hated archrival Alabama in a war known as the "Iron
Bowl," clinching the Southeastern Conference West Division title.
The Tigers (9-2, 6-2 SEC) clinched at least a tie for first place
in the SEC West, but since it beat Louisiana State, Auburn
secured a spot in the SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome
on Dec. 6. The likely opponent is Tennessee, which would win the
East next weekend with a win over Vanderbilt.
"I am excited," said Auburn coach Terry Bowden. "We are excited
to go and play (in the SEC Championship Game) and I am very proud
for our fans and our players. It's not a pretty win, but it's one
of the best. We couldn't catch a critical pass to save our lives
and couldn't make a critical play to save our lives."
Alabama (4-7, 2-6) seemingly had the huge road upset wrapped up
with 45 seconds left, but fullback Ed Scissum grabbed a screen
pass on third-and-eight, was hit by Auburn strong safety
Martavius Houston and fumbled, with linebacker Quinton Reese
recovering.
"We had some good breaks and some bad breaks, and that would be
one of the bad breaks," Scissum said.
Auburn, with the ball at the Alabama 36, got a 4-yard run from
Rusty Williams, a 7-yard pass from Dameyune Craig to Hicks Poor,
and two incompletions, taking 27 seconds off the clock. Holmes
then converted his 10th straight field goal, making the kick from
the left hash mark.
Scissum returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards and Auburn was
called for a 15-yard facemask penalty. Alabama's A.J. Diaz
attempted a 57-yard field goal, but it fell short on the game's
final play and the crowd flooded the field in wild celebration.
"If I had to do it all over, I might have thrown the ball out of
bounds for another 5 or 6 yards, but with six seconds left, it's
a big gamble," said Alabama coach Mike DuBose. "I had already
made up my mind before the game, if we had to kick a long field
goal, I was going with A.J. Diaz."
Craig completed 14-of-33 passes for 213 yards and two
interceptions, hitting Hicks Poor five times for 55 yards.
The Crimson Tide closed the season, their first under DuBose,
with four straight losses and defeats in six of their final seven
games. As an unranked team, they had beaten a ranked Auburn squad
in the previous three such situations, but fell to 0-4 at
Jordan-Hare Stadium.
(13) AUBURN 18, Alabama 17
1 2 3 4 F
- - - - --
Alabama 0 10 7 0 17
Auburn (13) 6 0 6 6 18
Auburn-FG Holmes 27
Auburn-FG Holmes 37
Alabama-Hall 13 pass from Kitchens (Kemp kick)
Alabama-FG Kemp 32
Alabama-S Alexander 12 run (Kemp kick)
Auburn-F Beasley 1 run (two-point conversion failed)
Auburn-FG Holmes 31
Auburn-FG Holmes 39
Alabama Auburn
First downs 15 19
Rushed-yards 34-156 31-62
Passing yards 143 213
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 3-27
Return yards 53 8
Passes 14-27-0 14-34-2
Punts 6-41.2 4-43.5
Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-1
Penalties-yards 11-111 6-50
Time of possession 31:39 28:21
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Alabama-S Alexander 13-65, C Alexander 14-64, Kitchens
3-14, Riddle 4-13. Auburn-R Williams 6-27, Carter 7-20, F Beasley
10-19, Craig 8-minus 4.
PASSING: Alabama-Kitchens 12-18-0-134, Tucker 2-9-0-9.
Auburn-Craig 14-33-2-213, R Williams 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Alabama-Jackson 7-79, Goss 3-12, Hall 2-35, Riddle
1-20, Scissum 1-minus 3. Auburn-Poor 5-55, Bailey 3-44, R
Williams 2-49, Goodson 2-19, McLeod 1-41, F Beasley 1-5.
Att: 85,214
Information curtesy of Infobeat Sports.