Auburn and Alabama met for their annual rivalry game in 2013, expecting a typical Iron Bowl matchup.
What happened instead became one of the greatest sporting events ever witnessed.
The game delivered drama throughout, but the ending created perhaps the most unforgettable finish to any non-championship sporting event in history. With the score tied and time expiring, Alabama attempted a nearly impossible winning field goal that set up one of football’s most legendary plays.
SI’s Pat Forde captured the moment perfectly: “What is the single most dramatic way to win a football game? How about the longest touchdown possible (109 yards) with no time left on the clock? And how about if that play stopped a bid for a national title three-peat while sending the winners on their way to the BCS championship game? And how about if it came in the most bitter of rivalries?”
Despite this incredible finish, the game wasn’t ranked as the best of all time. That distinction went to the 2006 Rose Bowl BCS national championship between USC and Texas.
Forde explained the play’s impact: “The Auburn defensive back’s 109-yard return of a 56-yard Alabama field goal try that came up short as time expired was a stunning plot twist that spontaneously unleashed a field-storming eruption in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers went on to win the SEC at a time when it looked like the Crimson Tide might never lose again.”
The famous “Kick Six” wasn’t the only incredible moment that day.
Alabama had scored on a 99-yard touchdown pass earlier in the game. Auburn answered with a 39-yard touchdown with just 32 seconds remaining on the clock.
But the legendary return and the iconic call of “Auburn’s going to win the football game!” lasted much longer in college football memory than any other play from that remarkable afternoon.
