Posted on 11/30/2013 4:41:05 PM PST by xzins
With only a second left on the clock, Chris Davis caught a 57-yard field-goal attempt that fell short, got up the left side and returned it 100 yards to give the No. 4 Tigers a 34-28 win over No. 1 Alabama and the SEC West title.
Now, Auburn (11-1, 7-1 SEC) has a shot at the SEC title and possibly a national championship all left on the table.
For the second straight game, the clock was running down, and the Tigers had little time left.
That's when Nick Marshall came up with another play.
After a drive spent handing the ball off over and over again, Marshall kept the ball on the zone read, then pulled up short and floated a pass to a wide-open Sammie Coates, who raced in with a 39-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Badly needing some momentum to erase a 21-7 deficit, Auburn went back to the running game that has carried the Tigers all season.
Held without a rushing yard for most of the second quarter, Auburn ripped off a 7-play, 81-yard drive near the end of the first half, punctuated by a 40-yard burst from Mason up the middle to set up his own 2-yard score.
And then, given the ball to start the second half, Auburn kept the momentum going, alternating Marshall and Mason on a nine-play, 69-yard drive that Marshall capped by firing a 13-yard strike to C.J. Uzomah in the corner of the end zone to tie the game at 21.
But after AJ McCarron's 99-yard strike to Amari Toomer, the Tigers had trouble getting going offensively, and the defense came up big with two stops, a fourth-down stand by Carl Lawson and a blocked field goal by Robenson Therezie that set up Auburn's final drive to set up a trip to Atlanta
Thanks. She is having a tough semester as it is.
Her picture someone posted on Facebook last night from the stands is priceless! Caption was Buckle Up, We’re Goin’ to Atlanta!
Some of the pics of the video as they panned the stands last night . . . people with their hands on top of their heads and their mouths wide open . . . another a little boy in an Alabama shirt burying his head into his Dad or Grandpa’s shirt with tears streaming down his face.
I guess this makes 3 wins this season in the Final Thirty Seconds . . . Texas A & M, Georgia and now Alabama. With daughter at Auburn and me here at home with sports fans husband and 16 yr old son . . . my nerves get pretty frayed during this games.
Not sure which point you are trying to make there...though you’re probably wrong on Indiana at home, and right on Indiana at Cal, after Vandy ditched to play UMASS.
Certainly understandable, the emotion involved. I visited Alabama a few years ago during football season. It’s like the state is a DMZ if you don’t happen to live near either campus. It’s amazing.
It happened (last year?) in the NFL as well. Same rule.
The entire field is a “field of play”. Like I said never in all my life have I seen a player from the opposing team waiting in the end zone for a missed field goal. Never. Is it something new?
Nope. It’s nothing new. And you’re right, the entire field is the field of play. The ball never went out of bounds so it was a live ball until the referee blows the play dead. Great heads up play by the returner.
You do see it from time to time in the case of very long field goal attempts such as this one. It’s just good coaching to put a return man back there and since the clock expired during the play, he’s got nothing to lose by running out a missed kick.
http://nfl.si.com/2013/10/27/cordarrelle-patterson-kickoff-return-record-minnesota-vikings/
It’s a very old rule...just not commonly done.
Don’t watch football.
Don’t much care.
However, your comment that some guy went out of bounds on the return during the game yesterday, I had to see that.
After all, if he did go out of bounds then there would be all sorts of wailing and such on the news this morning.
Found a youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqIBNX0CXDc) that if you watch, he comes close but doesn’t step out of bounds.
“Home games make a big difference too. “
The Buckeyes played 5 road games all year.
at the 1-11, 0-9 (pac12) Cal bears
at 5-7, 1-7 (conference) Northwestern
at 1-11, 0-8, Purdue
at 4-8,1-7, Illinois
at 7-5, 3-6 Michigan
The combined conference records of the Buckeye road game opponents is 5-28 in the big 10 and 0-9 in the pac12 for a grand total of 5-37.
All I am saying is, the Buckeyes walked through a cup cake schedule especially on the road.
Saban said he had never lost a game like that. Would be willing to bet that 99% of all coaches never lost a game like that. Saban said the player that was supposed to be on the guy who grabbed the ball was no where near him and that cost them the game. Missed assignment. I agree. But that field goal kicker missing 4 times didn’t help matters. Like most on these boards I don’t hate Alabama for winning. And I hated it now that they are probably out of the title game after losing on a freaky play.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/florida-st-1-ohio-st-173959680—ncaaf.html
These two polls effectively eliminated Alabama from the BSC game. They are in 4th place in both the AP and USA, but only a couple of points ahead of Missouri. This is bad news for Alabama fans. If Missouri beats Auburn in the SEC title game they will jump ahead of Alabama in all three polls. Of course if Auburn wins it’s over for the Crimson Tide even if Ohio State loses. So after being national champs two years running and being ranked #1 the entire year, it’s over for them except a bowl game, all because of a play you might see one time in 1000 football games. Can’t wait till next year when the playoffs start. I don’t like the politics played in college football.
You see the same thing about the Yankees too.
I do think there should be a playoff in college. However, it will just change the politics from who should be #1 and #2 to who should be #4 and #5 for a spot in the playoff. You’ll never get the politics out of it entirely. Until there is a hard and fast playoff system like the NFL has, politics will continue.
And since the nuances of college football will never allow that, the debate will continue.
FSU has had one of the weakest schedules. They play DUKE for the title next week. What a joke.
Their most significant win was against Clemson, which just lost yesterday to rival South Carolina.
Auburn lost to 3 loss LSU, which lost to 4 loss Georgia, which lost to Vanderbilt and needed overtime to beat GA Tech. There is no dominant team in the nation this year, every team has deficiencies.
If it does come down to Ohio State versus Florida State I like the Buckeyes chances for 2 reasons. The game will be on the West Coast where the Buckeyes have played this year (at Cal) and they have a head coach who has won two BCS Championship Games. Urban Meyer knows how to prepare a team for the big game.
If FSU and Ohio State end up playing for the title, my money is on Ohio State. Beating not much more than high schools by week after week in the ACC does not impress me.
I like the Buckeyes (besides being my alma mater) chances for 2 reasons. The game will be on the West Coast where the Buckeyes have played this year (at Cal) and they have a head coach who has won two BCS Championship Games. Urban Meyer knows how to prepare a team for the big game.
fyi, Cal is 0-9 in the pac12 with some really bad blow outs.
Cal had 9 starters on defense who did not play against Ohio State and Cal still made a game of it.
CORRECTION: Ohio State had their back quarterback Guiton playing as Braxton Miller was out with an injury...and running back Carlos Hyde (record rushing yardage against Michigan on Saturday) was not back yet from suspension.
Ohio State’s strength this year is not a stifling defense. It is an opportunistic defense, like on the last play of the game against Michigan to preserve the win.
Dantonio of Michigan State is known for defense, not offense.
Of course he is, he was the defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes when they beat Miami for the national championship in 2003.
Wasn’t Hyde missing from OSU that week along with two starting corners?
OSU has beaten 2 ranked teams this year (#23 Wisconsin and #16 Northwestern) and is only unbeaten because of their soft schedule. Alabama faced 4 ranked teams (#6 Texas A&M, #21 Ole Miss, #13 LSU, and #4 Auburn). The SEC is far and away a stronger conference. The sad part for them is that they have to play each other and only one team can make it out unblemished. I think the SEC has won the last 7 National championships, spread among 4 different teams.
And the current coach of the Buckeyes won 2 of those for Florida...where are they now?
Cade missed three times. They let a freshman kick that last one. At least Cade could have made the tackle.
Bama lost that game as a team. Gus had his team ready to play, and Bama played off kilter most of the game. How many plays started with Bama’s defensive players still looking to the sidelines to figure out where they were supposed to be? There were some great defensive series. But then there were the ones like the last offensive drive of Auburn. Offensively, Bama was nervous-looking at times. AJ made some bad throws. Some receivers missed when they should not have. It happens. These players have had a great run and will be missed. I hope they enjoy their last few weeks of the semester and have fun preparing for whatever bowl game they get. The pressure they have been under for the whole season is now relieved. It will take some time to get over the sting of this one. But they all have good heads on their shoulders. I hope they will take this opportunity of having no games coming up and use the time to serve others in Tuscaloosa or Birmingham or in their home towns. They have had amazing success these four years.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.