SNAP JUDGMENTS: #15 Auburn 48, #5 Alabama 45

Well, it’s the morning after. I have no voice, I’m running on no sleep, and it’s all worth it. The wildest Iron Bowl in history has come and gone with Auburn the victor in unbelievable fashion. The Tigers watch Alabama doink the game-tying field goal in the final minutes, and then Gus Malzahn up and tricks the greatest coach of all time just to piss him off and snag the win.

SNAP JUDGMENTS

Derrick Brown played one of the greatest games of his season, our secondary came up with two pick sixes after coming into the game with 0, and Bo Nix played without turning the ball over. And yet it is the leg of Anders Carlson, who got to take a field goal after Gus got a second added to the game, who scored what proved to be the winning three points. Beating Alabama is the greatest, beating them in a way that’ll have the Gumps complaining on finebaum all offseason? Greatester.

-Son of Crow

Auburn won the football game. Auburns offense did just enough. Auburns defense did just enough. Gus outcoached the greatest coach to ever walk the sideline. So many of our young men played their hearts out and I am so damn proud of them. I don’t care about what this did to Alabamas playoff chances. Auburn won and Alabama lost and everything is right in the world.

-Josh Dub

Where do I even begin?

I had a lot of things I wanted to get off my chest but then I saw this from the postgame.

No matter where you live, no matter where you’re from, when you become an Auburn man or an Auburn woman, you are that forever! Yes we fight, bicker, gripe about the status of the head coach, etc but we should always defend Auburn!!

Auburn is my home and many of yours too. We’ve been through a lot this year, lot of ups, lot of downs. But I couldn’t be prouder to be an Auburn Tiger than I am right now.

I’m so happy for the seniors: particularly Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson who forgoed the NFL to have one more run at Auburn. The defense bent at times (Bama’s receivers are phenomenal) but when a play needed to be made, they did it. We have been clamoring for a defensive score all year, we got not one, but TWO Pick-6s tonight.

The offense played well tonight and Bo made some great plays with his arm and feet tonight. Shaun Shivers is an Auburn legend for the way he barreled over that Bama defender and scored what ended up being the winning Touchdown. He got some justice for the TD that was called back for “holding” and left no doubt he was getting his Iron Bowl TD tonight!

Jordan-Hare: you were amazing!! When Auburn needed you the most: you delivered. And we knocked out Bama out of the playoff and set ourselves for a potential New Year’s Six game. We’ll see.

For Rod. For Paula. War Eagle always and forever!

-Will McLaughlin

I can’t think of a collection of players that more deserved a night like tonight than this Auburn football team. They have been far from perfect this year. They drop balls at crucial moments. They miss wide open WRs. They take dumb penalties. Their playcaller makes some truly baffling decisions. But no matter the score, opponent or situation, they do not quit. Tonight, this bunch FINALLY got the W they so deserved because they fought every damn minute of that game & did just enough to send that very angry elf home with a list of excuses. Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson & rest of that senior class walked out of Jordan-Hare for the last time winners and they damn well deserved it.

Enjoy this win folks. It’s why we follow this dumb game. For nights like tonight.

It has been and continues to be great to be an Auburn Tiger!

WAR DAMN EAGLE

-AU Nerd

On a day where the 1989 football team was honored, Auburn beat Alabama inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, further cementing Jordan-Hare’s reputation as a house of horrors for the Tide. One of my biggest hopes coming out of all of this was that we’d get back on the same page. I was mainly speaking with regards to us as fans because we needed all of us. But now, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that everyone associated with the football program had to get on the same page to beat Alabama on Saturday, and they did.

You don’t beat Alabama without the offense showing some real grit in finishing drives, not letting adversity overwhelm you when half of your skill position players are in the injury tent, and trusting your guys.

You don’t beat Alabama without this defense showing some damn moxie by hanging tough amidst the most talented group of skill position players I have _ever_ seen in that stadium, never quit despite being exhausted due to being on the field too long (thanks to their 2 touchdowns), and Derrick Brown. You don’t beat Alabama without Derrick Brown. He’s just better.

You don’t beat Alabama without Anders Carlson, who couldn’t make a kick to save his life against Ole Miss coming into this one and totally redeeming himself by kicking his way right out of a slump and into the hearts of the Auburn faithful…and showing the other side of this state that the kicking game still matters in college football.

You don’t beat Alabama without Gus Malzahn, who pulled some ticky tacky high school play at the end that is so _beneath_ the great Nick Saban that they didn’t know what the hell to do and got caught with 12 men on the field.

You don’t beat Alabama without the fans last night. Many of you deserved to get ripped for not planning for cold weather against Ole Miss. But the greater frustration is that many of the fans want our head coach to leave or be fired, expect some multimillionaire to sweep in and pay a $26.25 million buyout, and to go hire an outsider who has never won a game as big as Gus did last night, or promote Kevin Steele (this would’ve been my option had anything went down) for staff continuity. Whatever we wanted, we weren’t happy with the program, the buyout that looms over us, the offense, the options beyond the guy we got, or the guy we got. And it’s made a 9-3 campaign feel exhausting. But last night we all got back to doing the only thing we can control, which is support Auburn. We needed every one of us, and we got the job done. False start after false start is due to you.

Finally you don’t beat Alabama last night without Pat Dye. My father has been to every Iron Bowl except 1992 since 1957, when he was 6 years old. That man has seen his fair share of calls go against Auburn thanks to the location of the Iron Bowl. You don’t get a second back on the clock last night in Tuscaloosa or in Birmingham. No, you only get that in Auburn. Coach Dye knew that well over 30 years, coaching on both sides of this rivalry in Birmingham. It’s a major reason why this series is so different than how it used to be. So yeah, you don’t beat Alabama last night without Pat Dye understanding that Alabama doesn’t deserve to get this game at the other home field every year where they’re going to get so many of the 50/50 calls.

In conclusion, there was no Chris Davis or Cam Newton or Kerryon Johnson heroism last night. No one player deserves a painting or highlight from this game. This was the epitome of a team win. You don’t beat Alabama last night if you’re not Auburn. Because at Auburn, beating Alabama still matters, and it takes everyone loving Auburn to do it. War Damn Eagle.

-Josh Black

I don’t really know where to begin with this one. It was the most action packed Iron Bowl of all time, bar none, and Auburn got the win, thus validating the season and ruining Bama’s. There are way too many things to talk about to fit into a small article like this, but in no particular order:

The defense gave up more than 500 yards, and couldn’t do anything against Jaylen Waddle, or Najee Harris for most of the game, but they got the Jordan-Hare magic plays that mattered in the end. So many little efforts added up, from Derrick Brown’s havoc in the middle, to a couple of key pass breakups in the secondary, to taking advantage of the times that Alabama made mistakes. Zakoby McClain and Smoke Monday getting those two pick sixes are likely mere incompletions earlier in the season, but in the Iron Bowl they turn into game-changing touchdowns.

Bo Nix was clean. No turnovers, no sacks. Just 50% through the air, but how many big passes did he complete? The bomb to Seth Williams followed by the perfectly-placed toe tapper to Sal Cannella, both were great throws. Bo grew up a little quickly in the Oregon game, but had a mini slump in the big games later on, until he came up huge yesterday.

Looking at the sack numbers, that comes from the offensive line. They kept Bo clean and opened the hole for more than 180 yards on the ground.

SPECIAL TEAMS. Aside from the kickoff return allowed to Waddle, which was the only bad decision of the day, Auburn won special teams. Anders Carlson hit four field goals, all from 40 yards or further, including the 52-yarder at the end of the first half. Kick returns were pretty solid, and Christian Tutt’s 36 yard punt return set up a touchdown early on as well.

GUS MALZAHN. You all wanted to fire him two weeks ago after the loss to Georgia, and the Bob Stoops talk began again. How about now? Gus just punked Nick Saban. Saban is CRYING because he knows he got zonked last night and there’s nobody to blame but him. Auburn didn’t do anything crazy, they just took advantage of the disorganization that’s become a staple of the Alabama team this year at times. When you have that much turnover on your staff year to year, things turn out that way. Saban can whine and whine and whine and get the rules changed, but this year, Auburn chapped his ass.

-Jack Condon