AUBURN, Ala. — Nick Saban walked into a small room in the northwest corner of Jordan-Hare Stadium, his face filled with both lingering stress and fresh relief after Alabama’s exhilarating 27-24 win over Auburn on Saturday night.
“So, do I really need to say anything?” Saban began, prompting the throng of media to chuckle and his wife, Miss Terry, to let out a celebratory cheer. It was Miss Terry who looked ahead to this game after the thrilling 42-28 win over LSU earlier this month.
“It was an unbelievable game,” Saban continued. “I guess if you’re in this long enough, sometimes it goes against you on the last play of the game, and sometimes you’re fortunate and it goes forward.”
Unbelievable is probably the best word, but even that may not do the 88th Iron Bowl justice.
With the 10-year anniversary of the Kick-6 serving as the backdrop, the Crimson Tide authored another jaw-dropping chapter in this legendary rivalry. After trailing for the entire fourth quarter, Jalen Milroe hit Isaiah Bond for a 31-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with 32 seconds left to give Alabama an all-time win over Auburn.
“Our players really stepped up, got a couple of stops when we needed to on defense — which, we didn’t play great all day, but we got stops when we needed to,” Saban said. “Offense put drives together and we overcame adversity. Bad snap when we had an opportunity to score, then we made a great play on fourth down.
“Can’t say enough about the resiliency of our players and how they competed in the game. Played hard in the fourth quarter.”
