How Alabama beat Auburn in Iron Bowl: Recapping final minutes of Crimson Tide win vs. Tigers

The Iron Bowl. Jordan-Hare Stadium. Of course something chaotic was going to happen, and the 2023 edition of the Alabama-Auburn rivalry did not disappoint.

The game got crazy at the end of the fourth quarter, as is to be expected in the final minutes of the Alabama state championship. What looked like a probable Auburn victory with under a minute became a two-score Alabama lead — until it didn't. The Crimson Tide pulled out a 27-24 win, but the fate of the game swung so many times over the last few minutes of the game that it's hard to keep track.

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Those last few minutes were action-packed, so here's a recap of everything that happened:

How Alabama beat Auburn in Iron Bowl

Muffed punt

Auburn was back to receive a punt that would give them the opportunity to put together a long drive down the field and bleed the clock. But returner Koy Moore fell trying to field the punt, and ultimately didn't secure the ball. Alabama's Jihaad Campbell picked it up off the ground to give the ball back to Alabama with 4:48 left to play on the Auburn 30 yard line. By rule, Alabama was unable to advance the muffed punt.

Jalen Milroe 19-yard scramble sets up fourth-down conversion

Following a 9-yard sack by Milroe on second-and-11, the Crimson Tide faced third-and-20 from the Auburn 29-yard line. The quarterback got all that he needed for a first-down conversion, minus a foot, on a 19-yard scramble. That set up fourth-and-inches from the Auburn 10.

Alabama went with a toss sweep right to Roydell Williams for a 3-yard gain to the Auburn 7, setting up first-and-goal from there:

Bad snap-turned-18-yard loss by Milroe

Two plays later, and with just under two minutes to play, Alabama center Seth McLaughlin surprised Milroe with not only an early snap, but also a bad one: It was inaccurate, resulting in the quarterback taking an 18-yard losss on second-and-goal from the Auburn 8-yard line. That set up third-and-goal from the Auburn 26.

Illegal forward pass

If the bad snap wasn't enough, bad went to worse on the ensuing play, as Milroe's pass on third-and-goal occurred after he crossed the line of scrimmage (his second such penalty of the day). Alabama was hit with a 5-yard penalty from the 26 and took a timeout to avoid a 10-second runoff.

Game-winning touchdown

On fourth-and-goal from the 31, Alabama needed a miracle. It got one from Milroe, who threw a 31-yard game-winning touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond in the back of the end zone:

The touchdown was the Crimson Tide's last chance to take a lead with just under 40 seconds to play, and Bond makes an incredible catch in the back of the end zone to take the lead.

Post-touchdown scuffle

After the kickoff, a few Alabama players got aggressive taking down the Auburn returner, leading to a scuffle between the Tigers' players and the Crimson Tide. No ejections occurred.

More: Alabama vs. Auburn unravels in Iron Bowl scuffle on final drive that draws no penalty flags

Strip sack (and Auburn recovery)

Payton Thorne was sacked on his first play of the drive, losing 14 yards and the ball before it was recovered by Auburn, pushing the Tigers back to the 1-yard line with 99 yards to go.

Terrion Arnold pick-six that wasn't

On the final play of the game, Terrion Arnold picked off Thorne and brought the pass into the end zone for what looked like a walk-off pick-six to give Alabama a 33-24 win.

The touchdown was later called back on review as Arnold went out of bounds near the 3-yard line. And that is how the game ended: In one of the wildest finishes in Iron Bowl history.

Considering some of the games that have taken place over the years, that is saying something.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Alabama beat Auburn in Iron Bowl: Recapping Crimson Tide's wild finish