Auburn football falls late in stunning fashion to Alabama in 88th Iron Bowl
AUBURN — The Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare Stadium is always a show, and Saturday was no exception.
Auburn football was in great shape to upset Alabama, leading by four points late in the fourth quarter set to force a turnover on downs. But quarterback Jalen Milroe heaved the ball to Isaiah Bond in the corner of the end zone on fourth-and-31, which Bond miraculously brought in to take a late lead.
AU's offense, surely stunned by the sudden change of events, was unable to get the Tigers back on the board. Auburn lost to Alabama, 27-24, in the 88th edition of the rivalry. Auburn has lost four consecutive Iron Bowls for the first time since the Crimson Tide won nine straight from 1973-81.
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Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston slice Alabama's run defense
Transfer quarterback Payton Thorne had completed just two of his 10 passes at halftime, but the Tigers only found themselves down by three points heading into the break after Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe found speedster Jermaine Burton for a 68-yard touchdown on a busted coverage with 1:33 remaining the second quarter.
Thorne's lack of production was remedied by the play of running backs Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston, though. The duo combined for 159 rushing yards on 16 carries in the first half.
Big plays from Ja'Varrius Johnson
One of Auburn's only reliable weapons in the receiving game this season, senior receiver Ja'Varrius Johnson was a big-play machine against Alabama. He had five touches versus the Crimson Tide, totaling 88 yards and two touchdowns.
One of those scores came on a 27-yard catch in which Johnson was schemed wide open. That grab came after Johnson hauled in a 37-yard catch-and-run two plays earlier.
Jordan-Hare magic?
Legendary Alabama kicker Will Reichard came into the Iron Bowl with 29 makes in his previous 31 attempts, and he made his first two tries against Auburn.
But Reichard's 42-yarder with less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter missed. Had he made it, he would've set a new NCAA record for points scored by a single player. Reichard is about as automatic as it gets, but his miss in the third frame was huge.
It wasn't enough, though, as Auburn fell victim to what can only be explained as magic in Milroe's heave.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football falls in unbelievable way to Alabama in Iron Bowl
