There are games, there are classics, and then there is the 2013 Iron Bowl. Auburn’s 34-28 victory over #1 Alabama didn’t just decide the SEC West; it produced the single most iconic play in the history of the sport: The Kick Six.
The Game Before the Play
It is often forgotten that the 59 minutes preceding the finish were spectacular. Auburn, the team of destiny, fought toe-to-toe with the defending national champion Crimson Tide. Nick Marshall passed for 97 yards and ran for 99 more, throwing a game-tying touchdown to Sammie Coates with 32 seconds left. Alabama’s AJ McCarron threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper, a play that would have been the headline in any other year.
The Second That Changed Everything
With one second remaining, Nick Saban successfully argued for a clock adjustment to attempt a 57-yard game-winning field goal. Freshman Adam Griffith’s kick fell short. Chris Davis, waiting deep in the end zone, caught it. He ran left, got a block, stayed in bounds, and sprinted 109 yards into immortality.
“There goes Davis! Davis is gonna run it all the way back!”
The touchdown shattered Alabama’s three-peat dreams and vaulted Auburn into the national championship game. It remains the standard by which all other college football finishes are measured.