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 went the length of the field. The play is recorded officially as a 100-yard return; he caught the ball about nine yards deep in the end zone, which is why it is often described as 109.
“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.