AUBURN, Ala. – God must be an Alabama fan.
He certainly answered Jalen Milroe’s prayer.
Alabama’s quarterback tossed a fourth-and-31 pass into the Saturday night sky – a pass that carried with it the Crimson Tide’s desperate hope for a great escape on the Plains.
Maybe, I’m giving the supernatural too much credit.
Maybe, this was all Isaiah Bond.
Bond leaped and snared Milroe’s pass – securing the most unfathomable, unimaginable escape you ever will see.
No. 8 Alabama 27, Auburn 24.
What did I just witness?
“It was just a great throw by Jalen and a great catch by Isaiah,” Nick Saban told CBS afterward. “We work on it, but you’re throwing it up for grabs, really.”
How Jalen Milroe delivered an Iron Bowl miracle for Alabama
Alabama’s chance to wriggle free in the final minute seemed ruined after an errant snap sent Milroe scrambling to recover the fumble at the end of an 18-yard loss.
Tack on a penalty on the ensuing play, and Alabama needed 93 feet in one play, with its College Football Playoff hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads.
No chance, right?
Where there’s one-on-one coverage, there’s a chance.
Milroe enjoyed several seconds to sit in the pocket while Auburn dropped eight defenders in coverage. Bond had just one man on him, though. Milroe spotted him.
Prayers answered.
Milroe launched a pass toward the back left corner of the end zone, where Bond was working against D.J. James. Milroe’s aim proved true. So were Bonds’ hands.
Bond calmly raised his arms to signal touchdown after his divine catch, then put his hands together in a posture of prayer.
Someone must have been looking out for Alabama that couldn’t stop Auburn’s ground game and self-inflicted a series of costly blunders.
In a din of noise with Alabama’s season on the brink of collapse, Milroe stayed calm.
Auburn muffed a punt late in the fourth quarter, while nursing a four-point lead, before Milroe made a 19-yard mad dash to set up a fourth-and-1, which Roydell Williams converted on a toss sweep.
Still, Alabama just couldn’t have it come easily. Seth McLaughlin’s errant snap threatened to ruin the scoring opportunity, but Milroe had one more trick up his sleeve.
A liability in September, Alabama’s quarterback is now its best thing going. His 366 yards of offense are the reason why Alabama will head to the SEC Championship Game next Saturday with its playoff hopes intact.
To have any chance to beat No. 1 Georgia, though, Alabama must play better than it did on this night.
How Auburn nearly pulled off stunning Iron Bowl upset
Hugh Freeze once again uncorked some sorcery against Alabama, and an Auburn team that got trounced by New Mexico State just one week ago nearly wrecked Alabama’s season. Nearly.
Freeze nearly earned his third career victory against Saban. Nearly.
A near-victory is another way of describing a heartbreaking loss.
“I’m really proud of our kids and the way they fought and prepared, but obviously it stinks to not get the win,’ Freeze said.
The Tigers used tempo, misdirection and speed to weave through and around a befuddled Alabama defense.
Auburn pass completions were a luxury, the latest iteration of a passing attack that’s remained stuck in a sad state for a second straight season. But quarterback Payton Thorne teamed with running backs Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston to repeatedly gouge Alabama’s run defense.
After one long run by Thorne, Alabama’s Dallas Turner stretched his arms wide, as if in disbelief. He’s not the only one struggling to comprehend how poorly the Crimson Tide’s defense played, and Alabama’s woes didn’t stop there.
The usually reliable Will Reichard missed a field goal, and penalties cost Alabama points on multiple drives.
“It’s kind of a reality check, though,” Saban said. “That’s what I told our team afterwards.”
The Tigers remain stuck in a yearslong purgatory. They haven’t been in the national conversation since firing Gus Malzahn in 2020, but Iron Bowls played in Jordan-Hare Stadium have a flare for the unusual.
The magic of the Plains fizzled one play too soon, though, just in time for Milroe and Bond to deliver an escape so improbable that there’s only one word to describe it:
Miraculous.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.