Published Nov 27, 2021
Falling flat in the 4th
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Bryan Matthews  •  AuburnSports
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@BMattAU

AUBURN | Auburn looked to be in control until the fourth quarter. It was there that the 86th Iron Bowl turned to the Tide.

No. 2 Alabama out-gained the Tigers 217-33 in the fourth, rallying from a 10-0 deficit to tie the game and eventually win 24-22 in the four overtimes.

“I know they had a couple runs in there. They hit some explosive pass plays,” said Auburn coach Bryan Harsin. "We didn't have a whole lot in our run game. And we're winning the game, and so we're trying to run the ball. We're trying to take care of the football 'cause we had a turnover earlier in the game.”

Quarterback T.J. Finley attempted just two passes, both incompletions including an interception. The Tigers attempted 10 runs but they netted just 33 yards.

The most successful play of the fourth came on a 10-yard run by Tank Bigsby on 2nd and 11 at the UA 47-yard line. Bigsby was forced out of bounds, however, allowing Alabama to preserve its final timeout with less than two minutes left in the game.

Bigsby was dropped for a 4-yard loss on the next play and UA called a timeout with 1:43 left. AU punted and the Tide took over at their own 3-yard line with 1:35 remaining and no timeouts.

Alabama drove 97 yards in 1:11 to tie the game, scoring with 24 seconds remaining. That play wouldn’t have taken place had AU been able to run off 35-40 seconds by not running out of bounds.

“I think that's important; you know, you understand the situation on the clock,” said Harsin. “But guys are also tackling our backs, and they're fighting hard for yards. So, ideally you stay in bounds during that, but at the same time, I mean, guys are trying to run hard.”

Auburn’s defense held Alabama to 134 total yards including -4 yards rushing through the first three quarters with six sacks. In the fourth, however, the Tide averaged 6.8 yards per play and had five passes of more than 15 yards and a 37-yard run.

AU had one sack and had two 4th-down stops in the fourth, but the defense was on the field for 9:27 as the offense managed two first downs and was 0 of 3 on third downs.

On the final game-tying drive, UA quarterback Bryce Young completed just 4 of 10 passes but one converted a 3rd and 10, another a 4th and 7 and threw a 28-yard touchdown on 3rd and 10.

“We didn’t complete the task,” said Derick Hall, who had three sacks. “I think them moving down the field was something that we were aware of that could possibly happen, but also just trying to finish that drive. Like I said, we didn’t get the job done, but guys fought, guys played hard, and there’s no more we could ask for.”