AUBURN, Ala. — Lifeless, that's the way things looked for Alabama for most of Saturday's Iron Bowl against Auburn, but especially so after a turnover on downs with two minutes left in the game. Alabama only had two timeouts left, and Auburn had the ball.
However, thanks to a little help from Tanks Bigsby running out of bounds on second down, and another tackle for loss from the Alabama defense forcing Auburn to punt, the Crimson Tide got the ball back with 1:35 left from their own three-yard line.
What came next was masterful drive from Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with Alabama trailing 10-3. Young capped a 12-play, 97-yard drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to freshman Ja'Corey Brooks with 0:24 left to tie the game at 10-10 and send it into overtime.
Four overtimes later, Young connected with John Metchie III on a two-point conversion to win the Iron Bowl 24-22.
On the game-tying drive, Young had a 22-yard completion to Metchie III on third-and-10. He had a 21-yard completion to Brooks. And when facing a fourth-and-seven with the game on the line, he connected with tight end Jahleel Billingsley for 14 yards.
The exclamation point came a few plays later on third-and-10 with the touchdown to pass to Brooks, the first of the young receiver's career.
It was an abysmal first half for Alabama offensively. The Crimson Tide was shutout in the first half for the first time this season and only produced 68 yards of offense.
Young only completed 38% of his passes with no touchdowns. It was a combination of drops, overthrows and Young having basically no time to throw the ball. He was sacked five times in the first half alone.
What was already looking bleak became even more dire when season-leading wide receiver Jameson Williams got ejected from the game for targeting on a tackle on a punt return with 9:02 in the second quarter.
After 10 straight possessions with no score, Auburn finally broke through after the targeting gave them favorable field position at the Alabama 39. Dallas Turner got a sack on second down, but on third-and-15, the Tigers' picked on Josh Jobe for a 29-yard completition down to the Auburn 15. On the next play, TJ Finley connected with Kobe Hudson for a touchdown to give the Tigers the 7-0 lead.
Alabama got the ball to start the second half, and it was a near disastrous start for the Crimson Tide. Young got sacked on his own five-yard line, forcing James Burnip to punt out of the back of his own end zone. Auburn returned the punt to the 22, but the defense was able to hold strong for a field-goal stop to make the Auburn lead 10-0.
That field goal would be the last time the Tigers would score in regulation.
Alabama and Young shook off the Jordan-Hare voodoo to win the Iron Bowl in Auburn for the first time since 2015. Next up will be the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship.
This story will be updated.
More must-reads: