Tigers topple Tide, earn SEC title shot
S ab an says, despite loss, his team deserves playoff ber th
AUBURN, ALA. >> Auburn fans blanketed the field from end zone to end zone, just like the last time they got to celebrate a stirring Iron Bowl win.
This time, Jarrett Stidham, Kerryon Johnson and No. 6 Auburn didn’t need a miraculous final play to unleash the celebration. It was a build up to the crescendo as the Tigers beat top-ranked Alabama in a dominating 2614 win Saturday. Auburn earned a berth in next week’s Southeastern Conference title game against No. 7 Georgia.
The Tigers, an afterthought earlier this season, now have their sights set on one of the four playoff spots. And Auburn coach Gus Malzahn made it clear his two-loss squad deserves a shot. One of his team’s two defeats was to defending national champion Clemson, No. 3 at the time.
“We’ve got to win next week, and that’s going to be a handful,” Malzahn said of his upcoming rematch with Georgia. “I don’t know, them experts got it figured out. I don’t think anybody else has played two No. 1 teams and a No. (3) team. Put up our schedule against anybody.”
Auburn fans covered the field in orange and blue after the final play, creating a scene similar to 2013, when the fourth-ranked Tigers beat No. 1 Alabama on a last-play, 109-yard return of a missed field goal. The Tigers went on to the national title game but had lost the three Iron Bowls since.
Stidham passed for 237 yards and ran for a fourthquarter touchdown to set up a rematch with Georgia in the SEC championship game Dec. 2 with a playoff spot almost certainly on the line.
Auburn (10-2, 7-1 SEC, No. 6 CFP) mostly shut down the league’s top scoring offense for its second win in three weeks over the top team in the playoff rankings. It won the Western Division a week after dispatching the Bulldogs with similar precision.
The Crimson Tide (111, 7-1) made a rare assortment of mistakes for a team that had appeared to be headed toward a shot at a fourth consecutive SEC title and playoff berth.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said his team still deserves a playoff shot after playing for the national title the past two years and scarcely getting challenged this season.
“I don’t think one game defines who you are,” Saban said. “It certainly doesn’t define this team for who they are.”
Auburn’s Johnson delivered a jump pass for a touchdown and ran 30 times for 104 yards before leaving in the fourth with a right shoulder injury.
Malzahn said after the game Johnson has “a shoulder issue,” but didn’t elaborate on his status for the rematch with Georgia in Atlanta. Johnson had earlier appeared hurt on a run toward the pylon but stayed in for a 1-yard touchdown run on the next play.
The SEC’s leading rusher crumpled to the ground after a carry and walked off the field holding his right arm close to his body with a towel draped over his head.
With No. 2 Miami losing Friday night to Pittsburgh, it’s the first time the top two teams in the AP poll have fallen on the same regular-season weekend since Nov. 17, 2012.