Suttles article - Savor This Win

quote:

---

AUBURN, Ala. — Savor this, Alabama fans. Seriously, lock it in a place somewhere deep inside of you and cherish it. Hold onto it like you’re going to suffocate it.

Forget Georgia and the SEC championship game and what’s to come. Forget about any issues or weaknesses Alabama showed for nearly four quarters. Those things can be worried about another time. Don’t borrow trouble.

For tonight and into the next day and the next and for a lifetime, bathe in something that rarely happens around the Crimson Tide football program, save for a handful of times in the Nick Saban era: The unexpected, heart-in-your-throat, thrilling win. And it happened in the Iron Bowl.

No. 3 Alabama (11-1 7-1 SEC) somehow snagged a victory from certain defeat inside the team’s personal hellscape of Jordan-Hare Stadium in a four-overtime 24-22 win against hated rival Auburn (6-6, 3-5).

It’s happened before, but not often. There was comeback win against Arkansas in Saban’s first season in 2007. There was a final drive to beat Auburn in 2009 on the way to the national championship. There was a late win at Arkansas in 2010. And, of course, there was the second-and-26 walk-off win over Georgia for the national title in 2017. But there’s been nothing like what just happened Saturday.

It was the first overtime game in the Iron Bowl’s illustrious history. The game was headed for overtime in 2013 before the Kick Six intervened. It needed four of them in this one, the last two periods exclusively made up of two-point attempts, capped by Bryce Young’s winning pass to John Metchie.

Think of how this game transpired. From an inept offense that lost its best weapon to a special teams targeting call in the first half, to Young being sacked seven times, to a botched field goal hold, to a defense refusing to give in no matter how great Auburn’s field position. And think of how it ended. That same offense that couldn’t get out of its way sucked the air out of the stadium with 24 seconds remaining.

It looked insurmountable, to be honest. Alabama needed to go 97 yards in 1:35 when it had only 254 yards in total before that drive, including a meager 68 yards in the first half. It needed a 38-yard field goal to extend overtime. When’s the last time Alabama made a field goal when it had to have it to extend a game?

For those reasons alone, Alabama fans should enjoy this win as much as any of the Saban era. The euphoria of a walk-off win is unlike anything in sports. Championships are great. But there’s a slow release of endorphins when Alabama boat raced Ohio State last year. To beat your biggest rival in their stadium, with that crowd, with their defenders mocking your wide receiver’s celebration, to rip a win that would’ve salvaged a mediocre season away from the team that ruined two recent seasons for you (2013, 2019), you’re damn right you should feel on top of the world.

You’ve had to endure eight years of Kick Six highlights. You didn’t get anything nearly that dramatic Saturday, but at least you have something to counter with knowing that Auburn fans could taste that win. It was all but ensured. The crowd was loud. They were confident. They bordered on arrogant. Who could blame them? The Tigers defense gave them reason to feel that way with a defensive effort that will have many singing Tigers defensive coordinator Derek Mason’s praises and rightfully so. That unit was the difference in the game.

Until freshman wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks wrapped his hands around a 28-yard touchdown pass from Young that forced overtime. This time it was Auburn that had its heart ripped out inside this stadium. It was a delicious twist of the knife for Alabama, which should hate playing here more than it cares to admit.

Saban was keenly aware of that this week. Asked about his favorite Iron Bowl memory,  he listed off losses, all the weird turns of event that led to him previously walking off this field in disarray. That’ll change after this one. He called it one of his favorite wins of his career.

“Most of the time, I remember the ones we lose, but I think I’ll remember this one because of the way the players competed in the game,” Saban said. “It was a great comeback. There were many times when those guys could have just thrown in the towel and said, ‘They got the ball in great field position. If they score one more time this game’s probably over,’ and we’d always get a sack or get a stop. So it’s the feeling of being on a team. The feeling of togetherness of everybody making a commitment to support each other, be positive.

“You know, trust and believe in each other enough to go out there and make the kind of plays that they made, especially to end the game that makes it a special win. You don’t you don’t experience that a lot. So when you do and we certainly did tonight, you’re always gonna remember it.”

---