Two seniors saw the ball as it was being thrown.
Early in the second quarter, Blake Countess’ eyes darted into the backfield and saw Jake Coker wind up to throw, so he broke on the ball. The pass was headed right at Countess' hands, so he got ready to haul in the interception.
And with just under a minute to go in the game, Melvin Ray dug into his route and cut toward the middle of the field. Jeremy Johnson reared back and fired, and Ray put his hands up to reel it in.
But both times, the ball hit the turf as it bounced off each Auburn player's hands.
Much like the missed interception and dropped fourth-down pass, Auburn had several chances to beat Alabama Saturday night, but they slipped through the Tigers’ grasp, as Auburn fell to Alabama, 29-13, in the 80th edition of the Iron Bowl.
The Tigers gave up 465 yards on the night, 271 to Alabama running back Derrick Henry alone. The teams traded field goals early, but Alabama put Auburn away on timely plays in the second half.
Late in the third quarter, with the Tide leading 12-6. Alabama quarterback Jake Coker dropped back and scanned the field. He eluded defensive end Carl Lawson, then sprinted away from Byron Cowart. Two times, the Tigers had a chance to bring him down, but Coker fired a strike to ArDarius Stewart in the end zone to extend Alabama’s lead to 19-6.
On the next drive, Auburn tacked on its only touchdown of the night, a 77-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Jason Smith, one eerily reminiscent of the ‘Prayer in Jordan-Hare’ in 2013.
But the Tide kept running the ball down the Tigers’ throats, and when the Auburn defense did stop them, the offense couldn’t string together enough plays to reach the end zone and cut into the lead.
Johnson finished 10-23 for 169 yards and the score, and Jovon Robinson led Auburn with 14 rushes for 51 yards.
He split carries with Peyton Barber--who ran the ball eight times for 29 yards--and the offense struggled to find a consistent enough rhythm to disrupt the potent Alabama front seven. Auburn converted only three of 15 third downs, forcing the already challenged defense to return to the field even faster.
“We’ve been inconsistent all year,” receiver Ricardo Louis said. “That’s the main thing. Every part, especially on offense, we just haven’t been consistent.”
After amassing 90 yards on the ground in the first half, Auburn only managed a single rushing yard in the second half, as coach Gus Malzahn began focusing more on attacking the Alabama defense through the air.
“They put an extra guy down on first down,” Malzahn said. “They dared us to throw it. Early on, when they did that, we got some yards. We had some trouble in the second half. That was really the biggest difference.”
Although the Auburn defense allowed 465 yards, the total yardage is deceiving. The Tigers, for the majority of the game, held their ground once Alabama drove deep into their territory, as they forced Alabama kicker Adam Griffith into five field goals.
“I think we’re headed the right way, especially defensively,” cornerback Jonathan Jones said. “The defense has gotten better and the numbers speak for themselves. If you watch the game you can tell that we’ve gotten better as a unit throughout the season.”
Coker was 17-for-26 for 179 yards and a touchdown, but Alabama coach Nick Saban progressively began giving the ball to Henry--the arguable front-runner in the Heisman race--who added a touchdown with 26 seconds to go in the game.
The Tigers, at 6-6, are still eligible for a bowl, and will have those crucial 15 practices to sharpen the team, with an emphasis on preparing for next year.
They just have to make sure they don’t let those opportunities slip.
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