The ball was tipped once, tipped again and corralled. The Auburn receiver broke into the open field, and the crowd erupted.
If this situation sounds familiar, it’s because it has only been two years since a similar play happened in the same stadium in nearly the same spot on the field.
Much like the time of the previous tipped reception — Ricardo Louis’ game-winning reception against Georgia in 2013 that has become known as ‘The Prayer in Jordan-Hare’ — the game seemed to have slipped away from Auburn.
The Tigers’ offense was sputtering, and Alabama quarterback Jake Coker hit ArDarius Stewart on the previous possession for a 34-yard touchdown that put the Crimson Tide ahead by two scores.
Auburn was shut down on its first two plays of the drive and, facing a third-and-12 from the 23-yard line, Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson lofted a pass down the middle of the field.
The pass appeared to be just out of the reach of Jason Smith, but the receiver tipped the ball twice, ran by Alabama safety Eddie Jackson and had nothing but green grass — the same turf Louis traversed two years ago — between him and a touchdown.
“As I was running, I was like, ‘Man, no way,’” Smith said. “I couldn’t hear anything, at first, until I got in the end zone. Yeah, (Louis’ catch) was going through my mind.”
Louis was lined up on the far left of the five-wide receiver formation, and he ran a crossing route on the play that led him to the Auburn 40, about 10 yards from where Smith first tipped the ball.
“As soon as it happened I was thinking about (the catch against Georgia in 2013),” Louis said. “Everybody was like ‘Oh! Ricardo Louis 2.0!’ He just made a good play. I think his was probably better than mine. You know, great focus. He did a good job of just reeling it in for the touchdown.”
Auburn had run the same play earlier in the game. The pass protection broke down, and Johnson was forced to scramble. The protection held up the second time, and it resulted in Johnson’s longest career pass, Auburn’s longest offensive play of the season and the Tigers’ only touchdown in the game.
The catch brought Auburn to within six points, but the Tigers failed to score again, falling to Alabama, 29-13.
While the play brought energy to the Auburn sideline and crowd, it — strangely enough — played into the Tide’s hands down the stretch, according to coach Nick Saban.
“It certainly made us bear down and continue to compete, because we knew this was going to be a 60-minute game,” Saban said. “They’ve got a lot of good players and they’re all capable of making the play, but certainly that play reminded me of the play they made against Georgia.”
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