Kick Six

as their head coach. The football programs representing the University of Alabama and Auburn University first met in 1893 and have played every year since 1948. Over time the two in-state foes developed a rivalry (culminating every year at the Iron Bowl) that is considered to be one of the best and fiercest in all of college football. Entering the game, Alabama held the series lead with a 42–34–1 record. The two teams came into the 2013 season following drastically different 2012 seasons. Despite an upset at the hands of Texas A&M, Alabama ultimately finished as SEC champions after a close game against the Georgia Bulldogs and went on to soundly defeat Notre Dame 42–14 for their second consecutive national title, and their third in four years, cementing themselves as a dynasty under head coach Nick Saban. Meanwhile, two years after their own National Championship victory, the Auburn Tigers suffered through their worst season in 60 years, finishing 3–9 with an 0–8 SEC record, capped by a 49–0 loss to Alabama in the 2012 Iron Bowl–their second consecutive blowout loss in the game. Head coach Gene Chizik was fired at the end of the season in favor of Arkansas State head coach and former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Alabama entered the 2013 season ranked #1 and remained at the top of the polls for the entire season, rolling through their schedule with relative ease, winning all but one of their games (Texas A&M) by more than 10 points. Auburn, on the other hand, entered the season unranked and did not enter the AP Poll until the midpoint of the season. Auburn's season was defined by a series of come-from-behind wins and close finishes. Auburn defeated Mississippi State in September on a late touchdown pass. The following month, No. 24 Auburn came from behind on the road to beat No. 7 Texas A&M. Following the victory against Texas A&M, Auburn was ranked #11 in the AP poll. Two weeks before the Iron Bowl, No. 7 Auburn defeated rival Georgia with a tipped Hail Mary pass known as the "Prayer at Jordan–Hare", setting the stage for a highly ranked Iron Bowl matchup. Alabama was predicted by analysts to conclude the 2013–14 season with a BCS record third straight national title, their fourth in five years. The winner of the previous four Iron Bowls (2009–2012) went on to win the national championship: Alabama in 2009, 2011, and 2012, and Auburn in 2010. Entering the 2013 Iron Bowl, Alabama and Auburn were ranked No. 1 and No. 4 respectively in the BCS rankings, making it only the second matchup in the history of the rivalry to feature two Top 5 teams, and the highest-ranked Iron Bowl ever. It was also the first Iron Bowl in which both teams were playing for a berth to the SEC Championship. Alabama entered the game undefeated in the previous three years and 24 days in games played outside of their home field in Tuscaloosa, their last loss prior to those 18 consecutive road victories coming on November 6, 2010, at LSU. With Alabama favored by 10 points, Auburn was a decided underdog in the eyes of most analysts. Marq Burnett of the Alabama-based Anniston Star went as far as to list seven reasons why Auburn could not beat Alabama, including Alabama's tough run defense, perceived unstoppable offense, and the superior coaching skills of Nick Saban over Gus Malzahn. Joel Erickson of The Birmingham News was one of the few writers to pick Auburn, predicting a score of 31–28. Similar predictions were shared during ESPN's College GameDay, which was broadcast live from outside Jordan–Hare Stadium prior to the game. The program's panel of Kirk Herbstreit, David Pollack, and Lee Corso, as well as Paul Finebaum, unanimously picked Alabama to win the game. Auburn alumnus and NBA on TNT personality Charles Barkley, who appeared as a celebrity guest, went against the panel and chose Auburn to win the game. ==Game recap==

scored the game's first points on a 45-yard touchdown run. First quarter The game began with Auburn's Cody Parkey kicking off to Alabama's Christion Jones, who returned the kick to the Alabama 24-yard line. On the game's first play from scrimmage, Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon ran for 31 yards into Auburn territory. Alabama then drove to the Auburn 26-yard line before Yeldon was stopped on 3rd and 2. On 4th down, Cade Foster attempted a 44-yard field goal for the Tide, but narrowly missed left. On the ensuing drive, Alabama again went three-and-out and punted. Auburn's offensive spark was short-lived as the Tigers gained just 8 yards on their next drive and were forced to punt the ball back to Alabama. The quarter ended with Auburn leading 7–0. The Crimson Tide then missed their second field goal of the game. On the ensuing possession, with seven seconds left in the game, Alabama ran to Auburn's 38-yard line as T. J. Yeldon was knocked out of bounds by defensive back Chris Davis while the game clock expired. Saban argued to the referees that Yeldon had stepped out of bounds with one second left in regulation. Auburn's defensive coordinator, Ellis Johnson, doubted Alabama would make the long field goal and suggested that a speedy player stand in the end zone with the potential to return a missed field goal. Malzahn then put Chris Davis, who doubled as Auburn's punt returner, in the end zone for the return in the event of a miss. The crowd reaction during the game's final play registered on seismographs across the state of Alabama, in a manner similar to activity registered during the 1988 Auburn–LSU "Earthquake Game". ==Scoring summary==

Commentators Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson called the game on television nationally for CBS's SEC coverage. Lundquist's call of the last play: Gary Danielson later compared the game to the legendary Miracle on Ice, equating Auburn's upset of Alabama to the amateur USA hockey team defeating the powerhouse Soviet Union team during the 1980 Winter Olympics. In a 2020 interview, Lundquist called the play the greatest sporting moment he ever witnessed. Commentators Rod Bramblett and Stan White called the game on radio for the Auburn IMG Sports Network. Bramblett's call of the last play: Bramblett's passionate call of the final play quickly went viral, garnering him national media attention and resulted in Bramblett being named the Sports Broadcaster of the Year by Sports Illustrated. The call has since been assessed as one of the greatest announcer calls in recent sports history, being described by The New York Times as "the Call of a Lifetime". ==Statistics==

Auburn's win not only ended Alabama's bid for a third straight national title, but moved Auburn to third in the BCS standings. The Tigers beat Missouri 59–42 in the SEC Championship Game. After #2 Ohio State's loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game, Auburn moved into second place in the BCS and secured a place in the BCS National Championship Game, where they ultimately lost to the Florida State Seminoles 34–31. Auburn's loss to Florida State ended the SEC's streak of seven consecutive national championship victories. At the conclusion of the season, Auburn's Gus Malzahn won the SEC Coach of the Year award and received a six-year contract extension worth $3.85m per year. Alabama's A.J. McCarron and Auburn's Tre Mason were 2013 Heisman Trophy finalists with McCarron finishing 2nd and Mason finishing 6th. Immediately following the game, some sportswriters began describing the game as among the greatest in college football history, with Davis's return being described as one of the sport's greatest moments. Pat Forde, then a columnist for Yahoo! Sports, stated that:It was, quite simply, the most astounding ending ever to a college football game. I was at the Boise State–Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl in 2007; this tops it. More at stake, and even more shock value on the final play (minus the player proposing to his girlfriend on the field). An article in USA Today described the back-to-back victories with the analogy that lightning struck twice, with the Georgia game being "one of the greatest finishes to a college football game" and the Alabama upset "perhaps the greatest play in college football history". The Birmingham News called the Auburn victory their "latest miracle finish ... even more stunning than the first" while the News & Record described the game as "possibly the greatest college football game ever played." In 2015, college football fans voted the final play the greatest in college football history. At the 2014 ESPY Awards, which recognized the greatest achievements sporting achievements in 2013, the game won the award for Best Game. The game-winning touchdown return was also named Best Play at the ESPYs, beating out three other nominees including Auburn's Prayer at Jordan-Hare against Georgia. At 6:43 p.m., just 18 minutes after of the conclusion of the game, Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News posted an article titled "Kick Bama Kick", but included an online poll allowing readers to select their favorite moniker. Among seven proposed titles, "Kick Bama Kick" won by a landslide. Ryan Black of the Ledger–Enquirer in Columbus, Georgia titled an article "Kick, Bama, kick" within hours of the game's completion. In the years following the game, the "Kick Six" has emerged as the most enduring name for the game, used by most media outlets, Auburn, and the NCAA to refer to both the play and the game. The term "Kick Six" has since been used to refer to other instances of blocked or missed field goals being returned for a touchdown, as in an NFL game on November 30, 2015, by the Baltimore Ravens against the Cleveland Browns. The term is a play on the term "pick six", which refers to an interception being returned for a touchdown. ==References==