ESPY Awards 2014: Auburn vs. Alabama Iron Bowl wins Best Game
By Jack Crosby
In the third award of the night for the 2014 ESPYS, the winners of Best Game were the members of the 2013 Iron Bowl between the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide. Accepting the award was Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and a few of his players, including the hero of the game himself, Chris Davis.
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Even with the remarkable season they had been having already, no one really expected the Tigers to get past the vaunted Crimson Tide and head off to the SEC Championship Game. Everyone had told them coming in that the magic was going to run out, even on their home field. And some believed that.
The Tigers didn’t, however.
Malzahn’s Auburn team fought right to the very end, and it seemed as the clock was running out in regulation, they were headed to overtime with the two-time defending national champions. With the game tied, and that clock draining, Saban sent his field goal unit out with one second on the clock.
What happened next amazed everyone.
With the kick falling short, Davis returned it over 100 yards from the end zone, stunning everyone in the crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and everyone watching on TV throughout the country.
That remarkable win sent the Tigers to the SEC title game where they would win, and then earn a berth in the BCS National Championship Game against Florida State.