Auburn Miracle Gives Tigers Victory
Nov 16, 2013; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers wide receiver Ricardo Louis (5) scores the game-winning touchdown against the Georgia Bulldogs at Jordan Hare Stadium. The Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 43-38. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
Forget trying to explain the end of Auburn’s win over Georgia.
It ain’t happening without HBO-level language.
Auburn QB Nick Marshall’s horribly overthrown pass bounced off the hand of Georgia S Josh Harvey-Clemons into the hands of streaking Tigers WR Ricardo Louis for a game-winning 73-yard touchdown.
Hail Mary doesn’t even begin to…
I mean…
No.
Seriously.
What the…
Look. Georgia fans have every right in the history of mankind to be upset. Just not at coach Mark Richt, who helped his team engineer an improbable comeback to claim a lead from 17 points down in the fourth quarter.
Georgia scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than 2 minutes remaining when officials on the field ruled Bulldogs QB Aaron Murray pushed the ball over the goal-line for a go-ahead touchdown. Replays showed it was highly unlikely Murray actually scored on fourth down, but couldn’t show it definitively.
In the end, Auburn had no business losing a 20-point lead.
Nor did it have any business winning.
No non-Tigers fan will ever congratulate Auburn on its enormous win, setting up the biggest Iron Bowl in recent series history. (All-time?)
These plays come once in a lifetime.
For Auburn, that once in a lifetime came Saturday night.
And it came at an unbelievable time.
On fourth-and-18, Marshall connected (with help of a deflection) with Louis for the biggest touchdown in recent Auburn history.
It was the biggest Tigers touchdown since Philip Lutzenkirchen’s go-ahead score against Alabama in the 2010 championship run.
That’s not to say Auburn is in line to win the 2013 BCS National Championship Game.
The Tigers host No. 1 Alabama in the regular-season game. They are likely to be at least three-score underdogs. Former USA Today line-setter Danny Sheridan picked it as a 17-point spread.
However, the Tigers will enter with a chance to win the SEC West.
They will also come into play with an outside shot at a BCS National Championship Game appearance – as unbelievable as that sounds.
Such a run would be no more improbable than Auburn’s winning score on Saturday.
Marshall’s once-in-a-lifetime pass to Louis provided the Tigers with a signature victory – with an asterisk.
Asterisk or no, Auburn brought home the biggest win under first-year coach Gus Malzahn.
Now it gears up for the SEC’s biggest game of the season.