'Gravedigger' game-winner propels No. 8 Alabama past Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. – It was a play that will go down in Alabama and Iron Bowl history.

The Crimson Tide practices the play it ran to take a last-minute lead over Auburn every Friday, head coach Nick Saban said. But Crimson Tide wide receiver Isaiah Bond claimed that was the first time he’s ever been on the receiving end of the route he ran on 4th and 31.

“That route wasn’t supposed to go to me, but me just believing in myself, me believing in my quarterback and the quarterback still found me in a big-time situation in the game and I made the play,” said Bond after the 27-24 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Alabama (11-1, 8-0 SEC) trailed its in-state rival 24-20 with 4:28 left to play and was punting the ball back to the Tigers. But Auburn muffed the punt, and linebacker Jihaad Campbell scooped it up at the Tigers’ 30. After taking a sack, quarterback Jalen Milroe took off for a 19-yard run and tossed the ball to running back Roydell Williams on 4th and 1 to move the chains.

Now inside the Auburn 10-yard line, a snap slipped by Milroe, who fell on it for an 18-yard loss, and a throw beyond the line of scrimmage lost five more yards to set up 4th and Goal at the 31. But the third-year quarterback, making his 12th start, tried to block out any distractions.

“There’s still a lot of time left,” Milroe said. “They’ve got to come see us. No matter what the circumstance is, they’ve got to come see us. So the biggest thing we had to do was finish. It’s all about finish, it’s all about four quarters. That’s what happened today.”

With one last shot to take the lead, Milroe had plenty of time to read over his options and found Bond in the back, left corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 32 seconds left to play. 

“Jalen made a great throw, but IB really kind of got him in position where there was room to throw it,” Saban said. “He pushed inside and the DB was inside of him and then he came back out, Jalen threw it back out to him and it was a great catch, a great throw. 

“But that is a play that we actually work on, and I must admit that I think you have to be a little lucky for it to work, but I’ll take it.”

How confident was the Alabama quarterback when he released his final pass of the day?

“One hundred percent,” Milroe said. “I saw IB one-on-one, and I was like, ‘We’re gonna score.’”

The play was a devastating final blow for an Auburn team looking to pull off an upset and crush the Crimson Tide’s hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff. But that was fitting, given the name of the play. Bond said the game-winning call is known as “Gravedigger.” Why?

“We’re going to put them in the grave after that (play),” Bond said. “It’s normally at the end of the game – gravedigger, put them to sleep type of play.”

Bond was on the receiving end of five of Milroe’s 16 completions and turned them into 75 yards and the final score. His quarterback completed 67 percent of his passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns while also leading Alabama in rushing with 107 yards on 18 run attempts.

“I think he made some critical plays in critical situations, no bigger than the last one,” Saban said. “But I thought he played really well early in the game, and I thought he played a really, really good game. I thought that a couple times that he could have run and he threw the ball when we were across the line of scrimmage, I think he just has to go because he’s hard to tackle and he’s fast. Just make a decision and go full speed. 

“But I thought he played great in the game. His progress has transformed our team and our offense. And because he is a point guard and because he involving everybody in the game, which is the thing I think he had to learn this year, he’s now become extremely effective at the quarterback position.”

Next up for Alabama is a monumental matchup with Georgia in next week’s SEC Championship Game. While a playoff berth is likely on the line in that title game, Bond and Milroe will enjoy this one, not only for the next 24 hours but the rest of their days as Iron Bowl heroes.

“I’m going to definitely remember that play for the rest of my life, just knowing I just helped my teammates out to another win,” Bond said. “It was also great Alabama program history. Auburn-Alabama games, it’s a big game in the state of Alabama, so to just know I was able to go out there and make a play for our team to win is a great feeling.”

Added Milroe, with a huge smile, “I’ll never forget this game ever in my life.”

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