Auburn's last-second field goal vs. Alabama makes difference in Iron Bowl win

Tom Gatto

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Auburn's last-second field goal vs. Alabama makes difference in Iron Bowl win image

What should we call the latest Alabama-Auburn special teams moment? The "Kick Tick"?

The 16th-ranked Tigers were able to line up for a field goal at the end of the first half in Saturday's win over the fifth-ranked Crimson Tide, but only after officials put a second back on the game clock following a video review. The clock had hit all zeroes after a pass completion yielded a first down, but the review determined the clock should have been stopped at :01.

The ball was spotted, Auburn — which had no timeouts remaining — got the snap away before time ran out in the half, and Anders Carlson converted from 52 yards to cut Alabama's lead to 31-27 at intermission. It ended up being the difference in a 48-45 win for the Tigers.

MORE: SN's live updates from the Iron Bowl

Alabama coach Nick Saban was livid that the officiating crew put the second back on the clock.

"Well, they said there was one second on the clock," Saban said on the CBS telecast at halftime, "but it's a live clock, so if (officials) chop the clock, there's no way they can snap it and kick it in one second. If you clock the ball you've got to have three seconds to do it, so I don't get it."

It's also worth noting the SEC's Twitter page, dedicated to officiating, has not posted anything to explain the ruling as of Saturday evening; in fact, the account has been inactive since midday Saturday.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.