It was a play that will forever be immortalized in Iron Bowl history. With Alabama trailing Auburn by a score of 24-20, fans held their breath and prayed for a miracle as Jalen Milroe took the snap facing fourth-and-goal from the 31-yard line.
The Crimson Tide had a win probability of just 0.1% according to ESPN at the time with under a minute remaining. Although the odds were not in their favor, they had to hold out hope with the season on the line.
Milroe had plenty of time to look downfield before throwing up a pass to the corner of the end zone toward receiver Isaiah Bond. Somehow he made the catch as he fell backward, keeping his feet in bounds to put Alabama ahead.
Now five months later, Milroe recalled what he saw on the play that will go down as one of the best ever in the storied college football rivalry.
“I just see the field very well and I saw (Bond) was one-on-one so I took a shot,” the QB said on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast. “Putting great ball placement, because if I put it anywhere else it was going to go either out of bounds or picked off. Not in the range where he can go make a grab and be him and allow IB to make an IB play.
“So I just put it in a place where he could make a play on the ball. I didn’t have too strong of a pass rush, so I had enough time to make a play. So when you talk about everyone doing their job, that’s what happens.”
The victory kept the College Football Playoff hopes for Alabama alive, which would go on to claim the SEC Championship against Georgia the following week. That propelled the Crimson Tide into the CFP, where they would go on to lost to eventual national champion Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Milroe is now set to return as the starting quarterback for the second straight season looking to lead Alabama back in the expanded 12-team Playoff. He’ll have a new head coach after Nick Saban retired and the Crimson Tide brought in Kalen DeBoer as his replacement.
Much was made about Milroe’s rushing ability last season as he finished with 531 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. However, he proved with his throw in the Iron Bowl as well as on several other occasions that he is more than capable as a passer as well.
Jalen Milroe will aim to get even better through the air in 2024, and if he ever needs a confidence boost, he can simply look back at this highlight from the Auburn game.
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