It was fourth an 18. Georgia had just sucked all of the momentum out of the stadium. Or so it seemed. Nick Marshall dropped back to pass and launched a deep ball out of as much desperation as he had hope. It was deflected by a Georgia defender and for a split second it looked as though Alabama would be one step closer to wrapping up the SEC West tonight. But then, as fate would have it, the ball landed in the hands of Ricardo Louis, who ran uncontested to the end zone to capture a 43-38 lead that seemed improbable just two seconds before. But this seesaw battle would not end without one last effort from Aaron Murray and Georgia, but Murray’s final pass was hopeless as he was hit as he threw. This time the ball fell to the ground instead of one lucky receiver’s hands with nothing but daylight in front of him.
Auburn 45, Georgia 38. Whew!
After holding off Georgia (6-3, 4-2 SEC) Saturday, Auburn (10-1, 5-1 SEC) is now in control of their SEC West fate. All that is standing in the way is the top-ranked team in the country, the two-time defending BCS champions and the biggest rival of them all for Auburn; Alabama. Oh, is that all?
The stage for a monumental Iron Bowl match-up in two weeks is now halfway set. Auburn will get a week off to rest and prepare for Alabama, who likely will come to Auburn with an undefeated record as the top-ranked team in the country (assuming the Tide win Saturday night). The way Auburn has been playing of late under head coach Gus Malzahn, the Tigers look to be the biggest threat to Alabama on their quest for a third straight BCS title. As it turns out, Auburn could still figure in to the BCS Championship equation. A win over Alabama would send Auburn in to the SEC championship game. Would a one-loss SEC champion be passed by an undefeated Ohio State or Baylor, or perhaps a one-loss Pac 12 champion (Stanford or Oregon)? The debates would be fascinating, but you could make a very strong case for Auburn given the national perception of the SEC.
But none of that will come in t play if Auburn does not beat Alabama at home for the first time since 2007.
On Saturday, Auburn looked about as worthy of a challenge to Alabama as any. The Tigers rolled up over 500 yards of offense, highlighted by a 100-yard rushing performance from Tre Mason and the dual-threat play of quarterback Marshall. Eight different players caught a pass for Auburn and the offense avoided a turnover.
Auburn also needed to dig deep and hold off a furious rally by Georgia. Trailing 37-17 in the fourth quarter, Aaron Murray threw two touchdowns to trim a 20-point deficit to a one-score game, and his controversial touchdown run gave Georgia a brief lead. Video replay showed Murray’s knee may have touched the ground before getting the ball across the goal line but there was not enough indisputable evidence to overturn the original touchdown call. It seemed as though Georgia had managed to escape with a win against all odds and set themselves up for a potential rematch with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
They were one bounce away from that scenario being possible.