AUBURN, Ala. – Ja'Varrius Johnson scored two touchdowns and Auburn led by four points in the final minute but No. 8 Alabama scored on fourth-and-goal from the 31-yard-line to win the 88th Iron Bowl 27-24 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"Really proud of our kids, the way they fought and prepared," Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. "We didn't play good enough in the critical moments. There's a lot of hurt in that locker room. Our kids gave themselves a chance to win the Iron Bowl and it's going to stick with us for a while."
Johnson's second touchdown, on a 27-yard wheel route from Payton Thorne, gave the Tigers a 21-20 lead midway through the third quarter. Johnson made four of Auburn's six receptions, netting 76 yards and a touchdown while adding a 12-yard rushing touchdown.
"He was great all night," Thorne said of Johnson. "He was big on third down, and obviously getting in the end zone a couple times was huge."
After Alabama missed a field goal attempt, the Tigers held the ball for 8 minutes and 18 seconds and extended their lead to 24-20 on Alex McPherson's 19th consecutive field goal, a 21-yarder, with 10:15 to play.
Auburn's defense forced consecutive three-and-outs but the Tigers muffed a punt that Alabama recovered on the Tigers' 30-yard line with 4:48 remaining.
Alabama converted on fourth-and-1 from Auburn's 10, but a fumbled snap on second down lost 18 yards and an illegal forward pass penalty on third down pushed the visitors back to Auburn's 31-yard-line on fourth down with 43 seconds left.
Jalen Millroe found Isaiah Bond in the back left corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 32 seconds to play.
"I'm proud of the way our kids fought and prepared," Freeze said. "It makes the hurt that much more when you don't get it done. You tell them you love them and that they'll learn from it and get through it, but it's going to hurt and there's no way around it. They're going to have to walk through the hurt."
Alabama held Auburn without a first down on the game's opening possession, then drove 69 yards on its first drive, taking a 7-0 lead on Roydell Williams' 2-yard touchdown run.
The Tigers evened the score by rushing for 68 yards on five plays, with Jarquez Hunter picking up a first down with an 11-yard gain, then racing to his right for 42 yards. Damari Alston did the rest, picking up a first down before tying the score at 7-7 with a 4-yard touchdown run.
"You've got to bring it to them," said Hunter, who led Auburn with 93 yards rushing on 14 carries. "When you bring it to them, they're not going to want to keep tackling you the whole game. The offensive line did good blocking in this game; I just have to make my cuts and hit the hole."
Auburn rushed for 244 yards on 42 attempts, an average of 5.8 yards per rush. Alston added 85 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushes, and Thorne contributed 57 yards rushing on 15 carries.
"We knew we had to run the football to win this game," Freeze said. "I thought we ran well enough to win it."
Alabama took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter with a 32-yard field goal.
Auburn then flipped field position by converting two third downs on Thorne completions, followed by Oscar Chapman's 45-yard punt that Jaylin Simpson downed at the Alabama 1-yard-line.
After forcing an Alabama punt, Auburn took a 14-10 lead after Alston's 56-yard run set up Johnson's 12-yard touchdown run on a reverse with 2:24 to play in the second quarter.
Alabama regained the lead three plays later on Jalen Millroe's 68-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Burton with 1:33 remaining in the half.
Alabama added to its 17-14 halftime lead with Will Reichard's second field goal of the game on the opening possession of the third quarter.
Jalen McLeod led Auburn with eight tackles, including one of the Tigers' five tackles for loss.
"We're building a foundation for next year," said Eugene Asante, who made five solo tackles. "What we just experienced is a tough thing but growing for the future and understanding to put our best foot forward. That's something we're going to continue to emphasize. This is not the end."
Auburn (6-6, 3-5) will conclude the season in a bowl game and will learn its destination, date and opponent on Dec. 3 after next weekend's conference championship games.
"We have the best fans in the country," Freeze said. "That atmosphere tonight was off the charts. Wish we were out there celebrating together."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Postgame Notes>> Captains: Luke Deal, Kam Stutts, Elijah McAllister, Marcus Harris
>> Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and will receive
>> Eagle Flight: Aurea from section 12
>> Attendance: 88,043
TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters for Auburn: none
>> Auburn has scored in 141 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history.
>> First time in records back through 1996 that Auburn has had two rushes of 40+ yards versus Alabama.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OFFENSE
>> Jarquez Hunter is now 18th among Auburn career rushers with 2,128 yards, passing Lionel James (2,068 from 1980-83) and James Bostic (2,084 from 1991-93); next is Kenny Irons (2,186 from 2005-06).
>> Payton Thorne is now 10th in single-season rushing yardage among all-time Auburn quarterbacks with 521 yards; next is Phil Gargis (534 yards in 1976).
>> Damari Alston scores his second touchdown of the season.
>> Alston's 56-yard run in the second quarter was a career long.
>> Ja'Varrius Johnson scored the second rushing TD of his career and his ninth career score.
>> Ja'Varrius Johnson scored the second rushing TD of his career; Johnson's TD catch was his third of the season and the eighth of his career. Johnson now has 10 career scores and 1,156 career receiving yards, to rank 27th in Auburn career receiving yardage; next is Clifton Robinson (1,167 from 1997-2000).
>> The last Auburn player with a rushing and receiving touchdown against Alabama was Ben Obomanu in 2005
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: DEFENSE
>> Jalen McLeod leads Auburn in tackles for the second time this season.
>> Marcus Harris records his seventh sack of the season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Lou Groza Award semifinalist Alex McPherson is 39-39 on PAT kicks this season and 48-48 for his career.
>> McPherson has made 19 consecutive field goals, extending his school record.
>> Oscar Chapman now has 41 punts of 50+ yards during his career.