Nick Saban on his message to Alabama before game-tying drive in Iron Bowl

Alabama wrapped up the regular season with a victory over Auburn, but it wasn’t without some late game drama. Auburn led 10-0 through three quarters, but Alabama came back to tie things up in the fourth. The Crimson Tide used a 12-play, 97-yard drive to tie the game with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation. Alabama head coach Nick Saban has revealed his message to the team prior to the long drive that forced overtime in the Iron Bowl.

“That’s pretty simple,” Saban said of his message to Alabama before the long, game tying drive in regulation of the Iron Bowl. “I mean we work all year long to put yourself in this position, now you have an opportunity. This is the drive. You’re not going to get a lot more opportunities than this. So we got to go out and execute and this is going to be our chance and you got to make the most of it. It’s what you work for all year.”

The Iron Bowl comeback was a unique situation for Saban, Alabama

Alabama hasn’t been in a position where two minute drives late in games were necessary. The Crimson Tide have won comfortably most of the season. But in the Iron Bowl on Saturday, things were different for Saban and Alabama.

“How many two minutes have we had all year long? How many opportunities have we needed to go two minutes and go the length of the field? So guys did a really good job,” Saban added. “Excellent, actually.”

Kicker Will Reichard connected on a 30-yard field goal with just under nine minutes remaining to make it a seven-point game. When Alabama got the ball back on their own three-yard line with around 90 seconds on the clock, things were looking bleak. It took just over a minute for Alabama to drive the length of the field. Quarterback Bryce Young connected with Ja’Corey Brooks on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds remaining to tie the game. The score sent Saban and Alabama into overtime, where they eventually won 24-22 after four overtime periods.

A loss would have ended Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes. Now, the Crimson Tide have an important date with Georgia in the SEC Championship game on Saturday.