Paul Finebaum not surprised at wild ending in Alabama's Iron Bowl victory

Alabama beat Auburn thanks to a truly spectacular and ridiculous final play, but Paul Finebaum says that’s just par for the course when it comes to the Iron Bowl.

When the Tigers and Crimson Tide do battle, fireworks often ensue, especially in the fourth quarter, when the game is tight between these two bitter in-state rivals. This past Saturday was no exception as a 6-5 Auburn scraped and clawed to hold the lead for much of the second half against the 11-1 visitors.

Of course, it did not last and the final moments were full of pain in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Driving to score and down four, Alabama had goal-to-go needing a touchdown to take the lead with roughly a minute remaining in the final quarter. Penalties and negative yardage on the first three downs pushed the Tide to a fourth down from the 31-yard line, a seemingly impossible play to make, yet Jalen Milroe and Isaiah Bond made it.

Milroe was unchallenged by the Tiger pass rush and eventually zipped a pass to the back corner of the end zone to Bond, who high-pointed the ball and stomped one foot down for the TD before collapsing out of bonds to make the lead-taking score. “Gravedigger” Bond named the play afterwards, adding yet another nicknamed final sequence that will live in Iron Bowl lore.

However, when breaking all the madness down on SportsCenter Sunday morning, Paul Finebaum said he wasn’t surprised whatsoever at a ending of that nature.

“I know what the analytics said, but I wasn’t that surprised, because I saw something very similar two years ago and we all saw the Kick Six ten years ago,” he said. “I’ve covered that game throughout my entire career and it always has something that cannot be put into common sense or words. So you do come to expect it.”

You really can’t frame a fourth-and-goal conversion from 30+ yards to win the game as anything other than completely absurd, which is just the way these Alabama-Auburn games tend to end. Though this one will go down in the record books, Finebaum explained why it’s not quite as memorable as Chris Davis’ 109-yard scamper from a decade ago.

“The difference I think yesterday vs. ten years ago with the famous Kick Six, there wasn’t quite as much on the line. That game in 2013, that was the No. 1 team in the country going for a three-peat vs. the No. 4 team, and by Auburn winning that, they ended up playing for the national championship. Auburn, fortunate to be going to a bowl game. Alabama still has work to do.”

Maybe not as high of stakes for both teams, but a thrilling ending nonetheless in a rivalry series that has a knack for producing them.