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Inside Auburn’s game-sealing, 4th-down gambit


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Inside Auburn’s game-sealing, 4th-down gambit in the Iron Bowl

Updated Dec 01, 9:39 AM;Posted Nov 30, 9:33 PM

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AUBURN, ALABAMA - NOVEMBER 30: Bo Nix #10 of the Auburn Tigers reacts after drawing the Alabama Crimson Tide offside on 4th and 4 to seal their 48-45 win at Jordan Hare Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Gus Malzahn kept this one in his back pocket for some time, but he decided to dial it up in the biggest moment of the biggest game of the season.

With a little more than a minute remaining Saturday night and Auburn clinging to a three-point lead, the Tigers faced fourth-and-4 from their own 26-yard line. It was time to punt, and Alabama was set to get the ball back with under a minute left and one last chance to win the Iron Bowl.

Or so it seemed.

Instead of trotting out the punt team, Malzahn kept Auburn’s offense on the field, except with one caveat. Punter Arryn Siposs subbed onto the field and lined up the X-receiver spot, otherwise known as the split end. The hope, for Auburn, was that the formation would keep Alabama’s defense on the field — and dangerous return man Jaylen Waddle, who already had a kickoff return as one of his four touchdowns on the day, off the field.

Except Alabama’s punt return unit initially came on the field, anticipating the Auburn punt, before having to scramble to substitute and get the defense back on. The only problem for Alabama was that once the defense subbed onto the field, Waddle was too slow coming off it.

The result? Twelve men on the field and an illegal substitution penalty on Alabama — five yards and a game-sealing first down for Auburn.

“We had the punter with the offense, just trying to keep their defense on there without their returner and that’s what caused all the confusion and caused 12 guys on the field and it worked out pretty good,” Malzahn said.

The illegal substitution was an unintended benefit of the play design for Auburn. The original idea, at least, was to have Siposs line up at receiver and then shift him into the backfield to take the snap and punt the ball. It was a bit of a variation of an earlier play in the game, when quarterback Bo Nix punted on a quick kick on the Tigers’ first drive of the day.

As Siposs motioned into the backfield on this play, the official had already thrown the flag.

“We’ve had it, but this kick returner will make you do things you normally wouldn’t do,” Malzahn said. “Our whole goal was not to let him beat us, of course he house-called the one, that was huge. We were just trying to find different ways…. We’ve been working on that all year.”

The gambit — which Malzahn was tempted to attempt earlier in the game but refrained — ultimately paid off for Auburn, whether the result was what the Tigers had anticipated or not.

“It was something that we had planned up to get the ball out of 17's (Waddle’s) hands,” Auburn receiver Sal Cannella said. “But they messed up on their end. We were all cool on our end.”

It was the second end-of-half special teams scenario that was costly to Alabama. In the first half, the referees added a second back to the clock before halftime, allowing Auburn to kick a 52-yard field goal that cut the Tide’s lead to 31-27 at the break.

This one proved more costly for Alabama, of course. As Nix, who was trying to get a snap off as quick as possible, saw Waddle slow to get off the field and the ensuing flag thrown, the Auburn quarterback triumphantly walked to the Tigers’ sideline while signaling for the first down.

He and Malzahn shared a victorious fist-pump, and Auburn kneeled out the clock before a wave of fans flooded the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn 48, Alabama 45 in an Iron Bowl for the ages.

“We gave ourselves an opportunity to tie the game, we got a chance to get the ball back at the end of the game,” Saban said. “I really feel that it was a pretty unfair play at the end of the game where they substituted the punter as a wide receiver. So, we put the punt team in. And when the quarterback was back in there, we tried to put the defense back in. I thought they should have given us a little more time to substitute and get Waddle out as a returner. You get called for 12 guys on the field.

“So that was very disappointing. It was a very unusual circumstance, to say the least. And I think sometimes when you have those, they should be viewed that way.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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