Where does 2023 Iron Bowl rank in Alabama’s improbable wins?

Call it the “Milroe Miracle,” “Isaiah 4:31″ or something else, but Alabama’s 27-24 victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Saturday is among the more improbable wins in the program’s long history.

When you consider the confluence of events that had to occur even to get to fourth-and-goal from the Auburn 31, the fact Alabama actually pulled out the win on Jalen Milroe’s end-zone heave to Isaiah Bond with 32 seconds remaining is truly amazing. After the Tigers fumbled a punt at their 30 with 4:48 left, the Crimson Tide had losses of 9 and 18 yards and got called for an illegal forward pass on third down and still won the game.

Throw in the stakes— the Crimson Tide was trying to stay in the national title race — and it goes to another level. If Alabama somehow goes on to win the another championship, the winning touchdown in the 2023 Iron Bowl will go down in history as perhaps the greatest season-saving play in history.

As it stands, it’s still on the short list of wildest Alabama wins ever. Here are six other candidates:

1. Alabama 8, Florida State 7 (1974)

The Crimson Tide was unbeaten defending national champion and ranked No. 3 nationally when the lowly Seminoles — who had lost 16 straight games — visited Denny Stadium on that October afternoon. Florida State led 7-3 late, then took an intentional safety rather than try to punt from deep in its own end with a little over a minute remaining. Alabama’s Ronnie Kuykendall returned the free kick to the FSU 48, then third-string quarterback Robert Fraley — playing because Gary Rutledge and Richard Todd were both injured — threw 32 yards to freshman Ozzie Newsome. After two short losses and an incomplete pass, Bucky Berrey then drilled a 36-yard field goal with 33 seconds left to give Alabama the one-point win. The Crimson Tide would go on to win the four of five straight SEC titles that season.

2. Alabama 17, Auburn 15 (1984)

This game also made our list of Auburn’s worst-ever losses, which tells you how crazy it was. Alabama had already locked up its first losing season since 1957 when it rolled into Legion Field with a 4-6 record for the 1984 Iron Bowl. Auburn, meanwhile, was 8-2 and needed only a win to secure a share of the SEC championship and a trip to the Sugar Bowl. The game is most-famous for the “Wrong Way Bo” play, in which Auburn star Bo Jackson misheard the play call and left no lead blocker for Brent Fullwood on a key fourth-down play in the fourth quarter. An unblocked Rory Turner drove Fullwood out of bounds and short of the first down and preserved Alabama’s 2-point lead. The Tigers later got in position for a game-winning field goal, but Robert McGinty’s 42-yard attempt missed badly and Alabama had the victory.

3. Alabama 31, Kentucky 27 (1988)

The Crimson Tide trailed 17-0 at halftime, 20-7 after three quarters and 27-16 with less than 10 minutes remaining and still found a way to win in Lexington despite being without starting quarterback David Smith and top running backs Bobby Humphrey and Gene Jelks. Backup quarterback Vince Sutton rallied his team for 24 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Gene Newberry that was the game-winner with 10 seconds remaining. Alabama also scored touchdowns in the game on a 12-yard fake field goal pass from holder Chris Mohr to kick Philip Doyle, a 72-yard run by Murry Hill and Sutton’s 7-yard pass to Greg Payne. Alabama lost the following week to Ole Miss, but finished the season 9-3.

4. Alabama 24, Southern Miss 20 (1995)

The Crimson Tide has never won a game on a true last-play “Hail Mary,” but this was perhaps the closest thing to doing so. Alabama trailed Southern Miss 20-17 when it got the ball back at its own 20 with 2:50 remaining at Legion Field. Quarterback Brian Burgdorf converted a fourth-and-14 with a 15-yard pass to Toderick Malone early in the drive, then found Malone again on fourth down for the 35-yard touchdown with 17 seconds to play. Malone caught the ball down the right sideline and then fell into the end zone. The Crimson Tide lost the following week in controversial fashion to Arkansas as part of an 8-3 season.

5. Alabama 22, LSU 16 (1998)

Perhaps never has an Alabama loss seem so assured as when LSU’s Herb Tyler threw into the end zone with his team leading 16-7 early in the fourth quarter at Tiger Stadium. Alabama’s Marcus Spencer somehow pulled the ball away from Abram Booty, setting up an incredible comeback. The Crimson Tide pulled within 16-14 on Andrew Zow’s touchdown pass to Shaun Alexander with 2:24 remaining, then recovered an onside kick. Zow threw 25 yards to Quincy Jackson with 38 seconds remaining, with the ball deflecting off an LSU defender’s hands in the end zone. It was the second deflected TD catch of the day for Jackson, who also grabbed a 53-yard score off a carom in the third quarter. Alabama went on to finish 7-5 that season under Mike DuBose.

6. Alabama 24, Auburn 22, 4 OT (2021)

Most people remember the details of this one, as 6-5 Auburn led 6-5 Tigers led third-ranked Alabama 10-0 after three quarters and 10-3 after punting the ball to the 3-yard line with 1:35 remaining. But Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young drove the Crimson Tide 97 yards in 12 plays to tie the game with a touchdown pass and force the first overtime Iron Bowl. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime, both kicked field goals in the second and both succeeded on two-point conversions in the third. After Auburn’s two-pointer failed in the fourth overtime, Young threw to John Metchie for the walk-off win. Alabama went on to win the SEC title, but lost to Georgia in a national-championship game rematch.

Did we miss any obvious candidates? Email us and let us know.

Creg Stephenson has worked for AL.com since 2010 and has covered college football for a variety of publications since 1994. Contact him at cstephenson@al.com or follow him on Twitter at @CregStephenson.

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