The story of Gravedigger, the miracle play that saved the Tide: ‘That’s going to be a part of Alabama history’
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Alex Scarborough, ESPN Staff Writer
AUBURN, Ala. — “Whoa nellie! Whoa nellie!”
Alabama analyst Dean Altobelli shouted so loud in celebration that his words could be heard through the metal door and cinder block walls that separated the visitors locker room from the awaiting media next door.
A few moments later, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban walked in as his wife, Terry, clapped from her seat in the back row and yelped, “Yay!”
Saban then sat down and tried to explain a win that few could have seen coming.
“So, do I really need to say anything?” Saban asked facetiously.
Yes and no. Because what can you say after what happened here, on the road, against an archrival in a series that has had more than its fair share of miraculous finishes? The Tide looked to be toast, down 24-20 with under a minute left to play, facing an impossible fourth-and-goal from Auburn‘s 31-yard line to save their season and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Then Jalen Milroe took the snap, danced around the pocket and surveyed the field. He waited … and waited … and waited some more, as the Tigers only rushed two defenders.
“I guess if you’re in this long enough,” Saban said, “sometimes it goes against you in the last play of the game, and sometimes you’re fortunate and it goes for you.”
Ten years ago, inside this same cramped makeshift media room, Saban walked through how a would-be game-winning field goal with one second left turned into a 100-plus-yard return and a walk-off win for Auburn. All this time later, he rattled off the mistakes that led to one of the most heartbreaking losses of his career: a blocked kick, a dead ball foul, getting the ball five times inside the opponent’s 25-yard line in the third and fourth quarters and not scoring a single point.
Call what Milroe and Alabama did luck — and Saban did, in part — but like the Kick-Six, there’s more to what happened here on Saturday night.
“I got to admit we had good fortune,” Saban said, “but it still comes down to ability to execute. Somebody had an opportunity to make a play, whether it was their punt returner or [Isaiah Bond] in the end zone and whoever was guarding him.
“So that’s why you play the game.”
Here’s how the play that led to Alabama’s unlikely 27-24 triumph came together:
Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold: I feel like that went all the way back to the summer. Coach Saban, before we started fall camp, he replayed the play [last season] where Tennessee scored on the kick and the play when LSU scored on the last play. So that was just going through our mind and being cognizant and just focusing and keying in on what we had to do. Honestly, we never lost faith. We prepared for moments like this.
Saban: Believe it or not, we actually practice that play every Friday when we do walk-through and we do special situations. We get in that formation [five receivers and no backs], and everybody runs down the field and runs varying routes in the end zone.
Arnold: Oftentimes when we do it in practice, we don’t want to get guys hurt. So, I mean, we don’t ever really try to make a play on the ball. We let him catch it. And that came into fruition.
Alabama defensive back Malachi Moore: It might’ve paid off.
Saban: You tell [Milroe] they’re only going to rush three guys and sometimes two. … He’s going to have plenty of time. He’s got to pick the guy that he thinks has got the best chance to catch it.
Moore: [Bond] has all the confidence in himself to make a play. He thinks he’s the best wide receiver on the field, and that’s how you should be.
Arnold: Milroe steps up in the pocket. Kool-Aid [McKinstry] is sitting right here. We were like, dang, this kind of reminds me of [two years ago].
Moore: I really didn’t want to watch the play at all. I just looked at our fans [for their reaction].
Arnold: Truth be told, before J-Mil threw the ball, I said a prayer. So in my head, I’m thinking we went to church before the games, so God give us a blessing. It’s kind of like games like this, you always know so much wrong is going to happen. They had a couple of dirty plays like hitting our punter and stuff didn’t go our way. The one with Jermaine [Burton] when I believe his foot was in bounds, and I feel like everybody saw that. So something had to go right.
Offensive lineman JC Latham: My guy gave me a bull rush right at me and then shortly after I got knocked off or something, so I was able to kind of just turn and see where [Milroe] was. He was all the way on the left side of the field and at that point I’m pretty much useless in that situation. I can try to run down the play, but I can’t really do too much. And yeah, so I just kind of saw it all on unfold. And, yeah, it was insane.
Milroe: I saw IB one-on-one. I was like, we going to score.
Saban: IB really kind of got himself in position where there was some room to throw it. He pushed inside, and the DB was inside of him — and then he came back out and Jalen threw it back out to him, and it was a great catch, a great throw.
Bond: I kind of set him up. I saw the ball. He was trailing, so I was sort of leaning into him and then faded — and then just made the play, as y’all saw.
Moore: Once I saw our fans cheering, I knew we did something good.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne: He caught it right? Please be in bounds.
Terry Saban (jokingly): I thought touchdown when it was in the air. I called that play.
Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson: I came in with Jalen and always knew he was a poised guy. That’s how you got to be playing the position he plays, and I’m just so happy for him.
Latham: I said it at media day: [Milroe is] one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He has to potentially be the best quarterback in the country, and he’s just overcome all adversity and done what he has to do. So that’s who he is. He got the chance to show it. I never doubted him for a second.
Milroe: It’s all about never giving up. That was the biggest thing throughout the game and with that play, it was just all about trust. … I’ll never forget this game ever in my life.
Bond: I ain’t going to lie, making that play meant a lot. That’s going to be a part of Alabama history.
Saban: I thought [Milroe] played great in the game. And his progress has transformed our team and our offense — because he is a point guard, and because he is involving everybody in the game. That’s the thing I think he had to learn this year. He’s now become extremely effective at the quarterback position.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze on the decision not to pressure Milroe: You can second-guess it. You’ve just got to play with vision. We’ve got nine guys back there. Just play with vision, make a play on the ball and knock it down. He felt like he was shoved off, but I couldn’t tell. You can pressure him, and then you’ve got one-on-ones, and they throw it up. You can do that if you want. I like the call. I think we just have to sit back there with vision and knock the ball down.
Auburn linebacker Jalen McLeod: D.J. [James] had a hell of a game. With corners, people just look at that one play. I told him, ‘Look D.J., I would take you again. If you throw that ball up one more time, I’d give you another chance. You had three PBUs [pass breakups] this game. I would take that risk again with you.’ He’s an NFL talent. Sometimes you live with stuff like that.
Auburn got the ball back with 26 seconds left, but an interception by Arnold sealed the win.
Arnold: They had the Kick-Six. I wanted the Pick-Six. But it’s all right.
Saban: I can’t tell you how proud I am of the guys and how good I feel about winning the game. But as a coach, you always look at things like, how did you play? Because we’re going to have to play at a higher level on a more consistent basis if we’re going to have success in the future. And that’s what you always evaluate. That’s the reality check that we all have to make.”
As Alabama loaded onto buses to go home to Tuscaloosa, Crimson Tide director of football operations Ellis Ponder puffed on a victory cigar. Next week, the Tide will play Georgia for the SEC championship.
But that was a matter for another day as members of the equipment staff gathered around a reporter who shot a video of the Milroe-to-Bond touchdown.
“Can I send this to myself?” one of the staffers said, taking the phone and texting it to himself.
But what should he call the video?
Saban was asked what the touchdown play was called, but he couldn’t give it up.
“If the play had a name,” he said. “I wouldn’t tell you what it was.”
But Bond later coughed it up.
“Gravedigger,” he said.
Milroe wasn’t sure about that.
“I don’t know what it’s called,” he said. “But I like it.”
The final weekend of the 2024 MLB regular season is over — but wins for the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Mets paired with an Atlanta Braves loss on Sunday means we get a bonus Monday of playoff-impacting baseball.
While those three teams battle for the final two wild-card sports, the remainder of the playoff field is set. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have the top seeds in the National League and the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres have the next two seeds. In the American League, the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians have the top seeds, with the Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals joining them.
Where do the current playoff matchups stand? What does the playoff schedule look like? We have everything you need to know as the regular season comes to a finish.
Watch: Mets-Braves doubleheader, starting Monday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Key links: Full MLB standings | Wild-card standings | Passan’s World Series prediction
Who will secure the final two playoff spots?
There were several potential outcomes depending on the results of Sunday’s games, but with the Braves falling to the Royals and the Mets and Diamondbacks notching wins over their respective opponents, both games of Monday’s doubleheader between Atlanta and New York will take place. The winner of the first game of the doubleheader is automatically in. If the loser of the first game wins the second, that team is in as well and the D-backs would be eliminated. However, if either the Mets or Braves are swept in the doubleheader, that team would be out and the Diamondbacks would be in.
Who is in?
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers clinched the season’s first playoff spot, when they secured the NL Central crown for the third time in four seasons.
New York Yankees
The Yankees clinched a playoff spot on with a win against the Seattle Mariners and followed by clinching the AL East title.
Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Minnesota Twins and followed by clinching the AL Central crown.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers clinched a playoff spot with their 20-4 blowout win over the Marlins and have won the NL West title for the 11th time in 12 years.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies clinched their third straight playoff spot with a win over the Mets on Friday night. With a win over the Cubs on Monday, they clinched their first NL East title since 2011.
Houston Astros
The Astros beat the Mariners on Tuesday to clinch their fourth consecutive AL West division title.
Baltimore Orioles
With a win over the Yankees and the Twins’ loss to the Marlins, the Orioles clinched a playoff spot.
San Diego Padres
With a game-ending triple play to seal their win against the Dodgers, the Padres clinched their spot in the postseason.
Detroit Tigers
By handing the White Sox a record 121st loss, the Tigers ended their 10-year postseason drought.
Kansas City Royals
The Twins’ loss on Friday clinched the final AL playoff spot for the Royals, their first since 2015.
What are this October’s MLB playoff matchups as it stands now?
American League
Wild-card round: (6) Tigers* at (3) Astros*, (5) Royals* at (4) Orioles*
ALDS: Tigers/Astros vs. (2) Guardians*, Royals/Orioles vs. (1) Yankees*
National League
Wild-card round: (6) Mets at (3) Brewers*, (5) Braves at (4) Padres*
NLDS: Mets/Brewers vs. (2) Phillies*, Braves/Padres vs. (1) Dodgers*
* — Clinched playoff spot
Tiebreakers
If Atlanta and New York tie, the Braves currently hold the tiebreaker by virtue of a 6-5 edge in the head-to-head season series (with two games remaining).
In the event of a two-team tie involving the D-backs for the NL’s final playoff spot, the Mets and Braves both hold the tiebreaker because they won the season series.
Breaking down the AL race
The Yankees fended off the Orioles in a battle for the AL East crown — though, Baltimore also clinched a playoff berth — while the Guardians and Astros both also clinched division titles. Two more AL Central teams — the Tigers and Royals — round out the field. Here are the odds for the AL playoff squads for every round:
Breaking down the NL race
While the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks battle for the final playoff spots, the Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers and Padres prepare for October. Milwaukee clinched the NL Central crown and Philadelphia cruised to a division title in the NL East. Los Angeles beat San Diego in the final matchup of the (regular) season to clinch its 11th NL West title in the past 12 seasons, with the Padres going on to secure the 4-seed. Here are the odds for the NL playoff squads — as the playoff picture currently stands — for every round:
Playoff schedule
Wild-card series
Best of three, all games at better seed’s stadium
Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 1
Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 2
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 3*
Division series
Best of five
ALDS
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 5
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 7
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 9
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 10*
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 12*
NLDS
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 5
Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 6
Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 8
Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 9*
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 11*
League championship series
Best of seven
ALCS
Game 1: Monday, Oct. 14
Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 15
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 17
Game 4: Friday, Oct. 18
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 19*
Game 6: Monday, Oct. 21*
Game 7: Tuesday, Oct. 22*
NLCS
Game 1: Sunday, Oct. 13
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 14
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 16
Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 17
Game 5: Friday, Oct. 18*
Game 6: Sunday, Oct. 20*
Game 7: Monday, Oct. 21*
World Series
Best of seven
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 25
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 26
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 28
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 29
Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 30*
Game 6: Friday, Nov. 1*
Game 7: Saturday, Nov. 2*
Note: If both LCS end by Oct. 19 — meaning neither series lasts longer than five games — the World Series will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 22
* If necessary
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