Facing a fourth down and four to go late in the third quarter, Auburn opened with an unusual Wildcat formation.

QB Malik Willis dropped back to pass and found K Anders Carlson, who was stopped by Alabama DB Patrick Surtain II as he was planted with a form tackle.

That ended a 10-play drive for Auburn as the Tigers looked to cut into a 31-14 deficit. Trying to keep pace with the high octane Alabama offense, coach Gus Malzahn must’ve felt that the Tigers couldn’t settle for a field goal attempt in that situation, or to control the field position.

Auburn continued to struggle to run the ball as the Tigers hadn’t reached 80 yards by that point, and trick plays seemed to be only way to move the ball consistently against Alabama.

However, on the next Auburn possession, the Tigers scored in three plays to cut the deficit to 10 points.