< PreviousSTATS COMPARISONS AUBURN STATS LEADER RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jarquez Hunter 132 772 5.8 7 67 77.2 Payton Thorne 110 463 4.2 3 61 42.1 Brian Battie 51 227 4.5 1 24 20.6 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Payton Thorne 144-222-7 64.9 1,580 14 143.6 Robby Ashford 14-27-2 51.9 145 2 16.1 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Rivaldo Fairweather 33 349 10.6 6 53 31.7 Jay Fair 30 300 10.0 2 36 27.3 Ja’Varrius Johnson 15 271 18.1 2 45 30.1 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Eugene Asante 47 32 79.0 8.5-43 5.0-35 Larry Nixon III 24 20 44.0 2.5-21 0.0-0 Marcus Harris 20 18 38.0 9.5-39 6.0-32 ALABAMA STATS LEADER RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jase McClellan 151 737 4.9 6 29 67.0 Roydell Williams 86 467 5.4 3 48 42.5 Jalen Milroe 108 332 3.1 12 53 33.2 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Jalen Milroe 142-214-6 66.4 2,267 19 226.7 Ty Simpson 11-20-0 55.0 179 0 29.8 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jermaine Burton 29 642 22.1 6 56 64.2 Isaiah Bond 34 467 13.7 3 52 42.5 Kobe Prentice 16 282 17.6 2 79 28.2 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Caleb Downs 55 35 90.0 1.5-3 0.0-0 Jihaad Campbell 26 31 57.0 4.0-9 0.5-2 Terrion Arnold 31 21 52.0 6.0-23 1.0-9 Here is a quick look at the top team statistics for the Tigers and the Crimson Tide. Quick Look n Total Touchdowns 3850 n Rushing Yards 2,1371,939 n Passing Yards 1,7922,519 20 STATS COMPARISONS AUBURNTIGERS.COM® FAVORITE CHIP OF THE22 COVER FEATURE Chris Davis was convinced the 2013 Iron Bowl was headed to overtime, even as he stood near the back of the end zone one second away from making history. “I knew he was going to miss the kick, but I thought it was going to be out of bounds,” Davis recalled, 10 years later. “As it was falling to me, I knew it was going to be short and I was going to be able to field it. The rest is history.” Davis also made the play before The Play, knocking T.J. Yeldon out of bounds after a 24-yard run on what appeared to be the final play of regulation with Au- burn and Alabama tied 28-28. Anyone who saw it in person or on TV knows what happened next. A video re- view put one second back on the clock. Auburn called timeout and replaced Ryan Smith with Davis as the Tigers’ re- turner, his cleats planted barely inbounds. Leading up to the game, Davis shared on social media his desire to impact the Iron Bowl on special teams after averag- ing 18.71 yards per punt return during the season, including an 85-yard touchdown in Auburn’s blowout win at Tennessee. “I wanted to do that since I first got here,” said Davis, a standout kick return- er at Woodlawn High School in Birming- ham. “For a lot of people back home, that wasn’t anything big to them. They knew I could do that. They’d seen me do that my whole life. For the coaches who gave me the opportunity to do it, it meant a lot to me.” Two weeks earlier, Auburn’s remark- able turnaround season seemingly cre- scendoed with the Prayer in Jordan-Hare – Nick Marshall’s deflected 73-yard touchdown pass to Ricardo Louis on fourth-and-18 to give the Tigers a 43-38 win over Georgia. “I watched that firsthand from the sideline,” Davis said. “I think his play was better than the Kick Six because I was able to sit back and watch it.” Two weeks later, football fans around the world watched Davis field Alabama’s errant 57-yard field goal, cut to his left and race down the sideline on what is officially listed as a 100-yard missed field goal return. Everyone who witnessed it has a story to tell. Davis has heard them all. “I think everybody would be able to tell you what they were doing,” Davis said. “I’ve heard everything. That was a proud moment. That’s something that will live on forever. “I’ve heard about people picking their kids up, throwing them in the pool, falling off the couch, breaking TVs. I’ve heard ev- erything you can think of.” Auburn’s 34-28 win over top-ranked Alabama clinched the SEC Western Di- vision title and earned the Tigers a trip to Atlanta to play Missouri in the SEC Cham- pionship, which Auburn won 59-42. For Davis, who played professionally and has also coached, the Kick Six forev- er endeared him to Auburn people and opened doors to a lifetime of opportuni- ties. “Because I get to come back and do things like this,” Davis said while waiting to re- cord his part in Auburn’s 2023 kickoff video that plays immediately before home games. “That play will be played in this sta- dium forever. “That’s why a lot of athletes play the game, to be remembered. I just so happened to make that play in that time at that moment. That moment was for me, af- ter everything I’d been through. I’m very appre- ciative of that.” A decade later, the 2013 SEC champion Au- burn Tigers reunite this weekend on the Plains. COVER FEATURE AUBURNTIGERS.COM THE KICK SIX, 10 YEARS LATER: ‘A GREAT MOMENT FOR AUBURN’ BY JEFF SHEARER “It’s still hard to explain 10 years later. I’m just glad to be a part of it,” Davis said. “I feel great about my role but that play wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the other 10 guys on the field doing their part to lead me to the end zone so hats off to them. “It means the world to me. The Kick Six basically changed my life. That’s some- thing that I’ll be remembered down here on Auburn’s campus forever, and that’s why I played the game.” IN THEIR OWN WORDS… In addition to Davis, the 10 Auburn Tigers who also played a role in the Kick Six are Gabe Wright, Angelo Blackson, LaDarius Owens, Cassanova McKinzy, Jonathon Mincy, Jermaine Whitehead, Ryan Smith, Dee Ford, Kris Frost and Ro- benson Therezie. KRIS FROST “I was rushing from the left side. From that distance, we knew it would be a line drive kick. It was all about trying to get to the holder’s point. My responsibility was to take up the last gap between me and the last guy on the line of scrimmage on Alabama’s team. Therezie was outside of me, so if I could take those two blocks, then Therezie could pinch off the edge. “We were so focused on our respon- sibility, I didn’t even know Chris was back there to return the kick. When the ball was snapped, we came off the edge, they got the ball off really quickly. The moment I turned around, I knew it wasn’t going to go all the way. Before I knew it, when the ball dropped, it dropped right to Chris’ hands. Then it was like, ‘Oh, man this is on.’ “It wasn’t something we practice; it wasn’t something we had rehearsed at all. We all knew the rules of the game. That was a big pat on the back to our coaches for having us prepared to act right in a sit- uation that now is such a staple in college football today and something that’s prac- ticed so much. “When he caught the ball, my goal was to instantly find a block. By the time Chris got to the 30-yard line, I had seen who I was going to block and was narrowing on him. All I could think about was not get- ting a block in the back penalty. The best I could do was to get in the way. I knew he didn’t see me so I just had to bump him. I didn’t have to do anything heroic, just get in his way. Once he slid by me, it was unreal. “It was just pandemonium. I think I started crying before we got to the end zone. I put my helmet down, laid on top of Chris and before I knew it, we were all getting crushed under this pile and we’re all screaming. It was this crazy moment of happiness. It was a party like no other. I think it took me an hour to get back to the other side of the field where our lock- er room was. It was a great moment for Auburn.” JERMAINE WHITEHEAD “It was one of those plays that we nev- er really practiced. We saw it a little bit on film, never thought we’d actually have a chance to do it. We blocked a field goal earlier in the game and Ryan Smith was trying to return that one, so we knew we had a chance to block it, or they were go- ing to miss it because it was a long field goal and Alabama had struggled kicking all year. “We came up with a plan to let the D-line rush. I was a middle guy, 15 or 20 yards away from the ball, trying to set up like a punt return once we did get it. We were hoping they didn’t see Chris in the back or didn’t think we had the where- withal to try to run it back. “We called the timeout to try to freeze the kicker. All our coaches said was, ‘Set a wall.’ A lot of us had played special teams before so we got the picture of what we wanted to do. My job was to take the first hit off of him, not get any penalties and let him get a chance to get to those big old linemen and we knew he would beat them running. “I didn’t even make it to the end zone. I was so shocked. I saw the fans running on the field. I was at midfield amazed and stunned at what had just happened. I looked to the Alabama sideline and got a chance to see Nick Saban drop his head. That was one of my favorite memories of my college career. “It’s something to remember to this day. It was a great feeling. It’s one of those things I like to brag about and say we beat Alabama in one of the most memorable ways ever.” JONATHON MINCY “I was playing corner, so I was the safety of the defense. I was the corner on the line and Chris was far back. My job was to be aware of any kind of fakes. As soon as the ball was hiked, I started looking at the ball to see if the field goal was made or not. All I can remember seeing was Chris catch- ing it. In that moment, I was like, ‘Oh wow, we’ve got a chance here,’ because I was always a fan of the things he was able to do with the ball in his hands. “Once I saw him take off, I saw most of our defense get in line to get ready to start the wall. I remember seeing Roben- son Therezie leading the way for him. All I could do was start backpedaling and put my hands up. An indescribable feeling. “As soon as he crossed the goal line I went and tackled him. I was so happy for him to have that spotlight. Later on, Chris said, ‘You know I’m mad at you for tackling me because everybody jumped on top of me.’ I said, ‘Man, I’m sorry. I was just happy.’ “During the timeout, I remember the coaches telling Chris, ‘If you get an op- portunity then take it.’ He was one of those guys who didn’t like the spotlight, didn’t talk much, but he was able to show his play on the field. The spotlight found him so he could never run from it again.” Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer AUBURNTIGERS.COM 24 COVER FEATURE COVER FEATUREsave on auto insurance spend on Tiger merch *INSURANCE FEATURE NOT AVAILABLE IN EVERY STATE. Countrywide average premium savings for customers with safe driving discounts and Drivewise vs. those without. Savings vary by state, based on driving behaviors & based on how you buy. Subject to terms, conditions & availability. In some states, through your participation in Drivewise, your driving data may be used for purposes of rating & your rate could increase with high-risk driving. Allstate Fire and Casualty Ins. Co. & affiliates. 3100 Sanders Rd, Northbrook, IL. © 2023 Allstate Insurance Co. Marks are registered trademarks of their respective owners. PROUD PARTNER Safe driving and Drivewise® saves you 40%*28 HEAD COACH HUGH FREEZE Hugh Freeze became the 31st head football coach in Auburn history in No- vember, 2022. Freeze has nearly three decades of continued coaching success, including head coaching experience that has led to conference titles, nationally ranked recruiting classes and bowl appear- ances at multiple stops during his highly decorated career. Freeze came to Auburn from Liber- ty University, where he was head coach from 2019-22. Freeze led the Flames to four bowl games and a 34-15 record. Freeze experienced similar success at each of his head coaching stops prior to Liberty that include Lambuth Univer- sity (2008-09), Arkansas State (2011) and Ole Miss (2012-16). Freeze led each school to double-digit win seasons, while helping Ole Miss to a top 10 national fin- ish in 2015. His on-field coaching record in 12 years is 103-47. Liberty was just one of five FBS teams in the country to win a bowl game each season from 2019-21, joining Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana. It was the second team in NCAA history to win a bowl game during its first three full sea- sons at the FBS level, all coming under Freeze’s leadership. Freeze guided Liberty to a 10-1 overall record in 2020 and the team’s first-ever national ranking as it finished No. 17 in the country. That season, Lib- erty had the best start in program history (8-0), tied the program record for wins (10) and defeated two Power 5 programs in Syracuse and Virginia Tech. For his ef- forts, Freeze was a finalist for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. Known for his fast-paced offensive style, Freeze’s 2020 Liberty team set a school record for rushing yards in a sea- son in 2020 (2,776) and ranked No. 9 in the country in rushing offense. Liberty also ranked No. 15 nationally in total of- fense (482.7 yards per game) and No. 11 in total defense (317.7 yards per game). The Flames were one of three teams in the country to rank in the top 20 in both total offense and total defense in 2020, joining Clemson and BYU. Spearheading Liberty’s outstand- ing offense in 2020 was former Auburn quarterback Malik Willis, who burst into the spotlight leading the nation in rushing yards (944) and touchdowns (14) by a FBS quarterback. Willis earned All-America honors, was named to the Davey O’Brien Award Quarterback Class of 2020 and was on the 2020 Maxwell Award watch list. The Flames posted an eight-win sea- son in 2021 after facing eight bowl-eli- gible teams during that campaign. Lib- erty’s defense finished the 2021 season ranked No. 7 nationally in passing yards allowed, No. 11 in total defense and No. 24 in scoring defense. Offensively, Lib- erty finished 2021 ranked No. 25 in the country in scoring offense and No. 8 in passing yards per completion. Leading the charge for the Flames in 2021 once again was Willis, who was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Na- tional Quarterback Award and the Max- well Award and a top 10 candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Willis was a third-round draft pick of the Ten- nessee Titans in the 2022 NFL Draft. In 2022, Liberty finished the regu- lar season 8-4 with wins over Arkansas and BYU; three of the four losses came by a combined five points. The Flames earned a berth in the Boca Raton Bowl. While head coach at Ole Miss, Freeze took the Rebels to bowl games in three of his five seasons, including wins in the 2013 Music City and the 2016 Sugar bowls. Freeze’s time in Oxford was highlight- ed by a 10-3 campaign in 2015, the pro- gram’s first 10-win season since 2003. The Rebels won their first four games of the 2015 season, including a 43-37 road victory over No. 2 Alabama, Ole Miss’ first win in Tuscaloosa since 1988. The Rebels were ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls in both 2014 and 2015 and finished in the national Top 10 for the first time since 1969 after the Sugar Bowl win. Ole Miss was ranked in the top 25 for 45 weeks over Freeze’s five-year tenure, including a string of 27 straight weeks in the polls for the first time since 1957-62. Freeze collected four nationally ranked recruiting classes at Ole Miss. In 2013 and 2016, his recruiting classes ranked in the top five nationally, the best in program history. Freeze and his staff developed 20 players who earned all-SEC honors, in- cluding All-Americans Cody Prewitt, Senquez Golson, Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, Evan Engram, Laquon Treadwell and Trae Elston. AUBURNTIGERS.COM HUGH FREEZE HEAD COACH® TRUCKWORX.COMNext >