Fans rush the field after Auburn defeated Alabama in the Iron Bowl NCAA college football game. Photo / AP
Fans rush the field after Auburn defeated Alabama in the Iron Bowl NCAA college football game. Photo / AP
Auburn Tigers fans covered the entire field following a resounding win against the No. 1 ranked college football side in America, the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The clash between the two colleges is always a hotly contested affair and the crowd involvement is almost as good a spectacle as the game itself.
Auburn fans covered the field in orange and blue after the final play, creating a scene similar to 2013 when the fourth-ranked Tigers beat No. 1 Alabama on a last-play, 109-yard return off a missed field goal.
The crazy scenes after fulltime will cost Auburn US$250,000 (NZ$363,000) because it's the college's third violation of the SEC's "Access to Competition Area Policy".
Auburn beats Bama 26-14 and the fans storm the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium. This video is courtesy my friend Aaron Lee at WTVM pic.twitter.com/N9uVZwtqek
Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham passed for 237 yards and ran for a fourth-quarter touchdown to set up a match against Georgia in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship game on December 2 with a playoff spot almost certainly on the line.
Auburn mostly shut down the league's top scoring offence for its second win in three weeks over the top team in the playoff rankings.
The Crimson Tide made a rare assortment of mistakes for a team that had appeared to be headed towards a shot at a fourth consecutive SEC title and playoff berth.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said his team still deserves a playoff shot after playing for the national title the past two years and scarcely being challenged this season.
"I don't think one game defines who you are," Saban said. "It certainly doesn't define this team for who they are. I'm sorry that I could not do a better job as a coach and as a leader."
Quarterback Stidham was ecstatic after the win.
"I think we're pretty darn good," he said. "Coach Malzahn told us it's never been done in three weeks beating two No. 1 teams, so I think this team is pretty good."
While the talk after the game will surround Auburn's remarkable win and climb up the college football rankings, the post game scenes also deserve to steal the headlines.
