Kick Six named one of the most influential games of the 2000s

The Kick Six is one of the greatest moments in sports history and something Auburn fans will cherish forever.

With the 2013 Iron Bowl tied at 28-28, Alabama lined up to attempt a 57-yard field goal with one second remaining, and Auburn needed a miracle.

They got one.

The kick was short and [autotag]Chris Davis[/autotag] returned it 109 yards to win the game with no time on the clock.

Not only was the ending was dramatic and brilliantly called by the late Rob Bramblett propelled Auburn to the SEC Championship game where they won before falling to Florida State in the BCS title game.  It also prevented Alabama from making another title game and had [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] contemplating retirement.

While that did not happen, the game was still impactful enough for Andy Staples of The Athletic to rank it as the No. 6 most impactful game of the 2000s.

Here is what Staples said about the game:

The Kick Six, one of the most dramatic final plays in college football history, might have ranked higher on this list had Saban followed through on an impulse he had in the aftermath of the 34-28 Iron Bowl loss to the Tigers.

In AL.com’s John Talty’s new book “The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban: How Alabama’s Coach Became the Greatest Ever,” former ESPN executive John Wildhack confirmed that Saban and ESPN discussed Saban joining ESPN if he retired in the offseason.

This raised several questions for Staples that he acknowledged we will never know but are still fascinating.

How different might college football be had Saban left Alabama after 2013? Would Alabama have remained dominant? Would Saban have grown tired of television and landed at another program? Would Malzahn still be coaching at Auburn, and would he have one of the SEC’s powerhouse programs?

While we will never know the answers to these questions, it is still an iconic moment and one of the reasons the Iron Bowl is one of the best rivalries in college football.

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