EDITOR’S NOTE: Every day until Aug. 29, Creg Stephenson is counting down significant numbers in Alabama football history, both in the lead-up to the 2025 football season and in commemoration of the Crimson Tide’s first national championship 100 years ago. The number could be attached to a year, a uniform number or even a football-specific statistic. We hope you enjoy.

You’ve no doubt seen the Kick Six by now. And if you’re an Alabama fan, you probably don’t ever want to see it again.

The decisions that led up to that unforgettable Iron Bowl finish have been studied, dissected and relitigated many times in the last 12 years, including in this space. Thus, our topic today is not “Got a second, Nick?” or “There goes Davis!,” but the now largely forgotten play that should be remembered as among the most amazing in Crimson Tide football history.

Alabama had won back-to-back national championships in 2011 and 2012, and by the end of the 2013 regular season had put itself in position for an unprecedented third in a row. The Crimson Tide was 11-0 and ranked No. 1 nationally heading into its showdown with fourth-ranked Auburn (10-1) at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 30, 2013.

The two teams played to a 21-21 deadlock after three quarters, before a punt by Auburn’s Steven Clark pinned Alabama at its 1-yard line with 10:42 to play. The Crimson Tide then went right to the air.

Quarterback AJ McCarron executed a play-action fake to running back TJ Yeldon, dropped into his own end zone, then turned to throw as tight end Brian Vogler and fullback Jalston Fowler picked up a leaping Dee Ford with a double-team block. Amari Cooper ran an out-and-up against Auburn cornerback Jonathan Mincy, breaking into the clear just before the ball arrived at the Alabama 38.

Cooper made the catch, then shook off a tackle by Auburn safety Jermaine Whitehead at the 41. Whitehead spun to the ground into the legs of the trailing Mincy, allowing Cooper to break into the clear.

The Alabama receiver jogged the rest of the way to the end zone for the touchdown, giving Alabama a 28-21 lead on what remains the longest play from scrimmage in Crimson Tide football history. McCarron raced down the field with his fist in the air, reaching Cooper to celebrate with him in the end zone.

Here’s video from the SEC on CBS broadcast, with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson on the call:

Alabama would not score again in the game, with its final three possessions ending in a turnover on downs at the Auburn 13, a blocked 44-yard field goal and, of course, the Kick Six. Auburn tied the game on Nick Marshall’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Sammie Coates with 32 seconds remaining, then a short time later perfectly executed Chris Davis’ 100-plus-yard return of Adam Griffith’s missed 57-yard field goal for the most improbable finish in Iron Bowl history. McCarron to Cooper is the only 90-plus-yard touchdown from scrimmage in Iron Bowl history, with Joe Cribbs’ 87-yard scoring run in 1977 the next-longest. In fact, Cooper has Alabama’s two longest Iron Bowl touchdowns on plays from scrimmage, also scoring on a 75-yard pass from Blake Sims in a 55-44 victory in 2014.

Had Alabama won the 2013 Iron Bowl and gone on to a third straight national championship, McCarron to Cooper would have been remembered as one of the defining plays in the program’s history. It would live forever in highlight montages and likely would have been the subject in a Daniel Moore painting.

Instead, the play has been swallowed up by all that happened in the 10-plus minutes of game time afterward. It’s a footnote.

The longest touchdown from scrimmage in Iron Bowl history has been consigned to the proverbial dustbin, along with other great-but-fleeting Crimson Tide moments. It’s a list that includes Dwayne Rudd’s go-ahead interception return in the 1993 SEC championship game vs. Florida, Jalen Hurts’ 30-yard touchdown run late in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game vs. Clemson and Jaylen Waddle’s four-touchdown masterpiece in the 2019 Iron Bowl.

The one thing all those have in common is that Alabama lost the game. It’s a sad fact of college football — and competitive sports in general — that great performances that occur in wins have much more staying power than those that do not.

But AJ McCarron’s 99-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper is a marvel of execution — from the block, to the pass, to the catch, to the run. And it shouldn’t be forgotten simply because an even longer and more well-carried-out touchdown occurred several minutes later.

Coming Saturday: Our countdown continues with No. 98, the last Iron Bowl ever played at Legion Field.