The Nick Saban era at Alabama filled our lives with some classic college football moments.

For 17 seasons, the Tide coach engineered a golden era for Crimson Tide fans thanks to six national championships, while also painting a large target on the back of the one of the most decorated programs in sports history.

That meant Bama would often get their opponents’ best shot after circling the showdown on their respective calendars a year in advance of kickoff. More often than not, the Tide took their best shot but rolled anyway. But upsets happen, and we’ve seen our share in and out of Tuscaloosa.

Below are what we consider the best game from each season of the Saban era, whether they won or lost.

READ: 15 unforgettable Alabama football plays under Nick Saban

2007: LSU 41, Alabama 34

Saban’s group took a 3-game winning streak into the bye, fresh off a 41-17 drubbing of Tennessee at home, setting up an unexpected monster match-up with visiting third-ranked LSU. Behind John Parker Wilson finding explosive receivers DJ Hall and Keith Brown for touchdowns, Bama took a 20-17 lead into the half and even extended that to 10 points during the third quarter with a second Brown TD. But the Tigers came storming back when Matt Flynn hit Demetrius Byrd for a 61-yard touchdown and Colt David’s steady kicking kept Les Miles’ tied the game to start the third quarter. When Javier Arenas burst up the middle of the field to split the coverage for a 61-yard go-ahead touchdown punt return, it looked as if the Crimson Tide would shock LSU, and Nick Saban’s debut season would establish the Bama dynasty sooner than expected. But those would be Bama’s final points, with LSU tying the game as Flynn found Early Doucet for a score with 2:49 left. On third and long with less than two minutes to go, Tiger safety blitzed Wilson, who flailed back and fumbled the ball away as LSU recovered inside Alabama’s 5-yard-line. Jacob Hester punched it in to seal the deal. The Tide’s regular season ended in disaster, losing four straight games, including the Louisiana-Monroe upset and a heartbreaker at Auburn. LSU would narrowly defeat Tennessee in the SEC title game and then cap off their national championship season with a 38-24 win over Ohio State.

2008: Alabama 27, LSU 21 (OT)

Nick Saban put the college football world on notice when his team whipped Clemson in the season opener. Eight more wins later, they came to Baton Rouge with a purpose, but the 2-loss Tigers didn’t make it easy on them and an overtime classic that further cemented one defensive back’s legacy in the program. While John Parker Wilson struggled to throw against LSU’s talented defense, his toughness shined through bookending quarterback sneaks for touchdowns, with some crucial throws in between. Glen Coffee rumbled for 125 rushing yards and a touchdown, but it was veteran Tide safety Rashad Johnson who put his stamp on the game with three interceptions, including a nifty 54-yard pick-six and one to give his team a shot to clinch it on the next possession. The Saban era has a long list of impressive individual efforts, but Johnson’s belongs on anyone’s short list for a single-game best, especially considering the stakes. Alabama finished the regular season undefeated but would fall to Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in the SEC championship game. The 2008 game foreshadowed the microscopic separation between the programs talent-wise, plus the nail-biters to come be they in Tiger Stadium or Bryant-Denny.

2009: Alabama 26, Auburn 21

Greg McElroy engineered a magnificent drive to ensure Alabama would remain undefeated before facing Florida in the SEC title game and preserve an unblemished BCS resume. Injured with a hip pointer and keyed in on by a physical Auburn defense, Mark Ingram couldn’t find a rhythm, passing the burden to the Bama QB, and did he ever come through. The Tigers had a 1-point lead with 8:03 left in the game, as McElroy found Julio Jones for several first down conversions, along with a timely screen pass to Trent Richardson ultimately landing the ide at the Auburn 4-yard line. Bama OC Jim McElwain went deeper into the depth chart, finding Roy Upchurch for a surprise go-ahead touchdown in one of the great Iron Bowl games ever played.

2010: Auburn 28, Alabama 27

Arguably the most painful individual Iron Bowl loss of all time, the “Cam-back” still burns, but when attempting to look at it through anything other than crimson-colored glasses, it’s hard to deny its place among the best games in the rivalry’s history. Alabama blew a 24-0 first half lead, as Heisman-winner Cam Newton and the Tigers came roaring back on their way to a BCS Championship. Alabama had no shot at the title that year, but losing in that fashion to Newton, probably the biggest villain in the narrative of Alabama football history wasn’t good for Bryant-Denny Stadium’s collective blood pressure. The signs were there: Alabama’s early onslaught — including a Greg McElroy bomb to Julio Jones for a 68-yard touchdown — seemed too easy. Then Mark Ingram’s fumble into the end zone looked like the ball rolled for 100 yards. And Auburn’s surprise touchdown before halftime to cut it to 24-7. All of the sudden, fans felt the freezing temperature and dreary weather as a new cold and bitter reality came true. A tough pill to swallow, to say the least, but a good game by any objective standard.

2011: LSU 9, Alabama 6 (OT)

The Game of the Century certainly lived up to the hype, at least to those who drooled over peak SEC defenses refusing to give an inch to offenses with names like Odell Beckham Jr., Trent Richardson, Russell Shepard and A.J. McCarron. Perhaps because the other side the ball had the likes of Dont’a Hightower, Tyrann Mathieu, Morris Claiborne, Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw and Eric Reid. My goodness. Dubbed the “Game of the Century,” which people still call it nine years later, it delivered at every turn, even if we only got 15 total points. Neither team would give an inch. Even when it appeared one reached a turning point, it resulted in exactly bupkis. Alabama technically had more opportunities, with kicker Cade Foster missing three field goals and the Tide offense gaining nearly 300 total yards. In arguably the play of the game, Bama wide receiver Marquis Maze threw a deep pass to tight end Michael Williams before safety Eric Reid came down with the 50-50 ball that would have given Bama the ball at the 1-yard-line. But LSU made the plays (and the kicks) they needed to walk out with a win and the inside track to the coveted BCS berth. Little did they know it would be an all-SEC championship game, with Bama winning out and upsets paving the way for Nick Saban’s team to get payback in the Big Easy. Some might remember this game as “boring,” but we’ll never forget hanging on to every last play.

2012: Alabama 32, Georgia 28

A 15-round heavyweight prizefight. This SEC title game became a de facto national title game in retrospect, considering how the Crimson Tide pounded Notre Dame in the BCS finale. Either team would have crushed the Irish, and it all came down to the final seconds. This was arguably peak “joyless murderball” era under Nick Saban behind rolling boulder of a running back Eddie Lacy’s 181 yards and two touchdowns (backed up by the talented T.J. Yeldon) and defensive stars like C.J. Mosley, Dee Milliner and Quinton Dial. The Bulldogs struck the first blow in the first quarter after quarterback Aaron Murray found Jay Rome for a 19-yard score. Bama answered, but things got worse for the Tide when UGA linebacker Alec Ogletree returned a blocked field goal 55 yards for a touchdown to give them a 21-lead. A Todd Gurley fourth quarter go-ahead touchdown put the ball back in Bama’s court, as AJ McCarron skied a 45-yard bomb to Amari Cooper who snuck behind the defensive backfield for the winning score. Unable to put it away on offense late, Bama punted back to Georgia with about a minute left, as Murray led a drive all the way down to the Alabama 8-yard line. But with five seconds left and no timeouts, Chris Conley was tackled inbounds, and the clocked rolled to zero to send Alabama to the BCS Championship Game. Everyone caught their breath after a clear instant classic in Atlanta.

2013: Alabama 49, Texas A&M 42

The 2013 edition of the Iron Bowl is the game literally everyone remembers from this season, and for obvious and good reason, but it was ugly. And while good and ugly are not mutually exclusive in this collection, Bama’s rematch with Johnny Football had the back-and-forth and style points (and actual points, 91 combined behind nearly 1,200 total yards of offense), 60 minutes of heart-pounding drama before the Tide escaped College Station with a win. On one hand, it was a privilege to watch Manziel, a quarterback the likes of which we’d never seen up to that point, dazzle the nation with scrambling and playmaking abilities no defensive scheme could contain or predict. But the the stress he caused opposing fan bases and teams, especially Alabama’s, did a number on all who witnessed his brilliance. A worthy Heisman Trophy winner and one of the great college football quarterbacks of all time, Manziel quickly and undeniably became a thorn in the side of the Crimson Tide. You could even see the relief wash over Saban’s face after Bama defeated the Aggies in College Station, a look that praised the lord above they’d never have to face Johnny Football again. Alabama led by 21 points at two separate points at the game, and in no way did either lead feel safe. Manziel, throwing to primary target and current NFL All-Pro Mike Evans, could score in the blink of an eye, and they did. But Alabama’s offense led by A.J. McCarron and T.J. Yeldon gave the defense just enough breathing room — as did safety Vinnie Sunseri’s spectacular pick-six — this newly minted SEC West rivalry’s instant classic.

2014: Alabama 55, Auburn 44

Alabama looked sharp early, building a 14-3 first quarter lead thinks to touchdowns from T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper, but 15th-ranked Auburn stuck around, picking off Blake Sims three times and amassing a 12-point second half lead behind Nick Marshall’s touchdown throws to Sammie Coates and Quan Bray and putting a major scare into Nick Saban’s squad. But after a slow start, Sims exploded with a touchdown passes to Cooper for 39 and 75 yards, plus another connection with DeAndrew White and a rushing TD of his own. Bama’s lead grew to 55-36 before a late Corey Grant (and Marshall 2-point conversion) trimmed it to the 55-44 final. Arguably the QB’s worst and best game at once, culminating in a heroic effort. Alabama sought vengeance after the previous season’s Kick Six buried their chances to 3-peat as national champions, and it looked as though they’d get it at the onset. But Gus Malzahn’s offense moved the ball at will and had Saban’s squad on the ropes until Sims and the Heisman finalist Cooper snapped out of the funk and sent the Tide to the SEC title game and the first-ever College Football Playoff, where they ultimately lost to Ohio State in the semifinal.

2015: Alabama 45, Clemson 40

Alabama’s first College Football Playoff triumph also saw the emergence of Clemson as an unlikely CFP power, with the Crimson Tide staving off the Tigers just enough to give Nick Saban his fourth championship as the Alabama coach. Heisman-winner Derrick Henry broke through with a 50-yard first quarter touchdown, but the Tigers’ talented offense led by DeShaun Watson fired back and hung around all game. Alabama had few answers for Dabo Swinney’s squad in a suspenseful shootout, so Saban had to take a big risk with Adam Griffith’s shocking onside kick when the game was tied in the fourth quarter. And with Bama up by four points in the final period and Clemson breathing down their necks, running back Kenyan Drake rumbled down the sideline for a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that would give the Tide a double-digit lead and ultimately secure another national title. A fitting battle that would foreshadow a series of championship rematches between the sport’s most dominant programs.

2016: Clemson 35, Alabama 31

It just seemed right that these titans would lock horns on the brightest stage for a second straight College Football Playoff final, this time the pendulum swinging the Tigers’ way thanks to the heroics of quarterback DeShaun Watson, who threw for 420 yards and three touchdowns. It all started well enough for the Tide, with running back Bo Scarbrough bulldozing Clemson for two touchdowns to open up 14-0 lead. But a third quarter leg injury sidelined him for the rest of the game, as the Tigers pounced and outscored the Tide 21-7 in the fourth quarter. True freshman quarterback looked out of sorts for much of the game, possibly because Saban dismissed offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin just a week before the game. But Hurts nearly gave the Tide a win on an incredible 30-yard go-ahead touchdown scamper. With just two minutes left, Bama’s dominant defense needed one more stop. But Watson stormed down the field, only to find Hunter Renfrow for a touchdown with one second on the clock to end the Tide’s bid at a repeat title. Heartbreaking and heart-stopping, all the same.

2017: Alabama 26, Georgia 23

We need not remind you of the details: 2nd-and-26, true freshman to true freshman, walk-off overtime touchdown to win a national championship. Alabama fans seemed to lose hope during the first half, when the offense sputtered and Georgia appeared to have a title in their grasp. Nick Saban chose to make a switch at quarterback, putting backup Tua Tagovailoa under center for a change of pace, and did he deliver. The Tide mounted a ferocious comeback to force overtime, and then Tua launched a deep ball to eventual Heisman winner and Bama legend DeVonta Smith to clinch the game and their legacies in Tide lore. Fans did not know what hit them. It was a collective out-of-body experience for everyone inside the stadium and watching at home around the world. Pure, raw emotion and joy. Even Saban couldn’t help himself, as he threw raised his arms and ran to midfield.

2018: Alabama 35, Georgia 28

You could not script it any better. Nearly a year after he was benched in the national championship game against Georgia, Jalen Hurts backed up the quarterback who replaced him until Tua Tagovailia injured his angle, and Nick Saban called his number. Opting to stay at Alabama instead of transferring despite losing the starting job, Hurts bided his time until opportunity arose and he came in to lead the Tide to an unbelievable 35-28 comeback victory to secure the conference championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff, capped with a 15-yard touchdown run with 1:04 left in the game. We knew Hurts would likely leave the program at season’s end, which he did when he transferred to Oklahoma, but he left one more mark for fans to remember forever. “I’m so proud of this guy for what he’s done this year. I can’t even tell you,” Saban said about Hurts after the game.

2019: Auburn 48, Alabama 45

A slobberknocker. Pound for pound, 2019 marked the best all-around game between Saban and Malzahn. While certainly not a defensive masterpiece (aside from Auburn’s two crucial pick-sixes), it was just the kind of knockdown, drag-out slugfest between bitter rivals under highly unusual circumstances sports fans crave. With Tua Tagovailia sidelined with a season-ending hip injury suffered two weeks prior, backup Mac Jones stepped in to play the game of his life, throwing for 335 yards and four touchdowns and spreading the ball around to dangerous receivers like Henry Ruggs III and the electrifying Jaylen Waddle, who scored three times. But Jones also threw two touchdowns to the wrong team, with Auburn’s Smoke Monday and Zakoby McClain causing critical turnovers, the latter of which stretched for 100 yards. The Tigers got offensive scores from Bo Nix, Sal Cannella and a go-ahead touchdown from Shauna Shivers, leading to a controversial finish involving an illegal substitution by Alabama due to some intentional confusion. Saban called the SEC’s officials “unfair” for not giving his team enough time to substitute players at the end of the game. Fooled by Gus Malzahn, Alabama then lost the game and a shot at another College Football Playoff berth on a penalty for too many players on the field with about a minute to go, when they’d hoped to give Waddle one more shot at a return and Alabama one more possession to pull even or win it. After a pedestrian opening quarter, the teams exploded for a combined 48-point second period in a wacky game with interceptions and a kickoff returned for touchdowns, deep bomb scores, a gutting missed field goal, grind-it-out rushing performances, all the penalties, non-stop lead changes and more in a gripping prizefight bringing all kinds of drama.

2020: Alabama 52, Florida 46

Florida gave Alabama’s unstoppable 2020 juggernaut squad as much of a scare as anyone could that season, with Heisman finalist Kyle Trask throwing for 408 yards and three touchdowns, but the Tide offense put up 605 yards behind Mac Jones’ 418 threw the air (and five touchdowns), eventual Heisman-winner Devonta Smiths’ 184 receiving yards and two touchdowns and Najee Harris’ 245 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns. It was an onslaught. And while the Gators hung in there in a really explosive and exciting game, they simply had no answer for Steve Sarkisian’s relentless offense.

2021: Alabama 24, Auburn 22 (4OT)

Close games saturate our minds and bodies with the broadest spectrum of feelings including stress, anxiety, joy and downright nirvana. With the Iron Bowl, it’s mostly dread, at least for the Alabama faithful who insist the Auburn is merely an obstacle on their way to bigger and better things. One super-fan told us he can never really enjoy the Iron Bowl because he only feels one of two ways: Devastated by losing to Auburn or relieved after three hours of pure dread. The 2021 edition did not help matters, when Alabama’s high-powered offense could not find a rhythm inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, and any national title hopes dwindled into oblivion. But even despite starting the final drive of regulation on their own 3-yard line, Bryce Young and the Tide rallied for a 12-play, 97-yard odyssey ending with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Corey Brooks to send the game into overtime. Four periods later, Young found wide receiver John Metchie III on a whip out for the winning 2-point conversion. The aforementioned relief sunk in, the dread washed away, as Metchie hit “The Karate Kid” crane pose as his teammates stormed the field to celebrate. Breathe easy, folks.

2022: Tennessee 52, Alabama 49

The Knoxville shootout that ended nearly two decades of misery for the folks in orange. Behind quarterback Hendon Hooker and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt’s historic performances, Tennessee beat Alabama for the first time in 16 years, their first win against Saban during his tenure as Alabama coach. Back from a shoulder injury, reigning Heisman-winner Bryce Young did everything he could to keep the Tide’s streak alive with 455 passing yards. Bama outscored the Vols in the second half, but even when they got the stops they needed, a fatal flaw from the 2022 season would rear its head again and again: Alabama had 17 penalties for 130 yards, and a late pass interference flag ultimately doomed them before Chase McGrath’s 40-yard game-winning field goal as time expired ended it, and a mushroom cloud of cigar smoke hung over Neyland Stadium for the foreseeable future.

2023: Alabama 27, Auburn 24

The now-legendary play known as “Gravedigger” (or 4th-and-31) in which Jalen Milroe found Isaiah Bond on fourth-and-goal from the 31 with 32 seconds left to give the Crimson Tide a 27-24 win over Auburn, left the college football world speechless and a Jordan-Hare Stadium totally stunned. Everyone knew, including the artist himself, that they’d just witnessed a new Daniel Moore painting in real time. “This is one of those no brainers, because I know who I have to show in the painting and that’s obviously Jalen Milroe and Isaiah Bond,” Moore said shortly after the game, confirming he would immortalize the moment. In the football context, it kept a one-loss Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes alive. They’d already clinched the SEC West, but a loss would all but remove them from the national title conversation. With the odds already against them, the Tide had a bad snap that put them on the 31 for their final shot. Auburn pulled most defenders back in coverage, giving Milroe time to look downfield and find his best option, and it was Bond in the back left corner to make an unbelievable jumping, go-ahead touchdown catch and make Iron Bowl history.