It’s been nearly 40 years since Cornelius Bennett had a front-row seat for one of the greatest plays — and games — in Iron Bowl history.

Bennett was a junior and an All-America linebacker at Alabama in 1985, when the Crimson Tide beat Auburn 25-23 at Birmingham’s Legion Field in one of the greatest games in the history of the rivalry. The lead changed four times in the fourth quarter before Alabama’s Van Tiffin nailed a 52-yard field goal as time expired, a play known simply as “The Kick.”

“Oh wow, I didn’t know it’s been that long,” Bennett said during an appearance earlier this month at annual banquet for the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 1993. “I remember we won; that was the most important thing. The rivalry, the times, Coach (Paul) Bryant’s death and Coach (Ray) Perkins coming in with my (recruiting) class and trying to duplicate the success of Coach Bryant.

“We did our best, beating Auburn twice. I’ll take that, especially when they had that No. 34 guy over there.”

“That No. 34 guy” is of course Bo Jackson, who like Bennett hailed from the Birmingham area and also went 2-2 in four Iron Bowls. A year ahead of Bennett in school, Jackson led Auburn to wins over Alabama in 1982 and 1983 before the Crimson Tide won in 1984 and 1985.

Bennett — a star at Ensley High School — was a freshman in 1983, and also lost to Auburn as a senior in 1986. He faced Jackson three times, with the Tigers star hitting the Crimson Tide for 256 yards and two touchdowns in 1983, 118 yards and a touchdown in 1984 and 142 yards and two more scores in 1985.

“He’s everything that you could ever think of as a running back, as a person,” Bennett said. “He was the total package, man.

“I kind of thought they underutilized him. Bo was a good pass catcher out the backfield. I think if they had had that dimension back then, wow. He really would have been unstoppable.”

Bennett, of course, was a fantastic player in his own right, totaling 38 tackles in his four Iron Bowls. He was also a three-time first-team All-American — one of just two in program history along with fellow linebacker Woodrow Lowe (1973-75) — and won the Lombardi Award as the country’s top defensive player as a senior in 1986, when he was SEC Player of the Year and recorded his iconic sack of Notre Dame quarterback Steve Beuerlein in a 28-6 victory.

For Bennett’s final two seasons at Alabama he formed a dynamic duo with the late Derrick Thomas, who also went on to become one of the Crimson Tide’s all-time greats. Thomas was a first-team All-American and won the Butkus Award in 1988, when he recorded an astounding 27 sacks and 39 tackles for loss.

“I tell the story all the time, the one thing that sticks out the most about Derrick is Derrick’s tardiness,” Bennett said. “Derrick had to do a lot of extra running when we were in school together. Coach (Sylvester) Croom would make Derrick do extras because Derrick was constantly tardy.

“But that didn’t take away anything from the football field. … You just dealt with it. Because what he gave you on the football field was everything he had.”

Thomas, who died in 2000 after being paralyzed in an automobile accident, went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. Both Thomas and Bennett are both members of the College Football Hall of Fame, but Bennett has not yet been honored despite a sterling NFL career.

In 14 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts, Bennett was a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro. He played in five Super Bowls and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 1990s.

Bennett is nearing the end of his candidacy on the regular ballot for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but could still be elected as a “seniors” candidate in future years. Asked about his chances of being one day in enshrined in Canton, he said “I’ll never give up hope.”

“I can’t change the system,” Bennett said. “I don’t lose any sleep over it. Do I deserve to be in there? Most definitely. I’ve never shied away from that comment. I didn’t have 100 sacks, but you look at everything else I did on the football field and all the success I helped my team have.

“I was, to me, one of the most unselfish guys to ever play the game of football. I sacrificed positions, moving around so we could succeed. And that wasn’t by design. That’s who God made me out to be. And I’d do it all over again.”

Bennett has spent the last several years living in south Florida with his wife Kimberly, with whom he has three grown children. He also has four grandchildren, whom he says refer to him as “P-paw.”

Bennett’s son, Kivon, earned a bit of notoriety a few years ago, when he signed with one of Alabama’s bitterest rivals. Kivon Bennett — who now plays for the Jacksonville Sharks of the Indoor Football League — signed out of high school in 2017 with Tennessee, spending four years with the Volunteers before finishing his career at Arkansas State in 2022.

The elder Bennett said he never gave a second thought his son wearing the colors of an arch-rival.

“It was great, because it wasn’t my time,” Bennett said. “It was his time. I enjoyed watching him play, and I still do. … He’s still living out his dream. And I’m a proud father, sitting up in the stands watching him. And I try to go to every game just like I did when he was playing college football.

“My time, it’s gone. It’s his time. I watch him shine.”