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Saturday’s Iron Bowl was memorable for the ending, if not exactly the explosive showcase that Alabama fans might have come to expect from their offense. But for Auburn fans, 4 quarters with a fair bit of euphoria led to yet another squandered lead and a sad ending to their regular season in 4 OT.
Auburn fell to 6-6, a sad ending indeed to a season when, a few weeks ago, the Tigers controlled their destiny for clinching the West Division:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 28, 2021
The Tigers made so many defensive stands during the game against the Crimson Tide, only for Bama to force overtime with a TD with just 24 seconds left in the 4th quarter:
m o o d pic.twitter.com/05ijldME1j
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 28, 2021
Mind you, for most of the game it was Alabama fans who could not quite believe what they were seeing (or in some cases could barely stay awake when the Tide was on offense):
Bama fans not impressed with the first half #sadSECfans #IronBowl2021 pic.twitter.com/AAxBdsr1os
— sadSECfans (@sadSECfans) November 27, 2021
But at the end, Auburn fans are the ones who will have to live with this result for the next 364 days:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 28, 2021
Also in the SEC, Florida became bowl eligible with a win over Florida State, putting a bow on what was otherwise an ugly season in Gainesville:
#sadSECfans #FSUvsUF pic.twitter.com/GbRC2vIk1U
— sadSECfans (@sadSECfans) November 27, 2021
Even in a win, the Gators did not make things look easy against a Seminoles program that is struggling just as much as UF is in 2021:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 27, 2021
On Thursday, our Thanksgiving dessert in the SEC was the Egg Bowl, in which Mississippi State fought well but fell at home to archrival Ole Miss:
#sadSECfans #EggBowl pic.twitter.com/UmrSXkQPMS
— sadSECfans (@sadSECfans) November 26, 2021
Outside of the SEC, the big news on Saturday was Michigan’s first victory over Ohio State since 2011. The result sent the Wolverines to the Big Ten Championship Game and ended OSU’s 4-year run as conference champions, a bitter pill to swallow for those sporting scarlet and gray:
@UMichFootball lol #surrendercobra pic.twitter.com/oj9Y0vIpf4
— Michael McDonald (@policechiefmik1) November 27, 2021
Oklahoma State and Oklahoma renewed hostilities in Bedlam, a game to determine the Big 12 title game matchup. Cowboys fans had learned all about pain in this rivalry, having lost 7 straight to the Sooners, but Oklahoma State pulled this one out:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 28, 2021
Wisconsin not only lost Paul Bunyan’s Axe to Minnesota, but the Badgers blew a chance to clinch the B1G West Division. Wisconsin’s loss in the Twin Cities instead sends Iowa to the conference title game against Michigan:
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) November 28, 2021
And at least one Hawkeyes fan truly enjoyed Minnesota’s postgame music choice:
Minnesota really enjoyed turning the knife after finally beating Wisconsin at home again (first time in Minneapolis since 2003): pic.twitter.com/AcjgBq2mUo
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 28, 2021
In the Pac-12, Oregon topped state rival Oregon State to clinch a spot in the league title game:
The Game Formerly Known as the Civil War got chippy again!
?: https://t.co/lgCjhWwx22 pic.twitter.com/ffr5xthZ4w— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 28, 2021
And spare a thought for Nebraska, which finished a dreadful 3-9 season — with all 9 losses coming by single digits. That’s a record for any FBS team since 1936. Now that is a sad holiday:
@HawkeyeFootball @IowaOnBTN @HuskerFBNation is the native habitat for the #surrendercobra pic.twitter.com/mpWG2rxSdq
— Mark Zimmerman (@ZimmyBuffett) November 26, 2021
We’ll see what kind of emotional rollercoaster Championship Week has in store for us.
Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a copy editor and writer with SaturdayDownSouth.com.
