Play by Play

by Verne Lundquist

  For as much preparation work as we all do, I also come into the game without expectations of what kind of contest it is going to be. Sure, we talk about tendencies and provide our audience with a set of elements to watch out for, but personally, as a play-by-play guy I have to do what many players say about participating in the game itself: I have to let the game come to me. That means that I never “rehearse” a line that I hope I can squeeze in or anything like that. The ebb and flow of the game encourages a kind of spontaneity and that’s what I hope to bring to every broadcast. That’s true for whenever the game is being played.

  I do know this: if the game had been played in Baton Rogue, the LSU faithful would have been grateful for the opportunity to spend a few more hours consuming before kickoff. As it was, I’m sure they did so in the southern comfort of their own homes or a local establishment. Whenever we were in Baton Rogue, we prepared for a certain level of rowdiness that was seldom exceeded anywhere else we traveled.

  In acknowledgment of the extensive buildup to the game, as the Tigers’ place-kicker approached the football for the opening kickoff, I timed my words with his steps: “At . . . long . . . last!”

  To illustrate my point about letting the game come to me, I didn’t enter the booth that Saturday prepared with a bunch of statistics or stories about the two kickers who would ultimately figure so largely in the game’s outcome. I didn’t prepare some memorable lines related to kicking, booting, shanking, or anything of that kind. No one could have predicted how the game would be determined by missed field goals. That’s part of the joy of watching and broadcasting a game—the unexpected. If I had the ability to see into the future, I might have made more of the fact that Odell Beckham—I didn’t use the “junior” part of his name—made a catch early in the game.

  Of course, the story line for the game as it unfolded proved to be the kicking game. Alabama’s Cade Foster missed field goals on Alabama’s first two drives. Forgotten in that is that on the first two plays of the game, Alabama gained 40 yards on a Trent Richardson run and Trent Richardson reception. The drive stalled and Foster pushed his kick wide right. Before that, Gary pointed out that in their previous matchup in 2010 only three points had been scored—by LSU. Foster’s next miss was a 50-yarder that was also wide right. Gary questioned whether it had the length and we agreed it was short. Alabama was moving the ball with Richardson and Eddie Lacey and a few McCarron passes sprinkled in, but they just couldn’t convert on crucial third downs.

  Early in the second quarter, Alabama looked to take advantage of the first turnover the Tigers had committed in five games—a Jarrett Lee interception. Gary and I wondered on-air if the first-quarter issues would affect Alabama’s play call on third-and-18 from the LSU thirty-one. They appeared to want to go deep, but good coverage combined with a nice rush forced McCarron out of the pocket and he threw the ball away, setting up the field goal attempt.

  Following Cade Foster’s two misses, Nick Saban used his other place-kicker, Jeremy Shelley, to attempt a 49-yarder. Shelley was 11 of 13 on the season and was generally used on shorter attempts. The kick never had a chance. LSU blocked it and Eric Reid picked the ball out of the air and returned the miss into Alabama territory. Gary pointed out that this was a case of expecting a player to do too much. Shelley was their short guy and in trying to extend his range, he kicked the ball too low. As we went to commercial, Gary said that Nick had gone for the field goal three times and was 0-3.

  In isolation, I suppose, Alabama fans could use that as an example of their view that Gary was biased against them or against Nick. I have no idea how many words either of us spoke during that broadcast, and I pull them out of context here just to give you some sense of how these things get done all the time. I suppose that timing is everything. Having gone to commercial more of a period was put on the statement that went out to 20 million people with just as many opinions and perspectives. In any case, while it is literally true that Nick didn’t make those attempts, his players had and the game remained scoreless.

  Finally, with exactly five minutes to go before halftime, Jeremy Shelley made a 34-yard field goal to break the scoreless tie. Alabama had been pinned back on their own four-yard line and their most sustained drive of the day turned into three points. LSU came right back. Jordan Jefferson came in to relieve Lee at quarterback. Les Miles had inserted Jefferson into the game at a similar point the previous year and Gary speculated that with time dwindling in the first half, the LSU coach was hoping that Jefferson could “get his sea legs.”

  The Tigers, again employing some fourth-down magic, had bested Alabama in a stirring comeback to win that game, 24–21. After that one, the quirky Miles explained why he chewed and swallowed some LSU grass just before that fourth-down gamble. He said it humbled him and made him feel like he was part of the game, the field. He also added that he did that all the time and LSU’s was the most flavorful.

  Mainly sticking to the ground game, Jefferson got the Tigers into field goal position with time nearly expired in the half. The quarterback’s big play was a 29-yarder that got the Tigers down to the Alabama four-yard line with forty-five seconds left. Even with an Alabama penalty getting them to the two-yard line, they couldn’t punch it in. They settled for a 19-yard Drew Alleman field goal and went to the half knotted up at 3. It was as enjoyable a half of football as I could ask for.

  Just before the action resumed, I asked Gary what had surprised him about the first half, and he pointed out three missed defensive assignments: two on LSU and one on Alabama that had resulted in long gains. Add in the three missed field goals and the two interceptions and I can agree that the level of execution wasn’t outstanding, but the intensity of the game play and what was at stake overrode that. Lots of games are mistake filled but this one didn’t lack for other outstanding plays—they just didn’t produce points.

  The second half played out much as the first one had. Alabama took the lead on a Cade Foster field goal following Lee’s second interception. Foster missed another one. LSU had a tremendous opportunity following a Morris Claiborne interception and return set them up at the Alabama fifteen. Alabama’s defense kept them out of the end zone but a Drew Alleman short field goal tied the game at 6–6 just as the fourth quarter had begun. On the ensuing drive, something curious took place. Trent Richardson, who had 104 total yards of offense in the first half, had been held to 10 in the second to that point. We made note of that just before he took a handoff and ripped a slashing, bruising run 24 yards down to the LSU twenty-eight.

  Things got a bit weird after that. An LSU lineman was injured so we went to a commercial break during the official time-out. When we came back, we presented a package showing highlights of various turnovers that played a crucial role in the games played between the two clubs. On the very next play, on first down, Marquis Maze, who suffered a leg injury early on and was clearly slowed by it, took the snap from the wildcat formation. Instead of running, he looked downfield. Tight end Michael Williams broke free near the goal line, but Eric Reid hustled over and was able to take the ball away.

  The interception call went to replay and was upheld. At first we had called it a reception, but upon review it was clear that Reid had taken the ball away while both players were going to the ground. It was debatable and we spent some time talking about the call as well as how it happened. The ball was in the air a bit too long. Reid was covering another Alabama receiver who crossed the field bringing Reid with him and enabling him to close the gap on Williams. All in all, it was a brilliant defensive play in a game filled with them. As Gary said, “a bit of unintended consequences” of the play’s design brought Reid into the picture to defend the pass. What we didn’t get into was to question the choice of call. Rather than second-guess, we praised Reid for coming off his man to make the pick. We left the Sunday morning coaching to the fans and the radio call-in men and women who no doubt burned up the phone lines and the airwaves questioning the wisdom of the play selection.

 
; Coaching is a tough business. If Maze’s pass had been complete and Alabama punched it in from inside the goal line, the play would have gone down in Alabama history, another golden moment. It didn’t and Nick Saban and the rest of the Crimson Tide coaching staff and players had to live with the consequences. Imagine if every choice you make at work fell under the scrutiny of millions?

  Still, Alabama was in great shape. They had the Tigers pinned against their own goal line. I said that we do a lot of preparation but you can’t do too much anticipation. Here’s where the two met. After two short running plays, the Tigers faced third down and six. Gary reminded viewers that in the previous year’s game, LSU faced a similar kind of situation with Jefferson at quarterback. He threw then on third down. This time LSU ran and was stopped short. The punting unit came on the field. Gary pointed out that the defense was playing well and they couldn’t afford a mistake that deep in their own territory. He agreed with the call to punt.

  Alabama’s Maze, who’d just thrown the interception, was back deep to receive. The Australian punter, Brad Wing, got his left foot into a beauty and sailed it over the head of Maze, who was standing just inside his own territory. The ball wound up at the Alabama eighteen. Credit Wing with a mammoth 73-yard punt. We both commented that Maze’s bad ankle likely came into play. He had to catch that ball and he didn’t. Later, in a locker room interview, Maze stated that his ankle had nothing to do with it. He said that the ball had hit a wire that ran across the field supporting one of our cameras. I don’t want to question the young man’s motives or sound like I’m defending the network, but what we saw was him struggling to make a turn on his bad leg. The resulting loss of thirty yards of field position was undeniable.

  No matter the cause, strange and interesting things were taking place that night in Tuscaloosa.

  We were going to overtime and there’s always high drama inherent in that. LSU got to call the coin flip, chose tails, and won. They elected to go on defense. Unsurprisingly, Alabama chose to take the ball at the 25-yard line nearest their student section. We recapped some of the kicking foibles, Gary again praised Eric Reid for his remarkably alert play, and then he reminded everyone of the 2008 game that was tied at 21–21 when Jarrett Lee was intercepted on first down. The Crimson Tide came on the field.

  Incompletion intended for Trent Richardson. (A drop.)

  A five-yard illegal substitution infraction on Alabama.

  Incompletion intended for Trent Richardson. (Richardson was open; the ball wasn’t there.)

  A sack of Trent Richardson at the Alabama thirty-five.

  Alabama field goal attempt.

  A bad snap.

  Cade Foster hooked one. The ball traveled side to side instead of end to end, and the sad saga of Cade Foster continued.

  We had a game to call and things to think about, but still, though the words went unspoken on-air, I had to feel for him. Four missed field goals. Can you imagine?

  The rest was almost anticlimactic. LSU drove down to the eight. Alabama called time-out to freeze the kicker. LSU went for the field goal on third down so in case something happened they’d have another opportunity on fourth down.

  Drew Alleman drilled the 25-yard field goal and the game was over.

  All I could say was “LSU remains undefeated.” And later, “My oh, my!”

  Les was gracious and straightforward in his postgame interview with Tracy. When asked his feeling about a rematch with Alabama for it all, he said, “I would be honored to face that team again.”

  Everything fell in place for that to happen. The LSU–Alabama rematch for the BCS championship saw the Crimson Tide take the title, 21–0.

  That was a story for someone else to tell.

  When the joy of the unexpected, a game of critical importance to the national picture, and an intense rivalry combine, you get my favorite all-time classic SEC game. That happened in 2013 when Auburn and Alabama met in another Iron Bowl clash of the titans. Alabama came into the game as the two-time defending national championship, and apologies to the Los Angeles Lakers’ Pat Riley, they were seeking a three-peat. It was the seventy-eighth edition of the confrontation between the intrastate rivals and a lot more than just bragging rights was on the line. Alabama was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation. Auburn came in at No. 4. They were experiencing a remarkable turnaround season. In 2012 they’d finished at 3–9, including a hard-to-fathom 0–8 record in the SEC that had their fans sinking to the depths of despair. Perhaps worse than any of that, Alabama had wiped them out in the previous year’s Iron Bowl by a score of 49–0. Add in the 2011 game and for the past two seasons Alabama had hammered their Iron Bowl opponents by a 91–14 margin.

  Gene Chizik was fired after that lowly season and Gus Malzahn left Arkansas State to take the helm of a ship that sank about as far as possible. Malzahn had spent much of his life as a high school coach, and when he was at Springdale High School in Arkansas he had a kid who was regarded as maybe the best quarterback in the country, Mitch Mustain. Mustain had been recruited by Houston Nutt at Arkansas. As these things sometimes go, Gus came along as part of the package as offensive coordinator. And that’s when he had his first college football coaching job. Gus and Houston Nutt had a warm relationship, I think, for the most part. But then Gus decided to move on, and he wound up at Tulsa as head coach. I knew him pretty well and thought very highly of him.

  Auburn came into the game with one loss, a 35–21 defeat at the hands of the LSU Tigers. Still, their fate was in their own hands. They could win the SEC West title if they beat Alabama. As the saying goes, they controlled their own destiny.

  Barely.

  On November 15, we were in Jordan Hare stadium as the Tigers took on 25th-ranked Georgia. Auburn blew a 27–7 lead and with only twenty-five seconds left to go, they trailed the Bulldogs, 38–37. From their own 27 on fourth-and-18, their quarterback, Nick Marshall, dropped back to pass. He stepped up in the pocket and instead of going for a first-down toss, he went deep into the Georgia secondary. Two men were back for the Bulldogs and the ball seemed certain to be intercepted or at least knocked down. Instead it bounced off one of the defenders and into the hands of Ricardo Louis at about the Georgia ten-yard line. He went in untouched. Gary and I were astounded.

  “Talk about a Hail Mary,” I said.

  “Play of the year,” Gary added.

  Upon replay Gary saw that one of the Georgia defenders had knocked the ball out of the hands of his teammate and into the air, where Louis grabbed it.

  As Gary said at the time, “It bounced into the air for the most improbable touchdown you’ll ever see.”

  A few moments later, he called it “a miracle of miracles.”

  Some called it the Immaculate Deflection, others the Prayers at Jordan-Hare, but no matter what, it was a sight to see. One person who almost didn’t see it was Ricardo Louis. He was beyond the two defenders when they collided and admitted that he lost sight of the ball. It seemed to descend from the heavens, then came over his shoulder and into his arms. He bobbled it for a moment but then hung on.

  How could you top that ending to the game?

  Georgia nearly did. They drove down to the Auburn twenty and only a game-saving tackle by Auburn’s Dee Ford kept slogan makers from working double overtime. As we wrapped up the telecast, Gary said, “That’s the greatest finish I’ve ever seen. You’ll never see another one like it.”

  It took two weeks.

  In the Iron Bowl, on a late November day that I described as one that could not be more perfect, Alabama took the opening kickoff. They drove down to the Auburn 34-yard line but were stopped. Cade Foster came in and missed a 44-yard field goal. It was only his second miss of the season. We didn’t bring up his previous kicking troubles against LSU. The only score of the quarter was quarterback Nick Marshall’s 45-yard touchdown run, Auburn’s first offensive touchdown against the Tide since 2010.

  Most of the second quarter belonged to Alabama. They ran off 21 straight points on the
ir first three possessions of the period—two A. J. McCarron touchdown passes and a T. J. Yeldon one-yard plunge. Auburn came back with an impressive 7-play, 81-yard drive in just over two minutes. The half ended with them trailing, 21–14. To that point under Nick Saban, Alabama was 73–3 when leading at the half. Auburn didn’t seem to care about those kinds of statistics. It took the opening drive of the second half and, mixing up Nick Marshall and Tre Mason rushes with the occasional pass, including a 13-yard touchdown to C. J. Uzomah, they quickly tied it. The quarter ended with Alabama poised to score in Auburn’s red zone at the eleven-yard line. It was an impressive drive that began at their own one-yard line.

  At the start of the final period, McCarron’s two incompletions and a catch that only produced one yard brought out the field goal unit. Foster came on. The snap was good and he booted it through for what appeared to be a 28-yard field goal. It wasn’t. Before the snap we’d heard the official’s whistle. One of Alabama’s interior linemen had moved on the play. After watching the replay, Gary and I both questioned whether there was movement.

  Regardless, the five-yard penalty made Foster’s next attempt a 33-yarder, still well within his range. He yanked it left by a wide margin. At those moments you have to stick to the game as it is happening on the field. I reminded viewers that if there was movement on the successful attempt, it was “imperceptible.” At the time and in reviewing the game later, my heart did go out to Foster. How could it not? His struggles were nearly Sisyphean in scope. He finally made one in a big game and it was called back because of a penalty. He missed another. We didn’t bring up that previous debacle, but I had to say something. When we went to replay, Gary talked about how poor the effort was, and it was poor, but I said, “I don’t want to put too much on his shoulders, but—” And brought up the previous kick and the questionable penalty call.