An oral history of the University of Alabama’s football season, as told by the people who lived it
Iron Will
By Aaron Suttles Sports Writer
For the second year in a row, the University of Alabama’s postseason fate came down to the annual grudge match with Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The game featured five lead changes, with Alabama overcoming a 12-point second half deficit to earn a 55-44 victory and a trip to the Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Reggie Ragland, junior linebacker: What happened with the previous year, them going back and catching that field goal and running it back, it was very emotional. Reuben Foster, sophomore linebacker: I didn’t want to go through a whole other year listening to the same stuff and going back home and having to listen to all the crap that they talked about me, Rashaan (Evans) and our coaching staff and my family: and when I say family, I mean my teammates. Jalston Fowler, senior fullback: That was fun. I was up for that game. The only thing we kept saying the whole week was, “We owe these guys.” It played a big part in it because we wanted, I wouldn’t say revenge, but we wanted payback. Ragland: We wanted to come out and prove something. Everybody wanted to come out and prove something. We have to come out and stop these guys and what happened last year, we can’t give them that kind of chance again. staff photo | robert sutton
Alabama running back Derrick Henry carries the ball into the end zone for a a fourth-quarter touchdown against Auburn at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 29, 2014. Alabama won the game, 55-44.
Auburn got the better end of the shootout in the first half, taking a 26-21 halftime lead. Continued