ESPN ranks the top 25 college football plays since 2000: Which Alabama moments made list?
ESPN ranks the top 25 college football plays since 2000: Which Alabama moments made list?
Over the past 25 college football seasons, the Alabama Crimson Tide have had no shortage of big moments on the national stage.
That's what happens when you win six national championships in a span of 12 seasons, as Alabama did under coach Nick Saban from 2009-2020. The second closest to the Crimson Tide in hardware since the dawn of the 21st century: the LSU Tigers -- a program Saban helped build from a perennial underachiever -- and the Ohio State Buckeyes with three apiece.
It's no surprise then that some of the biggest moments involving Alabama teams from Saban's 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa made their way onto ESPN's ranking of the top 25 college football plays since 2000. That includes both the joys from Alabama's victories as well as the anguish in their defeats.
A total of five plays featuring Alabama football made ESPN's list. Here's a breakdown of Alabama's appearances in ESPN's top 25 college football plays from the first quarter of the 21st century.
'2nd and 26': Tua Tagovailoa to DeVonta Smith touchdown ranked Alabama's best play
Alabama has no shortage of thrilling moments that fans can describe in graphic detail from the snap of the ball until the final whistle, but ESPN ranked '2nd and 26' against Georgia in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 8, 2018 at No. 4 overall on its list. Tua Tagovailoa's dagger to DeVonta Smith in overtime gave Alabama a 26-23 win and its fifth championship in eight years.
ESPN's Bill Connelly said of the play:
"The national title game at the end of the 2017 season came at you in waves. Georgia dominated and led 13-0 at halftime. Alabama subbed in freshman Tua Tagovailoa and charged back to tie the score, but the Tide missed an easy field goal attempt at the buzzer. Georgia moved backward in OT but nailed a 51-yard field goal. Tagovailoa took an atrocious sack and lost 16 yards. Bama had control but lost it, and now Georgia was about to finally topple the Tide.
"And then, without a timeout and with the building still buzzing, Tagovailoa calmly looked off the safeties, then fired back to a fellow freshman for the most thrilling, breathless ending to a national title game in the College Football Playoff era."
'Gravedigger': late Alabama touchdown to bury Auburn ranked top 20 college football play
Speaking of clutch throws, few if any in the history of the Iron Bowl were as incredible as Jalen Milroe's game-winning pass to Isaiah Bond in the corner of the end-zone on Nov. 25, 2023 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Alabama converted on 4th-and-goal from the 31-yard line with 32 seconds left for a 27-24 win, its fourth straight Iron Bowl victory.
'Gravedigger' was ranked No. 20 on ESPN's list, with Chris Low saying:
"The legendary plays in the Iron Bowl are too many to count, but Jalen Milroe-to-Isaiah Bond on fourth-and-goal from the 31 ranks with any of them. Auburn, suffering through a losing season in Hugh Freeze's first year on the Plains, seemingly had the game won in what would have been a massive upset. With the Jordan-Hare Stadium crowd roaring, Alabama was pushed back to the 31 after initially having a first-and-goal from the 7. Only 43 seconds remained, and Auburn rushed just two defenders. Milroe stood in the pocket for five seconds before delivering a strike in the left corner of the end zone to a leaping Bond for the game-winning touchdown and a 27-24 win in what was Nick Saban's final Iron Bowl."
Alabama anguish: three plays on ESPN list that cost Crimson Tide
Not every big play in an Alabama game over the past 25 years has gone in the Crimson Tide's favor. Far from it, in fact. A total of three plays on ESPN's list came against Saban teams, including one that cost Alabama a national championship and another that denied them a chance to play for one.
Topping ESPN's list was Auburn's 'Kick Six' from 2013. Chris Davis' 109-yard return for a touchdown was named the single best college football play of the past 25 years.
Behind 'Kick Six' was Texas A&M star Johnny Manziel's first-quarter escape for a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Swope against Alabama in November 2012. The play, in which Manziel ran into a defender, bobbled the ball, and then rolled out of the pocket for the touchdown was ranked No. 12 on ESPN's list. The Aggies held off a furious Alabama rally to escape with a 29-24 win.
Directly behind Manziel's banner day in Tuscaloosa was the play that denied Alabama a chance at a second straight title. Hunter Renfrow's game-winning touchdown with one second left on the clock at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship gave the Clemson Tigers a 35-31 win over Alabama. Renfrow's catch made ESPN's list of best plays at No. 13.
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