Prayer at Jordan-Hare
7-ranked Tigers faced 4th down and 18 yards to go when junior quarterback Nick Marshall threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Ricardo Louis.
The score allowed Auburn to take a 43–38 lead that it held to break the tie in the all-time Georgia-Auburn American football series.
As teammates sprinted to congratulate Ricardo Louis in the end zone, Auburn IMG Sports Network commentator Rod Bramblett exclaimed "A miracle in Jordan-Hare!
[11] Within days the title had been replicated or simultaneously concocted by writers with The Birmingham News, USA Today, The Montgomery Advertiser, WRBL in Columbus, Georgia and Fox Sports among many others.
[16] Many titles sprung forth over the following week including "The Hail Aubie" in reference to the name of Auburn's mascot tiger, "The Saint Louis Arch" fusing the receiver's surname with the arc-like path of Marshall's throw as a pun on the famous landmark arch in St. Louis, "Tip to the Lou" as an alteration of the children's song "Skip to My Lou" and "The Inaccurate Reception" as a modification of the renowned "Immaculate Reception" in the 1972 AFC semifinals.
[10][12][17][18] The website AL.com posted an online poll to allow fans to vote on the above titles, adding "Tip, Georgia, Tip" as a takeoff of the legendary game Punt Bama Punt, "Dawg Gone Miracle" as the victory came against the Bulldogs, "Nick of Time" using Marshall's first name, "The Miracle on the Plains" as the nickname for Auburn, Alabama is "The Loveliest Village on the Plains" penned by poet Oliver Goldsmith and "The Miracu-Louis Reception.
"[19] The poll included another frequently published title "The Immaculate Deflection," one of the three most popular in voting results along with "Tip to the Lou" and "The Prayer at Jordan-Hare.
Adding insult to injury, on April 23, 2013, Auburn's landmark oak trees at Toomer's Corner were cut down, declared unsalvageable after being poisoned by Harvey Updyke, Jr., an Alabama fan, during the weekend of December 3, 2010.
[27][28] The 130-year old trees held a special place in the hearts of Auburn fans who rolled them with toilet paper after each football victory for at least forty years.
[31] Observers speculated that the return of the Bulldogs' starting running back Todd Gurley from an ankle injury would bolster Georgia's chances of an upset.
In the 3rd quarter, Georgia elected not to allow sophomore kicker Marshall Morgan to attempt what would have been a 56-yard field goal despite the fact that he had hit that distance before.
[33] Auburn maintained that 20-point lead until 9:35 left in the game when Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to senior Rantavious Wooten to cut the deficit to 13 points.
Aaron Murray ran 11 yards line on a quarterback sneak to score a controversial touchdown that gave Georgia a 38–37 lead.
[36] When instant replay was shown, some thought Murray's left knee made contact with the ground prior to the football crossing the goal line after colliding with Auburn defenders Jake Holland and Ryan Smith.
[33] While the Bulldogs had scored on three consecutive drives, Auburn failed to earn a single first down in the entire fourth quarter until one minute remained on the clock.
Their stagnant offense had not found the end zone in over 23 minutes of play and had only crossed the 50-yard line once since their opening drive of the second half.
[33] After gaining a first down at their own 35-yard line, Auburn lost eight yards on the next three plays culminating with Jordan Jenkins' sack of Nick Marshall.
[33] During the timeout Malzahn called a play he dubbed "Little Rock," something he had drawn up late in 1998 while coaching Shiloh Christian School in the Arkansas state playoffs.
[41][42] Louis dreamed of making a big play, inspired by the words of his receiver coach Dameyune Craig who frequently challenged his players with the question "What's going to be your legacy?".
[5][10] Sammie Coates found himself wide open near midfield, but Nick Marshall stepped up to the 20-yard line and heaved the ball 47 yards downfield to Ricardo Louis in triple coverage.
[14][42][43] The overthrown pass sailed beyond Marshall's intended receiver as Georgia's freshman safety Tray Matthews leapt for the interception at the 23-yard line.
[5] But his teammate, sophomore defender Josh Harvey-Clemons, also jumped for the interception and tipped the ball with his right hand causing it to ricochet over Matthews' helmet.
[5][10] Auburn's Louis could not initially find the deflection as the football fluttered over his head, but his peripheral vision located the ball over his left shoulder just as it reached his outstretched hands.
[8][42] Louis juggled the ball at the 15-yard line, finally gained control at the 9, looked over his left shoulder finding no one in pursuit and bounded into the south end zone for the touchdown with 25 seconds remaining.
[46]The flags were actually thrown for offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties, one for Georgia players removing their helmets and one against defensive lineman Gabe Wright for excessive celebration.
[18][52] The following Saturday during Auburn's bye week, two upsets occurred by a combined 58 points when unranked Arizona knocked off #5 ranked Oregon and #10 Oklahoma State defeated #3 Baylor.
Georgia would fall out of the BCS standings and most of the major polls after this loss, and a win over unranked Kentucky the next week was not enough to get the team back in the rankings.
In their next game, Auburn hosted in-state rival and #1 ranked Alabama in the season-ending Iron Bowl, whose winner would also clinch the SEC's western division.
Tied 28-28 with one second remaining in regulation, Alabama attempted to kick a game-winning field goal, but it fell short and was caught by Chris Davis, who returned it for a 100-yard touchdown to win the game 34-28.
Nick Marshall's last-second 73-yard touchdown pass was recognized as one of four nominees for 2013 Best Play in the world of sports at the 2014 ESPY Awards under the name Auburn Hail Mary.
