PASADENA, Calif. — This time, it looked like Auburn would need no miracles.
The 10-point underdogs — and 1,000-to-1 long shots to win the national title at the beginning of the season — were overpowering undefeated Florida State, jumping out to a 21-3 lead against the ACC juggernaut.
Under first-year coach Gus Malzahn, the Tigers, a three-win team last season, were on the verge of completing the unlikeliest of title runs in college football history.
And then, Jameis Winston and the top-ranked Seminoles ruined thousands of improbable dreams that seemed so tangible only hours before, winning the final BCS National Championship Game, 34-31, with the late-game magic that Auburn had seemed to copyright this season.
It was truly amazing that Auburn had ever made it this far, but running back Tre Mason still felt that he had left Auburn fans down.
“Because we told them we’d have the biggest turnaround in college football, and the biggest turnaround would be winning that crystal ball,” said Mason, who ran for 195 yards and a touchdown, and added another receiving touchdown. “We owed them that because of the season last year. I just want them to know that I gave it all I got, but I still feel like I let them down.”
As confetti fell and the Seminoles sung “We are the Champions” at midfield of the Rose Bowl, a devastated sea of orange — making up the majority of the 94,000-plus in attendance — filed out of the historic stadium. The team headed to the locker room incredibly disappointed, but more so, incredibly proud of a season no one had envisioned but them.
“We set a goal to have the biggest turnaround in college football history, and it was an amazing journey for me, and I’m definitely proud to be an Auburn Tiger right now,” said Auburn defensive end Dee Ford, just minutes after the heart-wrenching loss. “I couldn’t be any prouder of this Auburn family because we stuck together and we got through last year and we made it here. We started from the bottom, now we’re here. We didn’t win but at the end of the day, I’m still proud of my team.”
After Florida State took the lead on Kermit Whitfield’s 101-yard kick return for a touchdown with less than five minutes remaining, Auburn responded with an eight-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Mason’s 37-yard touchdown run, giving Auburn a 31-27 lead.
The Tigers were one minute and 18 seconds away from their second national championship in four years. The defense was four stops from euphoria.
“Felt pretty good at that point,” Malzahn said.
Then, after Kelvin Benjamin caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Jameis Winston, 13 seconds remained in Auburn’s unimaginable season.
But Chris Davis could not replicate what he did against Alabama on the ensuing kickoff. Nick Marshall’s pass to Ricardo Louis fell incomplete, with no Georgia defenders around to keep the play alive. And then, the Tigers tried to pull one last rabbit out of their hat, attempting a few laterals on the final play in one last desperate act.
It was over. There were no more miracles, but believers were everywhere.
“I’m very proud of my team, how far they’ve come from the very first game to getting here, and just being on the brink of winning the whole thing,” Malzahn said. “There’s no doubt, we’re going up. The experience that we had and we got most of our guys coming back, recruiting is going great, and our goal is to get back here, and I really believe we’ll do it.”