With college football right around the corner, it is that time of year again to fill in the gaps between what’s left of the offseason and Week 1 with Youtubing memorable games – both in and out of the SEC.

Most recently, I have chosen to rewatch a couple classics involving the Auburn Tigers from 2013: The Prayer at Jordan Hare vs. Georgia and the BCS National Championship Game vs. Florida State.

Obviously, one of these games turned out better than the other for the Tigers. However, these games provided intense competitions, with key plays and impactful individuals both remembered and forgotten by the fans and media.

Here is a look back at the Prayer at Jordan-Hare and the BCS title game from 2013-2014.

Prayer at Jordan-Hare November 16, 2013

What is remembered

-The “play of the year”… for

about two weeks

The final touchdown by Ricardo Louis from Nick Marshall in their rivalry contest with the Georgia Bulldogs will be played on Auburn’s jumbotron from now until the end of time.

With less than a minute left (38 seconds to be exact) with a 4th down and very long in front of them (4th and 18 to be exact), the Tigers would pull off one of their most magical moments of a title-contending season.

Marshall, from their own 27-yard line, would take the snap out of shotgun, stand in the pocket for seemingly forever, before chunking a deep ball to Louis, heading behind Louis and closer to two UGA defenders.

However, the UGA defenders would collide with one another, popping the ball up and into the hands of Louis, almost perfectly in stride. Louis, after a quick bobble of the football from the sheer surprise of the moment, would race into the endzone, with Jordan-Hare going absolutely nuts.

Gary Danielson, on the call for the game in the TV booth, would call it the “play of the year” in college football.

It wasn’t even the play of the year for three weeks – as Kick Six happened.

What is forgotten

– Auburn’s huge first half

The fact that Auburn got up to a huge lead over Georgia, with UGA using a huge second-half comeback to take the lead, is not talked about enough when remembering this football game.

Auburn jumped out to a large lead in the first half of 27-7 before Georgia would get what would end up being a pivotal field goal right before the half.

Despite the Bulldogs going into halftime down 27-10, quarterback Aaron Murray would pump his fist, knowing they have made it manageable.

– Aaron Murray’s

final touchdown

Georgia football has fallen victim to a few of these moments – where a quarterback makes an amazing, clutch play that no one remembers because of what happens afterwards (see UGA-Tennessee 2016).

This happened in the 2013 Auburn game, when Murray would run in a 4th down touchdown in the red zone.

Murray was the hero for all of about 10 minutes of real time and about 1 minute of game time.

The Final BCS Championship January 6, 2014 What is remembered

– Jameis Winston to Kelvin Benjamin

This one may have not gone the Tigers’ way, but the Tigers and Seminoles both made this one to remember.

What is remembered most about the game is the final touchdown, where Jameis Winston completed his Heisman-winning season by defeating Auburn in the final seconds of the national championship on his pass to Kelvin Benjamin, sealing a comeback that saw the Tigers jump up 21-3 on the Seminoles. The drive capped off an undefeated season for Jimbo Fisher.

– Tre Mason’s amazing run to take the lead

What ended up being the second-most memorable play of the game came on the previous drive before the Noles’ march down the field, when Auburn running back Tre Mason bounced off future superstar corner Jalen Ramsey to finish his impressive, 30-plus yard run into the endzone, complete with the Heisman pose at the end.

The play, had the Tigers held on, would have been one of the greatest plays in Auburn football history – and still is in many ways.

Auburn’s season would end, experiencing three of the craziest endings to games in history.

What is forgotten

– The smoke before the game, due to the fireworks show

Before the Tigers and Noles squared off, the theatrics of the pregame show would make their way onto the gridiron, when the fireworks created a haze on the field.

While it would eventually clear, the game kicked off with smoke still present above the field, as if a fog cloud had descended above the Rose Bowl.

-Coates and his multiple clutch plays

Another unheralded hero of this game is Auburn’s best wide receiver from that year: Sammie Coates.

Coates made multiple first downs in the game, including on their final drive, that would have been a main reason for the Tigers’ victory in the game.

During Auburn’s dominant first half, Coates showed up multiple times then as well.

– Tre Mason’s dad in rap group De La Soul

Completely unrelated to football, but Tre Mason’s father – Vincent Mason – was one-third of the rap group De La Soul, who have the hit single “Me, Myself and I,” a popular song from 1989 and on the video game NCAA 2006.

This is brings back memories to mid-20s guys like myself.