Even before the Kick Six, the 2013 Iron Bowl was an instant classic

Don't let one of the most famous endings in college football history totally overshadow what was already a legendary game.

(Auburn Tigers)

This 13 For ‘13 series has been all about looking back, now 10 years later, at Auburn’s improbable run to the SEC title in 2013.

It’s been a series mostly about remembering the players, games and moments that were crucial in getting the Tigers back toward the top of the college football world so quickly — from the 2-minute drill against Mississippi State and the unreal shootout at Texas A&M to the one-of-a-kind impact of a fullback and the once-in-a-generation success of an ultra-dominant rushing attack.

That’s because the 2013 Auburn football season is mostly remembered for two of the most famous endings in the history of the sport: the Miracle at Jordan-Hare and the Kick Six.

Those plays didn’t have to wait until a decade anniversary to be remembered. They get replayed and repeated constantly. As one Alabama fan pointed out online this week, the 10th anniversary of the Kick Six feels like the “nine-, eight-, seven-, six-, five-, four-, three-, two-, and one-year anniversaries of the Kick Six.”

And there’s some truth to that. Over the past 10 years, you’ve read, watched and heard basically every conceivable angle from Chris Davis’ unreal 109-yard field goal return. AL.com even started its series of stories on the play a week early. There’s a massive audience for that, and it’ll be insatiable until the heat death of the universe.

So let’s do something that no one else will do during this Iron Bowl week — the 10th anniversary of the most memorable game in the series’ legendary history.

This is not a story about the Kick Six. This is the story of everything that happened in the 2013 Iron Bowl before “there goes Davis.”

That’s because, even before a replay review gave Alabama an additional second of clock that Auburn used to make college football history, the 2013 Iron Bowl was one of the best rivalry games ever played.

That day will always be remembered for the short field goal and the long return. But the 59 minutes and 59 seconds of game time before that moment deserve their own spotlight, because it was already the stuff of legend.