AUBURN, Ala. — Jalen Milroe and Isaiah Bond rescued No. 8 Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes, connecting for a last-minute touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 31 to beat Auburn 27-24 on Saturday.

“I’ll never forget this game, ever in my life,” Milroe said.

Milroe found Bond in the left corner of the end zone with 32 seconds left to give the Crimson Tide (11-1, 8-0 SEC) a 10th straight win in the latest dramatic Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Milroe — who was given all the time he needed to throw by Auburn — insisted he never had doubts: “One hundred percent. I saw IB one-on-one and I knew we were going to score.”

Trailing by four with 1:43 left, Alabama had first-and-goal at the Auburn 7 before moving backward. The Crimson Tide lost 18 yards on a bad snap and were pushed back 5 more yards with an illegal downfield pass on third down after Milroe crossed the line of scrimmage.

Then came a play that Bond called “The Gravedigger.”

“There’s been some weird stuff happen here and this is the first time I can remember it going in our favor,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Jalen made a great throw, but IB got himself in position where there was room to throw it. I have to admit you have to be a little lucky for it to work, but I’ll take it.”

Bond said he was just thinking “it’s mine.”

Two years ago, Alabama needed four overtimes to beat the Tigers on the Plains, where the Kick Six — Chris Davis’ return of a missed 57-yard field-goal try by Alabama on the final play — went down in college football history a decade ago.

Favored by 12 1/2 points in this one, Alabama gets to face No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship game with its playoff hopes intact, if still precarious.

Alabama nearly returned an interception for another touchdown on the last play. But this game will be remembered around the state for fourth-and-31. Auburn will be second-guessed for not trying to pressure Milroe, who stood in the pocket for at least five seconds before throwing.

Ja’Varrius Johnson had scored on a 27-yard touchdown catch and a 12-yard run to put the Tigers (6-6, 3-5) in position for the upset in coach Hugh Freeze’s first Iron Bowl.

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“It’s a lot of hurt in that locker room, and it stinks,” Freeze said. “Our kids gave themselves a chance to win the Iron Bowl tonight, and it’s going to stick with us for a while.”

Milroe passed for 259 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 107 yards. Jermaine Burton had 107 receiving yards, including a 68-yard touchdown. Bond had five catches for 75 yards.

Payton Thorne passed for 91 yards and a touchdown and ran for 58 yards for Auburn. Jarquez Hunter ran for 93 yards and Damari Alston gained 85.

A muffed punt gave Alabama the ball on the Auburn 30 with 4:48 left. But cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett upended a scrambling Milroe a yard shy of the first down on third-and-20. Roydell Williams took a pitch and converted the fourth down, setting up the go-ahead score.

Midway through the third quarter, Thorne hit a wide-open Johnson for a touchdown that put Auburn ahead 21-20. Alex McPherson’s 21-yard field goal made it 24-20 with 10 minutes left.

Bond celebrated his winning score by emulating James Bond, holding his hands against his chest as if cradling a pistol.

“That’s the 007 pose, so if anybody wants to use that, I did it first,” said Bond, who has a diamond-encrusted “007″ hanging on a chain.