AUBURN, Ala. -- The end was surreal. As soon as the ball hit the back of the net behind the uprights and LSU beat Auburn 22-21 on Saturday, the kicker was off and running into the night. He sprinted down the center of the field, arms stretched wide to both sides as if he would fly right out of stunned Jordan-Hare Stadium back to the hero's welcome that surely will greet him in his in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Here was Cole Tracy, the unlikely hero of the latest installment in one of the most head-shaking rivalries in all of college football - a rivalry that has featured an earthquake reading, a fire and, most recently, a last-second finish that resulted in one coach being fired and a furious 20-point comeback that nearly put another coach on the hot seat.