With the game – and dreams of a perfect season – on the line, Auburn kept the ball in the hands of Cam Newton. And he delivered.

Facing a fourth-and-one at their own 37, with three minutes remaining, Newton leaped over a pile of defenders for a first down that allowed Auburn to run off precious time and the Tigers beat Alabama 28-27 in the Iron Bowl on Friday. Alabama (9-3, 5-3) received the ball back with less than one minute left but, with quarterback Greg McElroy knocked out of the game, was unable to get a first down. The Tigers (12-0, 8-0) will face South Carolina in the SEC championship on Dec. 4 with hopes of playing for a perfect season and a national title.

Corraled for most of the first half, Newton threw three touchdowns in the second half to lead Auburn from a 24-0 deficit. His third touchdown, a seven-yard pass to Lutzenkirchen, gave Auburn its first lead, 28-27, with 12:15 left in the fourth quarter. Newton, who is facing allegations that his father solicited money from schools, solidified his status as the Heisman frontrunner. Newton finished with 216 yards passing, including a 70-yard touchdown to Terrell Zachery.

McElroy, who was slammed to the turf with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, was having a career day. He finished with a career-high 377 yards passing. But McElroy was nearly flawless early in the game. By halftime, he already had established a career best with 335 yards, completing 19 of 23 passes with two touchdowns. His first touchdown was a 68-yarder to Julio Jones and late in the first quarter he threw a 12-yard touchdown to Darius Hanks to give the Tide a 21-0 lead. The Alabama defense sacked Newton four times in the first half.