One of the plays that set up the now iconic fourth-and-31 in the Iron Bowl was a mistimed snap from center Seth McLaughlin to quarterback Jalen Milroe.

On second down, Milroe didn't look ready for the snap and had to scramble backward to recover the football. He fell on it for a loss of 18 yards. That was a big part why Alabama had such a long distance to go on fourth down.

Auburn safety Zion Puckett can be seen on film clapping right before McLaughlin snaps it.

A reporter asked Nick Saban if he saw that, with the reporter adding it looked like an Auburn defender clapped to draw McLaughlin into snapping the ball.

"First of all, the defense is not allowed to clap if that's what you're using as a cadence," Saban said. "If what you say actually occurred, and I did see the film, then that's ... I'm not criticizing the officiating, but I am saying that's supposed to be a penalty."

Saban was asked if there's a thought going to a silent count instead of using a clap for Milroe to signal to McLaughlin when to get him the football.

"We have gone to the silent count before, and that has its issues, too," Saban said. "Look, you're not allowed to clap on defense, so if you're using clap as your cadence, why would you change your cadence so somebody does something they're not supposed to do on the other side of the ball? Doesn't make any sense to me. We went silent at Texas A&M, we had nine false starts. It didn't work too well."

NICK SABAN AND NATE OATS: Picture Nick Saban the point guard and Nate Oats the wide receiver ― it actually happened

PEACH BOWL: Could Alabama football play in Atlanta twice this postseason? The Peach Bowl is for it

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: Did Auburn bait Seth McLaughlin into early snap?