The Iron Bowl: The biggest rivalry in all of college sports.

Nowhere else can you find fans with as much love for their team and so much hate for their rivals. On the last Saturday in November, fans around the state will gather to cheer on the Tigers or the Tide. This year, Auburn and Alabama will meet for the 88th time. In honor of the upcoming game, I decided to look back on the rivalry’s 130-year history. So, take a trip down memory lane with me and enjoy ten of Auburn’s most exciting and impactful Iron Bowl victories.

10. A Rivalry Begins (1893)

To kick things off, we’re taking it back to the very first Iron Bowl, played over a hundred years ago. Auburn and Alabama faced off at Lakeview Park in Birmingham, where Auburn came out on top with a 32-22 victory. While Auburn considered the match to be the first game of the 1893 season, Alabama disagreed, claiming the game as part of the 1892 season– thus, the rivalry was born.

9. Sullivan Surge (1970)

Things weren’t looking great for #11 Auburn, who quickly fell behind 17-0 to an unranked Alabama team. However, Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan turned things around when he threw for 317 yards and had 4 touchdowns. It was a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Wallace Clark that put the Tigers on top 33-28, making it the best Auburn comeback in the Iron Bowl to date.

8. Down Goes #1…. Again (2017)

A trip to the SEC championship game was on the line as #1 Alabama traveled to Auburn to take on the sixth-ranked Tigers. Auburn was fresh off an upset victory over #1 Georgia just two weeks prior… a game that they won 40-17 dominantly. Auburn brought the same energy to the Iron Bowl, playing neck-in-neck through three quarters. Auburn broke away off a 16-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jarrett Stidham to put the Tigers up 26-14, sealing another victory over a #1 opponent and a trip to the SEC championship.

7. Atlanta Bound (1997)

Alabama led the game 17-15 in the fourth quarter and appeared to be in total control after Auburn was forced to punt with less than 3 minutes remaining. But with 1:35 on the clock, Alabama fumbled, setting Auburn up for a potential game-winning field goal. Auburn moved the ball up to the 22-yard line, setting up kicker Jaret Holmes for a 39-yard field goal. Holmes drilled the field goal to give Auburn an 18-17 victory and earn the Tigers their first-ever SEC championship game appearance.

6. First Iron Bowl in Auburn (1989)

For years, the Iron Bowl was played at Legion Field in Birmingham, where Alabama played many of their home games already. Alabama coach Paul Bear Bryant was set on keeping the game in Birmingham, but Auburn coach Pat Dye was determined to bring the game to Auburn, telling coach Bryant “We’ll play ‘89 in Auburn.” And in 1989, Auburn did just that, hosting #2 Alabama in Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time. The eleventh-ranked Tigers got off to a hot start in the second half, going up 27-10 and hanging on to win 30-20, making it their fourth straight victory over the Crimson Tide.

5. Doink! (2019)

It was a high-scoring game on the Plains when #15 Auburn hosted #5 Alabama, who was still hoping to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. In a back-and-forth scoring affair, Auburn took the lead on a monstrous 11-yard touchdown run by Shaun Shivers. A successful 2-point conversion then put the Tigers up 48-45. With 2 minutes remaining, Alabama kicker Joseph Bulovas went on to attempt a game-tying 30-yard field goal that bounced off the left upright. An illegal substitution on Alabama granted Auburn a first down, officially sealing the victory and ending the Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes.

4. Bo Over the Top (1982)

It was Pat Dye’s second year as head coach at Auburn, and both teams entered the game with a 7-3 record. Alabama was riding a 9-game winning streak against Auburn, but the Tigers entered the game with a new surge of confidence after a narrow 19-14 loss to the #1 Georgia Bulldogs. After that game, they knew they could compete with anyone. But the Tigers had another thing going for them: a freshman running back by the name of Bo Jackson. Inches away from the goal line, Auburn ran a play they liked to call “Bo Over the Top,” where Jackson leaped over the pile into the endzone to put the Tigers up 23-22 and secure the win.

3. Punt, Bama, Punt (1972)

Things were looking unfavorable for Auburn, who trailed #2 Alabama 16-0 with just 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Auburn eventually kicked a field goal to put some points on the board, but with the clock running down, the Tigers needed a miracle. They were able to force an Alabama punt, which was blocked by Bill Newton and returned by David Langer for a touchdown, cutting the Bama lead to 16-10. After another defensive stop by Auburn, the seemingly impossible happened: Bill Newton blocked another Alabama punt, once again returned by David Langer for a touchdown, this time to tie the game at 16. Gardner Jett’s extra point then gave Auburn a 17-16 lead. David Langer once again came up big for the Tigers, intercepting an Alabama pass to seal the Auburn victory.

2. The Camback (2010)

A trip to the national championship began to appear unlikely when #2 Auburn found themselves down 24-0 to Alabama. However, this Cam Newton-led Auburn team refused to quit, rattling off 21 straight points to cut the Alabama lead to 3. After an Alabama field goal put the Tide up 27-21, Cam Newton found Philip Lutzenkirchen in the end zone to tie up the game and then took the lead on Wes Byrum’s extra point. Auburn held on to win 28-27, making it the biggest comeback in Iron Bowl history en route to a historic national championship season for the Tigers.

1. The Kick Six (2013)

A rivalry game. A top 4 matchup. A trip to the SEC championship game was on the line. College football was at its best when #1 Alabama came to town in 2013 to take on #4 Auburn. It was an exciting and hard-fought 60 minutes of football, but it all came down to the final second. All tied up at 28, Alabama’s T.J. Yeldon stepped out of bounds as the clock expired… or so it appeared. The officials reviewed the play and decided to put a second back on the clock, allowing Alabama kicker Adam Griffith to attempt a 57-yard field goal for the win. Auburn fans were hoping for overtime- but what they got was even better. Griffith’s kick came up short and was fielded by Chris Davis in the back of the end zone, who ran the missed field goal back 109 yards for a touchdown and an Auburn win. This sent Auburn to the SEC championship game, ending the Crimson Tide’s championship hopes. 10 years later, this game remains one of the most famous in college football history.

I hope this made you as excited for Saturday’s game as it did for me.
War Eagle, Beat Bama, and as always,

Be well, Auburn.