10. Ole Miss at Auburn, September 2, 1993 :: 16-12
I’ll start the list off with a little honesty. I don’t remember much about this game. I was a ripe six years old and this was my first game. I do remember thinking how ugly the old powder blue helmets that the Rebs used back in the late 80s/early 90s were. I remember something about Stan White being the quarterback, but other than that, this game bears little significance other than it was my orange and blue baptism, where I was forever changed ($1 to Scott Van Pelt).
Gross.9. Alabama at Auburn, November 18, 1995 :: 31-27
My first Iron Bowl. Like #10, that is the most significant point in this game getting a mention. It was, unlike the ’92 OM game, a very exciting game, with the good guys coming out on top 31-27. This game is mostly known for the “controversial call” in the endzone on 4th down in which Freddie Kitchens threw the ball a little too wide for some dude, ending the Tahd’s chances in that contest. What stands out to me most from this game is not so much the football, but rather this really obnoxious Alabama fan that sat behind us with his puffy red jacket and huge honkin’ nose. I mean that thing was big. He yelled, cursed, grumbled and did all the annoying things that that token visiting fan does that somehow gets a ticket in your section. He especially said things that most wouldn’t say when you’re sitting right behind an 8 year old, but whatever; I didn’t care. As the famous last play came to pass, he celebrated wildly because the play was below us and we couldn’t see the sideline. As the official ran in to make the incomplete call, my dad came the closest I’d ever seen him come, or have ever seen him come to this day, of taunting another fan, when he turned around to the guy, smiled, and slowly shook his head and said, “nope.” After he did this, he gave me a huge high five and picked me up with one arm, pumping the other as we both wildly did a bit of celebrating of our own. It marked the beginning, in my mind at least, of the special football relationship we carry to this day.
8. Auburn at Alabama, November 22, 2004 :: 21-13
During the first half, the undefeated Tigers farted around, allowing the Tahd to get up 6-0 at halftime. The second half was much different with Campbell, Brown and Williams waking up and the clearly dominating team cruising to a relatively easy win. This is to take nothing away from Alabama’s effort in the game, because they played one of the better games of their seasons, but c’mon. Jason Campbell? Ronnie Brown? Carnell Williams? It should’ve been over by the first TV timeout. This is also a classic example of that maddening, awful, disheartening contraption we Auburn fans came to know so fondly as “The Tubershell.” After coming off an impressive 18-point drubbing of a top 10 Georgia team, everyone knew we had to kill Alabama to have a chance in jumping Oklahoma. (Editor’s Note: In case you care, my children will be raised to hate the University of Oklahoma because of this season. What a bunch of posers. Sheesh.) So what happens? We come out, put on a show in the third quarter, the run the ball up the middle series after series to run out the clock, changing what would’ve been a seemingly convincing 21-6 win into giving field position and allowing them to score to make it a seeming nail-biting 21-13 win. Stupid. It was my first real road game with Pops, though, which makes it pretty memorable (sorry Vandy, you just don’t count); that, and capping off an undefeated regular season.
7. Alabama at Auburn, November 18, 1997 :: 18-17
My 2nd Iron Bowl. What was going to be a family affair turned into another JC-Pops expedition when Mitch and Moms neither felt particularly well enough to battle the bitter cold. It was again, a game with a heavy favorite in the Tigers and a struggling Tide, their first year in the Clappy era. The good guys had a chance to clinch a West division title and a trip to Atlanta with a win, so hopes were high. The Tide, though, fought hard and was in perfect position to run out the clock with a 17-15 lead and just over a minute left when possibly the dumbest play call in history occurred. Run twice and the game’s over. Instead, that now-famous swing pass to Ed Scissum on the left happened and the rest is history. The fumble is forced and recovered by the Tigers, the ball is driven down the field, and Jaret Holmes splits the uprights for a dramatic 18-17 win. It was an exciting affair with a similar celebration to the ’95 game.
6. Auburn at Tennessee, December 4, 2004 :: 38-28
This game represented my second SEC championship experience, both times with the Vols as the opponent. The first came in ’97 when Peyton Manning decided to wake up in the second half, edging the Tigers out by a point in the end. After laying the wood to UT in Neyland earlier in the season, we all felt pretty good about our chances in the Dome. After showing the country in the first half that we were, in deed, deserving of a title shot, our old friend the Tubershell reared its ugly head in the second half and allowed the Vols back in the game. After realizing what was happening, the boys woke back up and put to rest any doubt that remained and secured the first SEC title of my recollection. It was a jubilant night.
I realize this wasn't the same game, but poor Jason Allen. It's just too sweet not to reference.
5. Georgia at Auburn, November 12, 2004 :: 24-6
Coming into this game, the Tigers hadn’t been played closely since the nailbiter in September against LSU. A top-10 matchup brought the three dweebs from Gameday as well as all eyes from across the nation to see if AU was for real. In what can be titled as nothing less than a good, old-fashioned beatdown, Campbell, Brown, Williams and Co. pulled out all the stops to hang 24 on a vaunted Bulldog defense. The defense didn’t disappoint, either, with Junior Rosegreen delivering the famous blow in the third quarter that left UGA receiver Reggie Brown motionless on his face, which come to be known simply as “The Hit.” As Brown was being attended to, the Auburn student section did something I won’t soon forget. Chanting “Reggie” in unison showed the class and integrity that embodies so much of what we are about.
4. Alabama at Auburn, November 19, 2005 :: 28-18
I struggled to not put this one higher on the list, but for some reason, it wound up at No. 4. The first quarter was what can only be described as pure bliss. The Tahd was 10-1, had been proclaimed “back” and adorned the cover of SI. Brodie Croyle was ascending to the throne to take his rightful place at the Bahr’s right hand, opposite Joe “I Wanna Kiss You” Namath. Two sacks in three plays on the first drive had the crowd stirred up in a blood-thirsty frenzy, along with a few impressive drives by the Tiger offense. We found ourselves up 3 scores before the deer in the headlights look could even descend on Shula’s face…and that is saying something. The reason this game falls on the list is for the infamous Tubershell. This game, coming the year after the Biggest Screwjob in BCS History, had a chance to put some pressure on the throat that our orange and blue boot was currently on. The live-to-punt philosophy prevailed, though, turning what could’ve been a real mudhole into a rather underwhelming ten point win. I will never forget, however, Brodie curled up in a ball as McClover stood over him. What a sight.
The Predator3. LSU at Auburn, September 18, 2004 :: 10-9
The true turning point for the 2004 team. It was an incredibly hard fought game, all the way to the end. Not much is remembered by anybody before the last AU drive. The now famous fourth-and-long can be argued to be the turning point in Jason Campbell’s career as well. With the game hanging on this play, JC stood in the pocket, took a hit from the oncoming defender, and delivered a strike to Courtney Taylor just over the first down line. A few plays later, the same connection was made in the back of the endzone to take the lead for good. As soon as the ball hit the 86 on Taylor’s jersey, an eruption happened that is only surpassed by a moment in the number one game on this list.
2. Auburn at Florida, September 29, 2007 :: 23-20
This game for me is remembered not only for the game, but the whole trip as a whole. I secured an extra ticket from Tiger Hosts for Pops, so after we met in Auburn, we headed towards Gainesville. Saturday morning, the IHOP Breakfast Sampler was number one on the list. UA-FSU was happening in Jacksonville, so there was plenty of representation on both sides. An aside: (bammers in the booth behind us) The waitress asks us, “Which game are y’all going to?” to which Pops replies, “Which other game? The Auburn game of course! Oh yeah, I forgot…isn’t there a high school game in Jacksonville?” The bammers, waitress and Pops and I all shared a good-natured laugh, and returned to our grease-soaked sausage. We met up with some other TTHs at their tailgate and all walked around Jortville together. Some guys had enjoyed more liquid encouragement than others, making for one of the funniest walks I’ve ever taken. Example of such: “Hey that’s a nice scooter! Where’d you get that scooter? Well, if you weren’t a Florida fan, you’d probably be straight.” Hilarious.
The game was one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been to, culminating with the two game-winning kicks by true freshman Wes Byrum. The most memorable moment of perhaps my football-related stories came on those kicks, as well. As Wes trotted out on the field, the entire Auburn section found itself with arms locked together in one huddled mass, to the dismay to the police officers who patrolled the section all night telling us to get off the bleachers. As Wes nailed the first, we all went nuts, then became subdued again when we found out timeout had been called. So we linked up again. It was one of those moments where you feel like something bigger is going on…where community transcends football, where you get a real sense of what the Auburn family is all about. Holding each other up, praying together, celebrating together. It was surreal.
The next morning we returned to the same IHOP that held the same Breakfast Sampler, along with several hearty War Eagles, as well as your fair share of dejected bammers. We ate our breakfast in relative silence, letting our orange and blue do the talking.
1. Florida at Auburn, October 17, 2006 :: 27-17
Florida came into this game ranked number 2 in the country, with Chris Leak
and Tim Tebow putting up rather impressive numbers. The crowd was crazy at the beginning, but was quickly taken out of it by the Tigers’ inefficiency in scoring points and at being able to stop Leak, Tebow and Co. Going into halftime down 17-11, having scored only field goals and a safety, I felt as if it was only a matter of time before our defense wore down and the Gators blew it wide open. Tuberville, in the locker room, had a different idea. In the third quarter, the defense came alive, barely giving Leak room to breathe. On a particular third down, Leak stood in the pocket and then scrambled left, but was run down by Quentin Groves. As he hit the ground the crowd became louder than I had ever heard in almost 14 years of being in that stadium. Then, as the Gators were backed up in their territory, it happened. Snap, fumble, step, dive, block, scoop, flip. The Pontiac Game Changing Performance winning play saw a blocked punt by Tristan Davis and Jerraud Powers block the fumbled snap and attempted kick and Tre Smith scooped it up and flipped into the endzone, creating such noise that I thought the walls in the stadium would crumble. To this day, I’ve never been in an environment louder than that moment.
After a field goal from the Tigers, the Gators had one chance left, but a botched lateral led to the fumble that led to the final touchdown of the night. It. Was. Wild.
So that concludes JC’s Top Ten. War Damn.
