The Auburn football program is one of the most respected in the SEC – and for good reason.

The Tigers have won two consensus national championships, eight SEC titles, and have also posted multiple perfect seasons that went unrecognized for reasons ranging from NCAA sanctions to a controversial finish in the BCS rankings.

Of course, some teams are remembered more fondly than others — and interestingly enough, many of them came when expectations were modest. With that in mind, we rank the five best seasons in school history.

Honorable Mention

1913: 8-0

The 1913 Auburn squad has received some retroactive national championship recognition after posting an impressive 8-0 record against the nation’s toughest schedule. Just one team on the schedule (Mercer) posted a losing record, but the Tigers still beat their opponents by an average score of 28.0-1.6. Auburn recorded six consecutive shutouts to begin the season then beat Vanderbilt 14-6 and Georgia 21-7 to close the second perfect record in school history.

1958: 9-0-1, (6-0-1), No. 4 Final Ranking

The Auburn Tigers won the first consensus national championship in program history in 1957, and nearly repeated the following season. Unfortunately, Auburn didn’t win either the national title or the SEC crown because the Tigers tied Georgia Tech 7-7, and didn’t play 11-0 No. 1 LSU. Still, Auburn was one of the most impressive teams in the nation, especially on defense. Only one opponent scored more than one touchdown in a game and the Tigers finished sixth in the country in total defense after allowing an average of 6.2 points per contest.

1972: 10-1, (6-1), No. 5 Final Ranking

Auburn was expected to take a step back in 1972 after losing Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Pat Sullivan, and began the season unranked. An early-season upset victory over No. 4 Tennessee proved the Tigers were capable of big things, and a loss to LSU in Tiger Stadium was the only blemish on an otherwise outstanding year. Auburn capped its remarkable regular season with a dramatic 17-16 victory over No. 2 Alabama that included two blocked punts in the fourth quarter, each returned for touchdowns, earning the nickname “Punt, Bama, Punt.”

1988: 10-2, (6-1), SEC Co-Champions, No. 8 Final Ranking

Like many of Auburn’s greatest teams, the 1988 squad featured a fierce defense. In fact, the Tigers were the nation’s best and allowed just 7.7 points per game with three shutouts. Though Auburn was also strong on offense early in the season, the unit struggled in a 7-6 loss to LSU that cost the team an outright SEC title, as well as a 13-7 loss to Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.

1993: 11-0, (8-0), Ineligible for the SEC Championship

Yet another Auburn team that rose above modest expectations, the 1993 Auburn Tigers began the season unranked, and without hopes of winning an SEC or national championship due to the NCAA probation that banned them from postseason play and from playing on television. Nevertheless, the Tigers ran off 11 consecutive victories under first-year head coach Terry Bowden, including a 38-35 win over No. 5 Florida – the eventual SEC Champion – and No. 11 Alabama.

2013: 12-2, (8-1), SEC Champions, No. 2 Final Ranking

Gus Malzahn’s first season as the head coach of the Tigers was magical. Coming off a dreadful 3-9 season that led to the firing of Gene Chizik, who coached the program to a national title just two seasons earlier, Auburn began the season unranked and lost to No. 6 LSU in Week 4 before embarking on an incredible run that led to the BCS National Championship Game. Fueled by “The Prayer at Jordan-Hare” and “Kick Six,” Auburn beat No. 25 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama, respectively, in spectacular fashion. Then, the Tigers carved up No. 5 Missouri 59-42 in the SEC Championship Game before losing a late lead to Florida State and falling 34-31 to the Seminoles in the national title game.

5. 1914: 8-0-1

The 1913 Auburn squad was undefeated and untied, and has received retroactive national championship recognition, but the 1914 squad was even better because the Tigers didn’t allow a single point all season. Led by Mike Donahue, who compiled a 122-54-8 career record as a head coach at Auburn (99-35-5) and LSU (23-19-3), the Tigers dominated.

After opening the campaign with warm-up victories over Marion and North Alabama Athletic Club by a combined score of 99-0, Auburn ran through a tough slate of games against Florida, Clemson, Mississippi A&M (now State), Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt before playing Georgia to a scoreless tie. In the season finale, Auburn beat legendary head coach Glen “Pop” Warner and his strong Carlisle Indians by a score of 7-0.

 

4. 1983: 11-1, (6-0), SEC Champions, No. 3 Final Ranking

Pat Dye’s greatest team as Auburn’s head coach, and one of the best college football teams that didn’t win a national championship, the 1983 Auburn Tigers may have a stronger case than the 2004 squad for being robbed of a title.

Auburn entered the season ranked No. 4 in the AP poll, but lost to No. 3 Texas in Week 2. Undeterred, and with All-American running back Bo Jackson leading the way, the Tigers then won nine games in a row to close the regular season, which included four wins over ranked opponents (three ranked in the top-seven) across the final four weeks. One of those teams was No. 5 Florida. The Gators, who finished the season 8-2-1, beat an unranked Miami Hurricanes squad 28-3 in the season opener.

However, it was Miami – with just two victories over ranked opponents, none of which were in the top 10 – that received an opportunity to play undefeated, No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The Cornhuskers were thought to be one of the greatest teams of all-time, but lost 31-30 to the No. 5 Hurricanes when a fourth-quarter two-point conversion attempt failed.

Meanwhile, No. 3 Auburn beat No. 8 Michigan in the Sugar Bowl for win No. 11 – but the SEC Champions couldn’t stop Miami from vaulting into the top spot in the polls.

 

3. 1957: 10-0, (7-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

Ralph “Shug” Jordan is so revered that his name now graces the stadium in which Auburn plays. Jordan assembled a talented team in 1957 – which included 18 future NFL draft picks – but the Tigers were ineligible for a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions. No matter, they were crowned national champions anyway.

Auburn led the nation in total defense with an average of 2.8 points allowed per game. The Tigers recorded six shutouts – including a 40-0 victory over Alabama in the season finale in Birmingham. Only four opponents scored all season, and the defense allowed only three touchdowns (Houston returned an interception 98 yards just before halftime in the Tigers 48-7 victory on Oct. 26). Auburn swept the SEC schedule, which included victories over three teams – Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi State – ranked among the nation’s top 20.

After the regular season, the Associated Press crowned the Tigers as national champions – marking the first of just two instances in which the AP named a team on probation as its champion — but Ohio State was voted No. 1 in the Coaches Poll.

 

2. 2004: 13-0, (8-0), SEC Champions, No. 2 Final Ranking

It’s possible the College Football Playoff wouldn’t exist if not for the 2004 Auburn Tigers. Ranked No. 17 at the beginning of the year, Auburn couldn’t climb into the top two of the BCS rankings because preseason No. 1 USC and No. 2 Oklahoma also went unbeaten during the regular season. Outrage ensued because the Tigers’ résumé was impressive enough to warrant a shot at the national championship, yet they were forced to settle for the Sugar Bowl and a No. 2 ranking in the final AP Top 25. More than a decade later, after discontent with the BCS built enough momentum (and the financial incentives for doing away with the controversial system could no longer be ignored), the current four-team playoff was developed.

In 2004, the Tigers led the nation in scoring defense (11.3 points allowed per game), and beat five teams ranked in the top 15 of the AP poll: No 5 LSU, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 8 Georgia and No. 15 Tennessee (again) in the SEC Championship Game, then No. 9 Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

Four players became first-round NFL draft picks after the season: quarterback Jason Campbell, running backs Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown, and cornerback Carlos Rogers, who won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. Yet, a perfect season wasn’t good enough for a national title – or the top spot on our list.

 

1. 2010: 14-0, (8-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

Some people think that the 2004 Auburn squad, which never had an opportunity to play for a national championship, was better than the 2010 Tigers – primarily because of the elite 2004 defense. However, the biggest reason the 2010 Auburn Tigers won the national title – and would stand a great chance of beating the ’04 team as well – was that they had Cam Newton and no one else did.

Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner, played just one season on the Plains, but proved himself to be the best player in college football. A 6-foot-5, 240-pound quarterback with a rocket right arm and the speed and strength needed to be one of the most dangerous runners in the nation, Newton led the SEC and ranked third in the country with 4,327 total yards. The junior completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 2,854 yards, 30 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, and added 1,473 rushing yards and 20 TDs. Newton even scored on a TD reception.

The perfect fit for offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s power running offense, Newton led the Tigers to close victories over Mississippi State (17-14), Clemson (27-24 in overtime), No. 12 South Carolina (35-27), Kentucky (37-34), No. 6 LSU (24-17) and a thrilling come-from-behind win over No. 9 Alabama in Tuscaloosa that is now known as “The Camback.” Trailing 24-7 at halftime, Newton led the charge for a dramatic 28-27 Iron Bowl victory, completed when he found Philip Lutzenkirchen for a 7-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.

Ranked No. 22 in the preseason, Auburn steadily climbed up the national rankings (and also dodged a bullet when Newton’s eligibility came into question because of allegations brought about by Mississippi State boosters in relation to his recruitment out of junior college) to No. 2 prior to the SEC Championship Game. The Tigers then demolished South Carolina 56-17 to take the top spot in the polls prior to the BCS National Championship Game against Oregon.

Auburn and the Ducks – two of the nation’s most explosive offensive teams – slugged it out in a 22-19 title game in which freshman running back Michael Dyer and defensive tackle Nick Fairley (the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and Lombardi Award winner) were the stars. It was the first consensus national title for the program since 1957.