The Iron Bowl has produced some of the more historic games and individual performances in college football history. No rivalry is more meaningful today than when Auburn and Alabama get together.
Here are 10 of Auburn’s best Iron Bowl performances. (Spoiler alert: No. 1 isn’t what you think.)
10. Nick Marshall/Sammie Coates (2014)
This duo would be near the top of the list had Auburn won the game. However, even in a 55-44 loss to the Tide, Marshall and Coates were nothing short of spectacular. Marshall threw for 456 yards and 3 touchdowns while Coates accounted for 5 catches and 206 of those yards.
9. Patrick Nix (1993)
Despite being on probation, the Tigers roared through the 1993 season undefeated thanks to Nix rallying the troops from a 14-5 halftime deficit. Nix entered the game when starting QB Stan White was injured. The sophomore, who had thrown just 12 passes all season, promptly threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Frank Sanders to spark the 22-14 victory and an undefeated season.
8. Reggie Slack (1989)
The Auburn quarterback completed 14-of-26 passes for 276 yards and rallied the Tigers from a 10-7 halftime deficit with long pass completions to highlight a pair of touchdown drives and a 30-20 victory over the Tide. The win was Auburn’s 4th consecutive in the Iron Bowl and ensured a share of a third consecutive SEC title.
7. Cadillac Williams (2003)
In a game with no national title implications, Williams ran wild on Alabama. The junior ran 80 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game and finished with 204 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 26 carries in Auburn’s 28-23 victory. It was one of the more dominating individual performances in the storied history of the rivalry.
6. Pat Sullivan (1970)
Auburn’s junior quarterback, voted the SEC Most Valuable Player, rallied the Tigers from a 17-0 first-quarter deficit for a 33-28 victory over Alabama. He threw for 317 yards, completing 22 of 38 passes, including a 17-yard touchdown strike to Robby Robinett that broke a 20-20 tie and gave the Tigers their first lead.
5. Bo Jackson “Bye Bye Bo” (1983)
Jackson helped Auburn outlast Alabama, 23-20. He ran for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries. Included in that were electrifying touchdown runs of 71 and 69 yards as the Tigers secured a Sugar Bowl berth with their first SEC title since 1957.
4. Chris Davis “Kick-6” (2013)
It is incredible the significance of one single play. But that was the circumstance that Davis found himself in when Alabama attempted a 57-yard field goal on the last play of the game and the score tied 28-28. As the kick came up short, Davis fielded it in the back of the end zone and returned it the distance for a game-winning touchdown. It won the ESPY Award for “Best Play” of the year. Among young Auburn fans, this no doubt is their iconic image of the Iron Bowl.
3. Bo Jackson “Bo Over the Top” (1982)
Rarely had one player had such an impact on the Iron Bowl, or college football as whole for that matter. But Jackson was in a league of his own. The freshman’s goal-line leap over the Alabama defensive front gave the Tigers a 23-22 win and a legend had begun while ending another. The win snapped a 9-game losing streak to Alabama in head coach Bear Bryant’s last Iron Bowl.
2. Cam Newton “The Camback” (2010)
Auburn’s Heisman Trophy winner rallied his team from a 24-0 deficit for a 28-27 victory in Tuscaloosa. Newton accounted for 4 touchdowns in the largest comeback win in series history. Newton threw for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns and Auburn went on to win the national championship.
1. David Langer “Punt Bama Punt!” (1972)
Generally regarded as the greatest Iron Bowl game ever, Langer stole the show, returning two blocked punts for touchdowns then making his second interception of the game to preserve an improbable 17-16 victory over an Alabama team that rolled to a 16-0 fourth-quarter lead and seemingly had the game well in hand. Auburn DB Bill Newton blocked both punts that Langer scooped and scored.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
