In Alabama, football could be considered a religion when armies of crimson and orange meet for the final game of the season on a cool November night. Whether both squads had mediocre seasons or are playing for Southeastern Conference and national championships, the Iron Bowl will prove the biggest game of the year.
The Crimson Tide has dominated the rivalry since the revival of the series in 1948, but Auburn has not let that prevent them from forging iconic moments for itself.
The Crimson Tide owned the Iron Bowl during the 60s and 70s, and the 1972 matchup looked no different. Down by 13 in the fourth, in what would later be known as the “Punt Bama Punt” game, Auburn defensive back David Langner recovered two blocked punts for touchdowns and the game’s sealing interception, putting the Tiger in a tight 17-16 victory over Alabama.
Coaching in his final Iron Bowl, Alabama’s Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant would end his Iron Bowl career just as he started it, with a loss. In a tightly contested battle at Legion Field, Auburn was down by five. The Tigers mounted their game-winning drive, down on the goal line, as freshman running back Bo Jackson glided over his lineman for an easy one-yard score to put the Tigers over top in the 1982 contest.
For the majority of the rivalry’s history, the game was played at Legion Field in Birmingham. For the 1989 matchup, however, it would come to Auburn for the first time. The Tigers were unbeatable in front of their roaring home crowd. The Tigers played their role as spoiler, beating an undefeated Alabama with a 30-20 score.
Eleven years later, the game would return to Tuscaloosa for the first time since 1901. The Tigers took advantage of a struggling Crimson Tide, capturing a 9-0 victory.
Auburn began to dominate its in-state rival, ringing off a six-game win streak, the school’s longest win streak in the rivalry’s history. Leading up to the 2010 Iron Bowl, Auburn was hot on the title chase, coming in undefeated. This time the Crimson Tide looked to play the role of spoiler, jumping to a 24-0 lead at the half.
The Tigers, led by superstar quarterback Cameron Newton, erased the largest deficit in the series history. Newton took the game into his hands, tossing two touchdowns in the air and one on the ground to secure a 28-27 victory and preserve their perfect season en route to their second national title.
The 2013 edition is without a doubt the most iconic in the Iron Bowl’s long history, known as the “Kick-Six:” the game was the highest-ranked matchup in the series’ history. In typical Iron Bowl fashion, the game went down to the wire. With one second left the Crimson Tide sent out for a long 57-yard field goal attempt.
The kick sailed into the arms of returner Chris Davis Jr., who turned up the field along the Auburn sideline and crossed in the endzone for a 109-yard return to win the game, 34-28, forever cementing his legendary status.
The past four matchups ended in heartbreak for the Tigers. The four-overtime game in 2021 and last season’s 4th and 31 are just two notable examples. With Tigers’ second terror Nick Saban retiring, history might repeat itself with Auburn taking over the Iron Bowl rivalry in the second half of 2020s just as they did in the 1980s and early 2000s.
