Auburn-LSU rivalry

The Auburn-LSU rivalry, sometimes called The Tiger Bowl, refers to the football series between the Tigers of Auburn University and those from Louisiana State University, both members of the Southeastern Conference. The rivalry dates back to 1901, but the two teams did not play each other between 1943 and 1968, and then only occasionally until 1992. Although the series does not have an official name, some of the individual games since then have been given nicknames by fans of either school, such as the Earthquake Game, due to the notoriety of those contests. While both Auburn and LSU have other, more prominent, historical rivals, it is difficult to dispute that the LSU/Auburn series has been the most gripping and successful of the "new" rivalries created by the SEC division split in 1992.

Between 2000 and 2005, Auburn or LSU won or tied for the SEC Western Division championship every season. In 2002, the Arkansas Razorbacks won a three-way tie; in 2003, Ole Miss tied LSU for the title, but the Bayou Tigers won the tie-breaker based on a head-to-head victory. The 2006 season marks the first time since 1999 that neither team won or shared the title, as the University of Arkansas won it out-right. LSU won the SEC Western Division outright in 2007.

eries results

Notable games

In recent history, the Auburn-LSU game has decided the SEC West champion. The rivalry has displayed historically classic contests.

1988

In 1988, #4 ranked Auburn traveled to Tiger Stadium with one of its best teams in years, and national championship aspirations. The 4-0 AU Tigers entered the game outscoring its opponents 161-44, but were held to just two field goals. However, their outstanding defense kept the 2-2 Bayou Bengals (who had beaten Tennessee and Texas A&M before losing to OSU and Florida) scoreless through 58 minutes. However, with 1:47 to play, QB Tommy Hodson found RB Eddie Fuller open on a crossing pattern for a touchdown on fourth and goal. Ironically, it was the same play Fuller had caught on 3rd and goal, only to step out of the back of the end zone. The crowd eruption was so intense that it registered as an earthquake on the seismograph located in LSU’s Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex. Both Hodson and Fuller later said it was the most physical game of their college careers (http://www.lsu.edu/highlights/033/football.html). College Football News ranks this game as the 17th best finish in the history of college football (http://cfn.scout.com/2/656730.html). Auburn would have likely played Notre Dame for the National Championship had they beaten LSU, as AU finished the season with six consecutive wins, giving up only 31 points in the process. Auburn and LSU tied for the SEC crown that year. AU ended the season losing to FSU in the Sugar Bowl, 13-7. LSU lost to Syracuse in the Hall of Fame Bowl, 23-10.

1994

Auburn was on a 14-game winning streak and ranked #11 in nation under coach Terry Bowden when LSU traveled to Auburn in 1994, but it was the Bengal Tigers who led 23-9 entering the fourth quarter. LSU quarterback Jamie Howard threw five fourth quarter interceptions - three returned for touchdowns - as Auburn extended their winning streak to 15 games with a 30-26 win. Auburn, with star running back Stephen Davis, was held to a mere 165 total yards, and Howard received death threats after the loss.

1995

LSU donned its white jerseys for a home game for the first time in 15 years, inspiring the Bengal Tigers, behind the play of QB Jamie Howard, to a 12-6 victory over fifth-ranked Auburn. LSU cornerback Troy Twillie intercepted a Patrick Nix pass in the end zone on the final play of the game. This game is also referred to by Auburn fans as the Whistle Game, because Nix was sacked for a safety when he stopped play after a fan in the stands blew a whistle. [Eddie Pelz, "Auburn, LSU vie in other headliner", "The Sun Herald", September 17, 1997, p. D5.] However, the Sporting News reported that the LSU crowd "was so loud that Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix, standing in his end zone, thought he heard a whistle and mistakenly thought the play was dead. He was sacked for a safety." Which in turn cost Auburn the game and a chance to play in the SEC Championship game. Clearly a whistle could be heard over the television broadcast and was even reported on the broadcast that a whistle had been blown calling the play dead. Nix was the only player on either team to quit playing during that play. [cite web | title = Booty's Bounty | work = The Sporting News, February 24, 1997 | url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n8_v221/ai_19139015/pg_5 | accessdate = 22 November | accessyear = 2006 ] James Gillyard could have stolen the ball from hapless QB Nix and scored a touchdown, but instead chose to hurl him into the the end-zone turf, earning fewer points but far greater satisfaction.

1996

LSU defeated Auburn 19-15 in 1996 while the old Auburn Sports Arena, affectionately called "the Barn", burned to the ground across the street from Jordan-Hare Stadium. After scoring a touchdown, Auburn trailed 17-15 and attempted the two-point conversion. LSU intercepted the pass and returned it for a 19-15 win. The fire began when a tailgater placed a barbecue grill too close to the building. Scenes of the fire were captured by ESPN during the national broadcast as flames were seen as high as the Jordan-Hare west upper-deck. The game was never delayed, and the Auburn public address announcer continually advised fans not to worry: "the stadium [was] not on fire; the flames [were] outside the stadium."

1999

On coach Tommy Tuberville's birthday, Auburn handed LSU a crushing 41-7 loss during a rare day game in Baton Rouge. In celebration, Auburn players and coaches smoked cigars on the field at Tiger Stadium, much to the chagrin of LSU players and fans. This is cited among LSU faithful as the day the rivalry officially began, and it was used as motivation in 2001 when LSU defeated Auburn 27-14 on the way to their first SEC Championship since splitting it in 1988. Auburn would finish Tuberville's first season at 5-6, while LSU ended the season 3-8 and with the resignation of coach Gerry DiNardo, who left before the third win of the season. Auburn has not won in Baton Rouge since.

2001

Originally scheduled for September 15, the game was moved to December 1 because of the 9/11 attacks. The rescheduling resulted in an SEC mini-playoff, as the winner of this game would be the West champion while the winner of the Florida-Tennessee game the same night would take the East. The game was marked by bad blood from the 1999 cigar incident. Auburn added further fuel by stomping on LSU's midfield logo during pregame warmups. The action drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, allowing LSU to kick off from the 50. LSU successfully ran a surprise onside kick which, along with a hit by Michael Clayton on Auburn returner Roderick Hood a few minutes later, set the tone for the game resulting in a 27-14 LSU victory. In addition, Auburn Kicker Damon Duval got into an altercation with the LSU marching band during their halftime performance. After this incident Duval did not make another field goal that night. Tommy Tuberville later sent a letter to the band apologizing for Duval's actions.

2004

Defending national champion and fourth ranked LSU visited Auburn just days after Hurricane Ivan. The Bengal Tigers took a 9-3 lead but couldn't convert the extra point. Auburn tied the game with 1:14 to play when Jason Campbell threw a 16-yard TD pass to Courtney Taylor. Entering the game, Auburn had successfully converted on 190 consecutive points after touchdown; however AU kicker John Vaughn missed the extra point. A personal foul penalty was called on Ronnie Prude, and Vaughn connected on the second chance. Auburn would go on to win the SEC Championship, finish 13-0 and No. 2 in the final AP poll.

2005

The hero of the 2004 game, John Vaughn quickly became the goat in Baton Rouge, as the normally reliable kicker missed five field goals - his final kick bouncing off the right upright in overtime. However, credit should be given to the LSU defense which never allowed Auburn to get into Vaughns comfort range. All of the attempted kicks were over 35 yards and 3 of the kicks would have been career long kicks for Vaughn. Auburn and LSU tied for the SEC West championship, but the win allowed LSU to play in the SEC Championship Game. Auburn tailback Kenny Irons, caught by ESPN cameras prior to the game guaranteeing a 200-yard game, provided a 218-yard performance and cemented himself as the starter for the remainder of the season.

2006

The two Tigers met in Auburn, Auburn with their highest head-to-head ranking ever, and played what several athletes on both teams considered their most physical game of the season. Both teams were early season national title contenders. At the end of the first half, LSU managed a last second field goal to take a 3-0 halftime lead. Auburn took the lead with a third quarter touchdown, and had two fourth quarter stops to win 7-3 in the lowest scoring game since an LSU 6-0 victory in 1935. In the final moments, playing with no time outs left, JaMarcus Russell threw short of the end-zone to Craig Davis and Brock delivered a hit on the four yard-line to seal the Auburn victory.

Questionable calls led LSU to file an SEC complaint against the officiating crew. [cite news |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2594846 |title=LSU AD Bertman criticizes SEC for defending officiating |accessdate=2008-01-23 |date=2006-09-19 |publisher=ESPN] The media focused primarily upon an interference call being waved off during LSU's next-to-last drive as the ball was ruled to be uncatchable, but the complaint addressed several calls and the crew's officiating consistency. [cite news |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2594846 |title=LSU AD Bertman criticizes SEC for defending officiating |accessdate=2008-01-23 |date=2006-09-19 |publisher=ESPN] The SEC supported the officiating crew. [cite news |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2594846 |title=LSU AD Bertman criticizes SEC for defending officiating |accessdate=2008-01-23 |date=2006-09-19 |publisher=ESPN] In any view, the officiating decisions played a large part in the outcome, as the plays in question would have given great advantage to the other team if they had been ruled differently.

A follow-up report from the AP, on Sept. 19, 2006 said: LSU athletic director Skip Bertman sharply criticized the officiating in last Saturday's game at Auburn as well as the Southeastern Conference's subsequent backing of the officials' decisions on two key calls.

"The SEC Office has stood by the officials' calls, and we respectfully but strongly disagree," Bertman said in a statement released by LSU on Tuesday. "We strive for excellence every day in LSU athletics, and we expect the same level of excellence from the officials that are assigned to us by the SEC."

Late in the game, Auburn defensive back Zach Gilbert was flagged for interfering with receiver Early Doucet deep in its own territory in Auburn's 7-3 win over then-No. 6 LSU. The flag was waved off because officials deemed that Eric Brock's tip of the ball made it uncatchable.

Another controversial fourth-quarter call went Auburn's way when LSU's interception on third-and-29 was negated because Daniel Francis was penalized for interference on receiver Courtney Taylor, giving Auburn an automatic first down.

That pass was ruled a catchable ball, and SEC media relations director Charles Bloom said that call also was correct.

The victory helped Auburn climb from No. 3 to No. 2 The AP Top 25 poll, while LSU fell to No. 10.

LSU coach Les Miles complained after the game about both calls.

"There were obviously a number of calls by SEC officials in our game against Auburn that had a dramatic impact on the game," Bertman said. "Coach Miles went through the proper procedure of addressing these calls with the SEC Office and I appreciate the manner in which he has expressed his dissatisfaction with the officials' decisions."

2007

Demetrius Byrd made a last-second catch in the end zone to win it for LSU, 30-24. Down one point and driving late in the game, LSU was in field goal range with the clock running and a single time out remaining. However, in one of the most discussed play calls of the 2007 season Les Miles decided to try a long pass to the end zone before a possible FG attempt. Afterwards, Miles stated there was enough time for a 41 yard FG had the pass been incomplete, and the game clock proved him correct, although conventional wisdom argued the safer bet was to advance the ball a few yards, use the time out, and try the field goal. LSU would go on to win the SEC and BCS National Championshipclear

2008

In the next game between these two teams being played in Jordan Hare in Auburn and the College Gameday crew set up there only increased the heated rivalry. LSU got up early 3-0 with a field goal until Ben Tate ran for a touchdown to give Auburn a 7-3 lead. Quarterback Jarret Lee was intercepted by Gabe Mckinzee who took it for the endzone for a 14-3 lead at half. In the second half LSU would answer with a 55 yard touchdown pass from Lee to Chris Michell touchdown to narrow it to a four point lead for Auburn. Later Lee would throw throw to Kennand Williams who then threw a TD pass to Demetrius Byrd for a 17-14 lead. LSU would take a field goal later for a 20-14 lead. Auburn wasn't done yet as Chris Todd threw a TD pass to Robert Dunn for a 21-20 lead. Late in the fourth quarter Jarret Lee threw the game winning TD pass to Brandon Laffell with 1:03 left to play to seal the game giving LSU a 26-21 victory and their first victory at Jordan Hare in 10 years.

Miscellaneous

The 2006 game was the lowest scoring contest between the two schools since 1935, when LSU defeated Auburn 6-0 in Baton Rouge.

The winning squad pitched a shutout 11 of the first 13 games to start the series. Since then, neither team has been shutout.

LSU leads the overall series 24–19–1. LSU leads the series in games played in Baton Rouge and Montgomery, Alabama, with a 12–5–1 and 2–0 record, respectively. Auburn leads for games played at Jordan-Hare Stadium (9–6), Birmingham, Alabama (3–2), and Mobile, Alabama (2–0). The rivalry between Auburn and LSU has developed only since the expansion of the SEC in 1992. Prior to then, the two teams played each other irregularly. When the SEC expanded, Auburn and LSU were placed in the Western Division conference, along with Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and new conference member Arkansas. As part of the conference’s realignment, division members now play all five opponents within their division every season, thus beginning the annual match-ups between Auburn and LSU. While Auburn lost annual rivalries with Tennessee and later Florida due to the SEC’s expansion and realignment, the LSU game has quickly become a heated and highly anticipated rivalry for both teams. For Auburn, the intensity of the LSU rivalry is surpassed by only the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry with Georgia and the Iron Bowl rivalry with Alabama.

Due to the 2001 terrorist attacks, the game was moved to December 1. This marked the first time since 1947 - when the Alabama legislature forced a game between the two - that Auburn played a team after Alabama in the Iron Bowl during the regular season. For LSU, the game marked the first time since 1991 that the Tigers played a team other than Arkansas as the final game of the regular season. Prior to Arkansas joining the SEC, LSU traditionally closed its season against the in-state rival Tulane Green Wave.

Since becoming permanent SEC opponents in 1992, the majority of the series has been played in September. Only four times have games been scheduled in October (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007), with Auburn winning one (2002) and LSU winning three (2003, 2005, 2007).

References