Auburn–Tennessee football rivalry

Auburn–Tennessee football rivalry

Auburn Tigers Tennessee Volunteers
First meeting	November 10, 1900 Auburn 23, Tennessee 0
Latest meeting	November 9, 2013 Auburn 55, Tennessee 23
Next meeting	2018 in Auburn, Alabama
Statistics
Meetings total	52
All-time series	Auburn leads, 28–21–3
Largest victory	Tennessee, 42–0 (1980)
Longest win streak	Auburn, 6 (2003–)
Current win streak	Auburn, 6 (2003–present)

The Auburn–Tennessee football rivalry is an American college football rivalry^[1] between the Auburn Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers. The game was traditionally played prior to the 1992 football season, when the Southeastern Conference split into its Eastern and Western divisions. Auburn leads the series 28–21–3.

Series history

The series started in 1900 with a 23–0 win for Auburn in Birmingham, Alabama. The teams met every last Saturday in September from 1969–1991, expected in 1968 where they met in November. In 1991 the SEC split into two divisions, ending the annual rivalry. Tennessee started an annual rivalry with Georgia, and Auburn began a rivalry with LSU. Auburn is 6–3 over Tennessee since the expansion of the SEC. Both teams met in 1997 and 2004 SEC Championship Game. Tennessee won in 1997, 30–29, and Auburn won 2004, 38–28. The largest margin win in the serice, was in 1980 where Tennessee defeated Auburn 42–0. Auburn also has the longest and the current streak since 2003 of six games. The teams will meet in 2018 in Auburn, Alabama.^[2][3]

The Auburn–Tennessee game, has played in three locations. They have played in Birmingham, Alabama at Legion Field, Knoxville, Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, and also Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. From 1900 to 1979 the game was played home–home in Knoxville and Birmingham. Both teams did not met in Auburn, Alabama until 1980. In the three venues: for games played in Auburn, AL, Auburn leads by a record of 6–2–1, for those contested in Birmingham, Auburn leads by a record of 10–5, and for games in the series played in Knoxville, Tennessee leads by a record of 14–10–2.

Game results

Notable games

• 1965: Auburn defensive tackle Jack Thornton intercepted not one, but two passes as Auburn struggled to a 13–13 tie in Knoxville.
• 1970: Auburn overcame a 10–0 deficit and defeated the Vols 36–23 in Birmingham. It was the only loss of the year for Tennessee and cost the Vols an SEC Championship.
• 1972: Unranked Auburn upset No. 4 Tennessee in Birmingham. Auburn led most of the game, 10–0. Tennessee came back to put the game 10–6, though Auburn sealed the game for an upset.
• 1990: Proving once again that leads, big or small, do not hold up in the Auburn–Tennessee series, Auburn spotted Tennessee a 26–9 fourth-quarter lead, only to storm back to tie it at 26. Tennessee missed a potential game-winning field goal with 15 seconds left.
• 1991: A series that had been contested 36 straight years (1956–91) came to an end thanks to the SEC's expansion to 12 schools and the formation of two divisions. Vol receiver Carl Pickens caught four balls for 172 yards, including TD receptions of 87 and 67 yards, in Tennessee's 30–21 win.
• 1997 SEC Championship Game: In the 1997 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, Auburn scored 20 unanswered points to take a 20–7 lead. Tennessee scored two touchdowns late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to win, 30–29. Tennessee's quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and four TDs, while Auburn signal caller Dameyune Craig passed for 262 yards and a pair of scores. Tennessee went on and lost to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 42–17.
• 2003: Tennessee came into Jordan–Hare Stadium ranked No. 7. Auburn took their opening drive 80 yards and scored on a 6-yard run by Ronnie Brown. On their next possession, Jason Campbell threw a 29-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone to Obomanu. The Auburn defense held Tennessee in check for most of the first half, but the Vols drove 85 yards just before halftime to score with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter. Auburn led 14–7 at halftime. Cadillac scored on a 1-yard run on Auburn’s first possession of the second half to give the Tigers a 21–7 lead. Jason Campbell then completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Cole Bennett on the second play of the fourth quarter to put Auburn up 28–7. Clausen threw for a touchdown on each of the Vols’ next two possessions bringing the score to 28–21 with just over seven minutes left in the game. Auburn took six minutes to drive down to the Tennessee 29-yard line, but with a chance to seal the win, John Vaughn missed a 46-yard field goal with just over a minute to play. The Vols then drove down to the Auburn 30-yard line, thanks to a 21-yard completion on 4th-and-15, but with 1:04 left, Carlos Rogers intercepted a pass to end the threat. Auburn got a 28–21 victory to beat Tennessee for the first time since 1988.^[7]
• 2004 SEC Championship Game: After Auburn blew out the Vols in the regular season, they got a rematch in SEC Championship game after both teams won their divisions. Auburn was a 14 ½-point favorite^[8] in the game. Tennessee kept the game close, but Auburn won, 38–28, and went on to defeat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

References