Iron Bowl

File:Irnbowllogo.jpg

The Iron Bowl logo.

The Iron Bowl is an informal nickname given to the annual intercollegiate football game between the teams of the University of Alabama and Auburn University. The Iron Bowl is held by many fans of the sport to be the most heated intercollegiate football rivalry in the nation. The deep-seeded football hatred between Alabama and Auburn has historically spilled over into the politics and society of the state of Alabama.

Like many intrastate rivalries between public universities in the United States, much of the animosity between the two schools stems from sociological differences between each school's fan base (alumni and other supporters). Many of the more heated in-state rivalries involve a state's perceived "flagship university" and a land-grant university. Traditionally, flagship universities educated the more urbanized and economically upscale portions of their state's population. Land-grant schools, which were specifically established to provide education in agriculture, engineering, and military science, drew heavily from rural and small-town dwellers. Although this is a gross oversimplification, and there are numerous exceptions to this rule on both sides, there is a core of truth to this divide. In the Iron Bowl, Alabama is the "flagship" school and Auburn the land-grant school.

The winner of the game has statewide "bragging rights" until the next year, and as is typical of rivalry games of this nature, a win in this game can seemingly salvage an otherwise poor season for the winner, while a loss can ruin what had otherwise been a fine season for the loser. As is typical of such games, it is usually scheduled to be the final regular-season game for each team and is always played in late November.

History

Alabama and Auburn played their first football game in Lakeview Park in Birmingham, Alabama on February 22, 1893. Auburn won, 32-22, before an estimated crowd of 2,000. As if a signal of the future, disagreement between the schools began immediately as Alabama considered the game to be the final matchup of the 1892 season and Auburn recorded it as the first of 1893. The series was suspended after the 1907 game when the schools could not come to agreement over the amount of expenses to be paid players, as well as from where officials for the game should be obtained.

It would take a 1947 resolution by the Alabama House of Representatives to cause the rivalry to be renewed in 1948 where the teams met in Birmingham's Legion Field. Alabama won that game, 55-0, in the most lopsided victory of the series. The game would be played exclusively at Legion Field until 1989 when Auburn hosted the game in Jordan-Hare Stadium before a (then) record crowd of 85,319.

For most of the 20th century, both schools played many of their homes games in Birmingham (and for Auburn, Columbus, Georgia) due, in part, to the difficulty of travel to both Tuscaloosa (the location of the University of Alabama campus) and Auburn as well as insufficient on-campus facilities. Over the years, Auburn's stadium was steadily enlarged and Auburn was able to convince most of its opponents to travel to Auburn for a true home-and-home series. Alabama, however, continued to play half its home games each season in Legion Field.

By 1980, when the west upper deck of Jordan-Hare was completed, the only remaining 'neutral site' game on Auburn's schedule was the Iron Bowl, as it had come to be called due to Birmingham's prominence as a center of iron and steel production. Auburn fans now perceived a disparity in fan support in Birmingham due to Alabama's other home games in the city. Auburn officials, led by its athletic director and head football coach Pat Dye, set out to move their home game to Auburn with the addition of the east upper deck which would make Jordan-Hare the largest stadium in the state. On December 2, 1989, a sellout crowd would witness Auburn win its first true 'home' game of the series, 30-20 over an Alabama team that entered the game unbeaten and ranked #2 in the country.

Alabama officials had fought the move from Birmingham and continued to hold their home game at Legion Field until the 2000 season where it was once again played in Tuscaloosa in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game had been played in Tuscaloosa twice before early in the series in 1895 and 1901.

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Here are the scores of all 68 Iron Bowl games.
Alabama leads the series over Auburn 38-30-1.

Date	Winner	Score	Site
Feb. 22, 1893	Auburn	32-22	Lakeview Baseball Park, Birmingham
Nov. 30, 1893	Auburn	40-16	Riverside Park, Montgomery
Nov. 29, 1894	Alabama	18-0	Riverside Park, Montgomery
Nov. 23, 1895	Auburn	48-0	Tuscaloosa
Nov. 17, 1900	Auburn	53-5	Montgomery
Nov. 15, 1901	Auburn	17-0	Tuscaloosa
Oct. 18, 1902	Auburn	23-0	West End Park, Birmingham
Oct. 23, 1903	Alabama	18-6	Highland Park, Montgomery
Nov. 12, 1904	Auburn	29-5	West End Park, Birmingham
Nov. 18, 1905	Alabama	30-0	West End Park, Birmingham
Nov. 17, 1906	Alabama	10-0	Birmingham Fair Grounds
Nov. 16, 1907	Tie	6-6	Birmingham Fair Grounds
Dec. 4, 1948	Alabama	55-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 3, 1949	Auburn	14-13	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 2, 1950	Alabama	34-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 1, 1951	Alabama	25-7	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 29, 1952	Alabama	21-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 28, 1953	Alabama	10-7	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 27, 1954	Auburn	28-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 26, 1955	Auburn	26-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 1, 1956	Auburn	34-7	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 30, 1957	Auburn	40-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 29, 1958	Auburn	14-8	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 28, 1959	Alabama	10-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 26, 1960	Alabama	3-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 2, 1961	Alabama	34-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 1, 1962	Alabama	38-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 30, 1963	Auburn	10-8	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 26, 1964	Alabama	21-14	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 27, 1965	Alabama	30-3	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 3, 1966	Alabama	31-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 2, 1967	Alabama	7-3	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 3, 1968	Alabama	24-16	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 29, 1969	Auburn	49-26	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 28, 1970	Auburn	33-28	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 27, 1971	Alabama	31-7	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 2, 1972	Auburn	17-16	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 1, 1973	Alabama	35-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 29, 1974	Alabama	17-13	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 29, 1975	Alabama	28-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 27, 1976	Alabama	38-7	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 26, 1977	Alabama	48-21	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 2, 1978	Alabama	34-16	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 1, 1979	Alabama	25-18	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 29, 1980	Alabama	34-18	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 28, 1981	Alabama	28-17	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 27, 1982	Auburn	23-22	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 3, 1983	Auburn	23-20	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 1, 1984	Alabama	17-15	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 30, 1985	Alabama	25-23	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 29, 1986	Auburn	21-17	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 27, 1987	Auburn	10-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 25, 1988	Auburn	15-10	Legion Field, Birmingham
Dec. 2, 1989	Auburn	30-20	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn
Dec. 1, 1990	Alabama	16-7	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 30, 1991	Alabama	13-6	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 26, 1992	Alabama	17-0	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 20, 1993	Auburn	22-14	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn
Nov. 19, 1994	Alabama	21-14	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 18, 1995	Auburn	31-27	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn
Nov. 23, 1996	Alabama	24-23	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 22, 1997	Auburn	18-17	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn
Nov. 21, 1998	Alabama	31-17	Legion Field, Birmingham
Nov. 20, 1999	Alabama	28-17	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn
Nov. 18, 2000	Auburn	9-0	Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa
Nov. 17, 2001	Alabama	31-7	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn
Nov. 23, 2002	Auburn	17-7	Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa
Nov. 22, 2003	Auburn	28-23	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn
Nov. 20, 2004	Auburn	21-13	Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa

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Game By Game Summary of all Iron Bowl games through the 2001 season

• Feb. 22, 1892: The first game was played at Lakeview Baseball Park in Birmingham in front of 226 Auburn fans and 220 Alabama fans. Auburn's 32-22 victory was front page news in the Birmingham Age-Herald.

• Nov. 30,1893: An evenly divided crowd witnessed Auburn's 40-16 rout over Alabama. Attendance was 3,000 at Montgomery's Riverside Park. Auburn scored seven touchdowns and received $350, while Alabama received $250.

• Nov. 29, 1894: The first upset of the series gave Alabama an 18-0 victory in front of 3,000 at Montgomery's Riverside Park.

• Nov. 23, 1895: Auburn won convincingly, 48-0 in Tuscaloosa, for first-year head coach John Heisman. Researchers have tried for years to find details from the game's lopsided score, but to no avail. Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery newspapers had only brief accounts of the game with no details or statistics.

• Nov. 17, 1900: Auburn scored nine touchdowns in the 53-5 victory in Montgomery. It was the first time that season Auburn had scored at all.

• Nov. 15, 1901: Auburn's 17-0 win in Tuscaloosa prompted this Birmingham News headline: "A Tiger Claws Alabama." It was only the second time the press had used the Tiger nickname to describe Auburn, and it was the first time the name was used for a game within the series.

• Oct. 18, 1902: Birmingham's West End Park was the site for the 23-0 Auburn victory. According to the weekly Tuscaloosa Times, both teams received $500 for playing the game.

• Oct. 23, 1903: The second upset of the series gave Alabama an 18-6 win at Montgomery's Highland Park. Auburn was favored 5-to-1 entering the game. The average weight of Alabama players was 148 pounds, compared to Auburn's 161-pound average.

• Nov. 12, 1904: Auburn won 29-5 at West End Park in Birmingham, marking the first time Auburn had been scored upon that season. The Birmingham News reported that the game "resulted in as fierce a game and struggle as was ever seen on the local gridiron." The 29-5 score was carried in all Alabama and Auburn records and today's Southeastern Conference Football Guide. Harvey Sartain scored Alabama's touchdown, but a discrepancy over the conversion has been disputed ever since. The Birmingham News reported the score 29-6.

• Nov. 18, 1905: A record crowd of 4,600 attended the Alabama 30-0 victory at Birmingham's West End Park. It was the biggest crowd to ever witness a football game in the city.

• Nov. 17, 1906: Alabama won 10-0 at the Birmingham Fair Grounds, but the game was played under protest. Auburn claimed Alabama left guard T.S. Sims was an illegal player. The protest was heard by the Southern Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association, but denied. Fans watched the game for just 75 cents per ticket. Box seats were an expensive $1 each.

• Nov. 16, 1907: The game ended in a 6-6 tie, a fitting score for the last game to be played between the two schools for the next 41 years.

• Dec. 4, 1948: After much anticipation and many political efforts, the big game was finally resumed at Birmingham's Legion Field. Alabama, which had earned a national reputation with trips to the Rose and Sugar bowls, overwhelmed the Tigers, 55-0.

• Dec. 3, 1949: Alabama came into the 1949 Iron Bowl again expecting to blow away the Tigers but Auburn won its second game of the year with a 14-13 upset of the Tide. Alabama finished the 1949 season with a 6-3-1 record.

• Dec. 2, 1950: Bobby Marlow scored three touchdowns in Alabama's 34-0 win that avenged the 14-13 upset loss to Auburn the year before. The Tigers finished 0-10 for the only time in school history.

• Dec. 1, 1951: Bobby Marlow scored three more touchdowns to spoil Shug Jordan's first game against Alabama as Auburn's head coach, 25-7. Vince Dooley quarterbacked the Tigers' only touchdown drive.

• Nov. 29, 1952: Tommy Lewis, who a couple of years later would jump off the bench to make his infamous tackle of Dickie Maegel in the Cotton Bowl, scored a couple of touchdowns to lead Alabama to a 21-0 win over Auburn.

• Nov. 28, 1953: Shug Jordan came out with his famous X and Y teams and for the first time since 1949, the Tigers scored first. But they couldn't hold the lead and lost 10-7. Late in the game, with the score tied 7-7, the Tigers were penalized for piling on, setting up Bobby Luna's game-winning 28-yard field goal with a minute left. It was the first field goal in the Iron Bowl since 1906.

• Nov. 27, 1954: Auburn started its five-year mastery of the Tide with a 28-0 win as the Tigers ran for 354 yards. Bobby Freeman scored three of the touchdowns.

• Nov. 26, 1955: Auburn beat Alabama Coach Ears Whitworth in his first Iron Bowl, 26-0. A pair of Howell Tubbs to Jerry Elliott passes ended long scoring drive of 80 and 90 yards. Alabama finished at 0-10 for the only time in its history.

• Dec. 1, 1956: Auburn had 489 yards of total offense in routing Alabama 34-7. Howell Tubbs passed to Jerry Elliott for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another.

• Nov. 30, 1957: Auburn went into the season finale against Alabama at 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country and needing a win to claim its first national championship. After it was over, it was hard to tell what was lower, the Tide or the freezing temperature. Auburn led 34-0 at halftime, which emptied the Alabama side of Legion Field, and won 40-0.

  Mistakes destroyed the Tide, Billy Atkins scored on a couple of short runs after fumbles, Tommy Lorino returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown and Jackie Burkett brought back another interception 66 yards for a score. A couple of days after the lopsided loss, it was announced that Alabama had hired Paul "Bear" Bryant, a former Crimson Tide player and coach at Texas A&M, as its new head coach.

• Nov. 29, 1958: Shug Jordan won his first coaching battle against Bryant and a vastly improved Alabama squad, 14-8, to conclude a 9-0-1 season. The Tide trailed 14-0 in the fourth quarter, then pulled to within six points on a Marlin Dyess touchdown run, but couldn't recover an onside kick.

• Nov. 28, 1959: The decade ended for the Iron Bowl with Bryant claiming his first win over Auburn and Shug Jordan as the Tide's head coach, 10-0. The diminutive Marlin Dyess scored the only touchdown on a 39-yard pass from Bobby Skelton to seal the win in the third quarter.

• Nov. 26, 1960: Tommy Brooker of Demopolis booted a 23-yard field goal and the Alabama defense held Auburn to 63 yards rushing to preserve a 3-0 Tide victory and clinch a bid to the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston.

• Dec. 2, 1961: Quarterback Pat Trammell engineered the Crimson Tide to a 34-point win over the Tigers. Alabama's defense had shut out five opponents coming into the game and did not allow Auburn to even get close enough for a field goal. With the Iron Bowl victory, the Tide won the national championship and later defeated Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

• Dec. 1, 1962: Alabama came into the game with only a 7-6 loss to Georgia Tech as a blemish on its record while the Tigers were 6-2-1. However, the Tide overwhelmed the Tigers, 38-0.

• Nov. 30, 1963: Jordan brought a spirited Auburn team to Legion Field and stopped Alabama's winning streak at four. Namath was quarterbacking Bama but Tucker Frederickson caught the pass that beat the Tide, 10-8.

• Nov. 26, 1964: The 1964 Iron Bowl was a thriller with Alabama winning a 21-14 decision and, in so doing, winning its second national championship for Bryant.

• Nov. 27, 1965: The Crimson Tide won the 1965 Iron Bowl and once again won a national championship but this time the Associated Press voted after the bowl games and it took a 39-28 Tide win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl to put Bama at the top of the poll. Auburn, after a 30-3 loss to the Tide, went on to the Liberty Bowl and beat Ole Miss, 13-7.

• Dec. 3, 1966: With Kenny Stabler at quarterback, Coach Bryant always thought his 1966 team was probably his best even though the squad was not voted national champs despite being undefeated. This was a rebuilding year for Jordan and Alabama beat Auburn, 31-0. The Tide went on to beat Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl, 34-7.

• Dec. 2, 1967: The dedication of Auburn and Alabama fans to the Iron Bowl was greatly in evidence in 1967 as thousands remained in Legion Field through downpours and storms. A long run through the mud by quarterback Stabler provided the Tide with a 7-3 win. The Tigers finished 6-4 and the Tide wound up, 8-2-1.

• Dec. 3, 1968: Auburn lost a 24-16 decision to Bama in this game but went on to crush Arizona 34-10 in the Sun Bowl. Meanwhile, the Tide came off the win only to lose 35-10 to Missouri in the Gator Bowl.

• Nov. 29, 1969: The Iron Bowl decade closed out with a big Auburn victory. The Tigers upended the Tide 49-26 but both teams went to bowl games and lost. Houston toppled Auburn in the Bluebonnet and Bama lost to Colorado in the Liberty.

• Nov. 28, 1970: Wide open offenses were the trademark of the two teams in the 1970 season and the advantage belonged to Auburn. The Tigers, of course, were led by the passing of eventual Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan and the receiving of Terry Beasley. Air Sullivan prevailed, 33-28.

• Nov. 27, 1971: The Crimson Tide switched to the wishbone, shocked Southern California in the first game, 17-10, and crushed the Tigers in the last game, 31-7.

• Dec. 2, 1972: Two blocked punts that appeared to be television replays. Enough said: the Tigers shocked the Tide, 17-16. PUNT! BAMA! PUNT!

• Dec. 1, 1973: The Tigers came into the Iron Bowl with a 6-4 record while Bama was undefeated. Behind the quarterbacking of Richard Todd, Alabama crushed AU, 35-0, and won the UPI national championship.

• Nov. 29, 1974: The 1974 Iron Bowl was again a matchup of an undefeated Alabama team against a once-beaten Tiger team and it was for the SEC title and a Sugar Bowl bid. Again, Todd directed the Tide attack and Alabama built a 17-7 halftime lead behind the running of Calvin Culliver. However, AU closed the gap on a fake field goal, 17-13, and then the Tide defense held off the Tigers for the win.

• Nov. 29, 1975: This was Shug Jordan's last year at Auburn and it was a tough one for the Tigers. Once-beaten Alabama had its way with the Tigers, 28-0.

• Nov. 27, 1976: Auburn had a new head coach in 1976 and the powerful Alabama wishbone continued to dominate, 38-7.

• Nov. 26, 1977: The 1977 game was a high-scoring affair with Jeff Rutledge directing the wishbone for the Tide. Six different players scored for the Tide as they outscored the outmanned Tigers, 48-21.

• Dec. 2, 1978: Auburn came into the game with a 6-3-1 record but Alabama had lost but one game on the way to another national title. The Tide edged Auburn, 34-16, and then downed Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, 14-7.

• Dec. 1, 1979: Barfield's best year at Auburn also was his best Iron Bowl game. The Tigers were 8-2 coming into the game but Bama prevailed, 25-18, and won another national title with a win over Arkansas in the Sugar.

• Nov. 29, 1980: This was Barfield's last year for the Tigers. His team again scored 18 in the Iron Bowl while Bama scored 34.

• Nov. 28, 1981: This was Pat Dye's first year as head coach and he brought a competitive team into Legion Field but Bryant won his 315th, 28-17.

• Nov. 27, 1982: The nine-game Crimson Tide winning streak came to an end as did the career of Bryant several weeks later. The Tigers prevailed, 23-22.

• Dec. 3, 1983: This was Bo Jackson's day. The Auburn tailback rushed for 256 yards in leading Auburn to a 23-20 victory. Included in Jackson's total were touchdown runs of 69 and 71 yards, the latter ending a 20-16 Alabama lead and giving Auburn the win.

• Dec. 1, 1984: This time out, Bo went the wrong way and Alabama picked up a 17-15 victory. A field goal would have given Auburn the lead, but head coach Pat Dye decided to go for the touchdown. The ball went to Brent Fullwood and Jackson was supposed to block, but he headed in the wrong direction, leaving Tide defensive back Rory Turner free to ``wax the dude (Fullwood), preventing the score.

• Nov. 30, 1985: Van Tiffin made "The Kick" to give Alabama a 25-23 win. Tiffin ran on the field in the final seconds of an all-or-nothing drive to boot a perfect 52-yard field on the game's final play, lifting the Tide to victory.

• Nov. 29, 1986: He wasn't supposed to get the ball, but Lawyer Tillman took it and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 7-yard run on a reverse. The play was called with someone else in mind, but Tillman was in the game, scoring a touchdown on the first rushing play of his collegiate career with just 32 seconds to play, giving Auburn a 21-17 win.

• Nov. 27, 1987: Bill Curry was introduced to the Alabama-Auburn rivalry in rude fashion as the Tigers claimed a 10-0 win. A Harry Mose touchdown run and Win Lyle field goal was all Auburn would need as the Auburn defense held Alabama to 183 total yards.

• Nov. 25, 1988: Tied 3-3, Ron Stallworth sacked David Smith for a safety, Lyle added another field goal and Vincent Harris made a 1-yard scoring run in a 15-10 Auburn win. Quarterback Reggie Slack threw for 220 yards and tailback Stacy Danley rushed for 97 yards in leading the Tigers.

• Dec. 2, 1989: This was one of the most historic dates in the history of the series. It marked the first time the game was played in Auburn, and the Tigers made it a day to remember. Alabama entered with a perfect 10-0 record but left with a 30-20 defeat. The win gave Auburn a share of the SEC title along with Alabama. It also marked the last Alabama-Auburn game for Curry, who has never beaten Auburn. He left Alabama to take the Kentucky job.

• Dec. 1, 1990: Having lost the first three games of the season, Alabama finished in fine style, collecting a 16-7 win over the Tigers in Gene Stallings first Alabama-Auburn game as head coach. The victory ended a four-game Auburn win streak.

• Nov. 30, 1991: David Palmer's 10-yard scoring run provided the winning points as the Tide, backed by a strong defensive performance, knocked off Auburn 13-6 for the second consecutive year, giving Stallings a 2-0 record in the series.

• Nov. 26, 1992: Antonio Langham was the hero in this game as he picked off a Stan White pass in the third quarter and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown that broke open a scoreless tie. Bama prevailed, 17-0. Alabama went on to win the SEC Championship Game over Florida and defeated Miami in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship.

• Nov. 20, 1993: The scene shifted to Jordan-Hare for this Iron Bowl and the Tigers were undefeated in Auburn's final probation year. Alabama jumped out to a 14-5 halftime advantage but Auburn came back but, following an injury to Stan White, Auburn turned to reserve quarter Patrick Nix. On his first play, a fourth-and-15 from the Alabama 35, Nix hit Frank Sanders with a pass in the end zone and Auburn went on to win, 22-14, and wound up 11-0.

• Nov. 19, 1994: Both teams entered the game undefeated: Alabama at 10-0 and ranked third and Auburn at 9-0-1 and ranked sixth. Auburn got behind big and early as the Crimson Tide took a 21-0 lead by halftime. However, Patrick Nix quarterbacked Auburn to two second-half touchdowns and the Tigers drove to the Alabama 40 with a minute left but failed on a fourth-and-3 play. Alabama won, 21-14.

• Nov. 18, 1995: This was an explosive day for the Alabama offense but the Tigers kept their Iron Bowl record perfect at Jordan-Hare with a 31-27 win. Alabama, out of the bowl picture because of its first-ever NCAA probation, rolled up 478 yards of total offense but it all came down to one play with the Tide at the Auburn 22. Tide quarterback Freddie Kitchens threw a fourth-and-10 pass that sailed out of bounds with less than 10 seconds to play.

• Nov. 23, 1996: Embattled Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Riddle with 26 seconds to go and Jon Brock booted the all-important extra point for a topsy-turvy 24-23 victory at Legion Field. Then Tide coach Gene Stallings announced his resignation with as much emotion as offered by the game he just witnessed.

• Nov. 22, 1997 An Auburn team, that would go on to the SEC Championship game, kicked a field goal with 15 seconds to play to beat the Tide 18-17.

• Nov. 21, 1998 Shaun Alexander scored two touchdowns for Alabama as they led the whole game finishing with a 31-17 win in the final Iron Bowl at Legion Field.

• Nov. 20, 1999 Alabama rode a 182-yard, three touchdown performance out of Shaun Alexander. Alabama won this close fought affair 28-17.

• Nov. 18, 2000 Marked the first time the Iron Bowl was played in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Auburn won 9-0 in a defensive struggle where Damon Duval did the only scoring.

• Nov. 17, 2001 Andrew Zow started for an injured Tyler Watts and had a huge game for the Crimson Tide. Alabama also had a great rushing performance with Santonio Beard running for 199 yards and Ahmaad Galloway running for 127 yards. Auburn's Carnell Williams looked good early, but the Tiger's offense stalled after the "Cadillac" left with a broken collarbone. Alabama won 31-7.

• Nov. 23, 2002 True-freshman and third string tailback Tre Smith ran for 126 yards and tight end Robert Johnson caught two touchdowns in the 17-7 Auburn win. The second half touchdown by Alabama was their first ever against Auburn in Tuscaloosa.

• Nov. 22, 2003 Auburn jumps out in front with two long touchdowns by Ben Obamanu and Carnell Williams. Williams touchdown run of 80 yards was the first play from scrimmage. Alabama staged a second half comeback but fell short 28-23.

• Nov. 20, 2004 Alabama held the undefeated Tigers scoreless in the first half and led 6-0 at halftime. Auburn's Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams, and Courtney Taylor all combined for three second-half touchdowns to put the game away. Alabama did score a late touchdown to pull within 8 before Auburn recovered an onside kick to run out the clock.

Miscellaneous

As of November 2004:

• Alabama leads the series 38-30-1
• The series is 13-12 in Auburn's favor since 1980. Currently, Auburn has won three straight, dating back to the 2002 season.
• The game has been played in four cities: Birmingham, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa and Auburn.
• Auburn has won all five games played in Tuscaloosa.
• Auburn and Alabama have never had losing records in the same season.