3. Auburn 30 vs. LSU 26 – Sept. 17, 1994
How I Remember It: This game has to be the most played “College Flash Classic” in the history of television. I have to delete it from my DVR almost everyday, but leaving at least one to watch, of course. I have watched this game, or at least the 4th quarter, more than any other Auburn game ever, so it’s going to be tough to separate what I really remember from the game and what I’ve seen a thousand times on Fox Sports South.
Actually, it won’t be too hard because I know that when Auburn began it’s awesome comeback, I was in the car with my Granny, going to pick up my little brother from a birthday party at the Rec center. We were getting gas at the Shell station on 2nd Avenue in Opelika when Jim Fyffe announced yet another interception. I remember Granny saying something to the effect of “WHAT?!”, or something like that. Other than that, that’s all I really remember from that day.
What Really Happened: Auburn came into the game on a 14-game winning streak going back to the 1993 undefeated season, and was ranked #11 in that nation. LSU came into the game 1-1 and was unranked. The Good Tigers should have had no problem beating the Purple Tigers.
The two teams combined for no points in the first quarter, but Auburn would take a 3-0 lead after a field goal early in the 2nd quarter. One minute later, LSU would score on a 76-yard touchdown pass. On LSU’s next possession, running back Jermaine Sharp fumbled and Auburn recovered the fumble in the endzone for a touchdown. Matt Hawkins then missed the first extra point in Auburn’s last 75 tries, to keep the score at 9-7.
LSU added a field goal just before the half to give the Purple Tigers the 10-9 lead at halftime.
The first four possessions of the 2nd half would go as follows: Auburn punt, LSU interception, Auburn fumble, LSU fumble. This showed that this game wasn’t going to be anything close to normal, but when has any Auburn-LSU game been normal?
LSU scored first in the 3rd quarter with a field goal, and following yet another 4-and-out by a struggling Auburn offense, the Purple Tigers extended the lead to 20-9 with a touchdown.
LSU would tack on yet another field goal early in the 4th quarter, but that’s when things got crazy. On LSU’s next possession, Auburn’s Ken Alvis intercepted Jamie Howard’s pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Three plays later, Fred Smith intercepted Howard and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. This tied the score at 23-23.
Despite the back-to-back interceptions returned for touchdowns, LSU showed that they weren’t going away by driving down on their next possession and adding another field goal with just over five minutes in the game.
Following what seemed like Auburn’s hundredth 4-and-out of the game, LSU’s next possession ended with yet another interception returned for a touchdown. This time it was Auburn’s Brian Robinson.
Down 30-26, LSU then drove down to the Auburn 25-yard line, but Howard was intercepted again by Robinson, who returned the pass for 36 yards before fumbling. LSU recovered the fumble giving them another shot at the win.
Can you guess what happened next? Yep, Howard was intercepted for the fifth time of the game by Chris Shelling.
Auburn would take a knee as time expired to win one of the craziest games in Jordan-Hare history.
Why did I pick this game? This definitely wasn’t one of the prettiest games in Auburn’s offensive history. In fact, the offense scored no touchdowns. Thirty points. No offensive touchdowns. That’s pretty rare. However, the defensive performance in the 4th quarter alone put this one in the list, and given the magnitude of the comeback that extended Auburn’s win streak to 15 games, there was no way this isn’t in every Auburn fan’s top 5.
Fun Fact: The two teams combined for 11 total turnovers. LSU: 6 ints, 2 fumbles. Auburn: 3 fumbles.
Play of the Game: Fred Smith’s interception to tie the game in the 4th quarter gave the team a second chance to win after being so far behind late in the game.
Player of the Game: I know this is a little Disney-movie-ish, but I’m giving this one to the entire Auburn defense.
Quote of the Game: “I think we’ve seen something maybe historic. I’ve never been in a game like that. I’ve never seen one. We couldn’t get a first down. Our offense offered no help, no chance of coming back.” – Terry Bowden
Extremely detailed, and partially handwritten box score: LSUSports.com
The Interceptions:
The rest of the Top 30:
4. Auburn 38 vs. Florida 35 – Oct. 16, 1993
5. Auburn 10 vs. LSU 9 – Sept. 18, 2004
6. Auburn 23 vs. Florida 20 – Oct. 13, 2001
7. Auburn 18 vs. Alabama 17 – Nov. 22, 1997
8. Auburn 18 vs. Florida 17 – Oct. 14, 2006
9. Alabama 26 vs. Auburn 21 – Nov. 27, 2009
10. Auburn 41 vs. West Virginia 30 – Sept. 19, 2009
11. Auburn 28 vs. Alabama 21 – Nov. 19, 2005
12. Auburn 10 vs. Florida 7 – Nov. 4, 1989
13. Auburn 28 vs. Tennessee 21 – Oct. 4, 2003
14. Georgia 56 vs. Auburn 49 – Nov. 16, 1996
15. Auburn 7 vs. LSU 3 – Sept. 16, 2006
16. Auburn 20 vs Florida State 17 – Oct. 20, 1990
17. Auburn 28 vs. Alabama 23 – Nov. 22, 2003
18. Auburn 29 vs. Georgia 26 – Nov. 11, 2000
19. Auburn 38 vs. Arkansas – Oct. 16, 2004
20. LSU 26 vs. Auburn 21 – Sept. 20, 2008
21. Georgia 19 vs. Auburn 14 – Nov. 13, 1982
22. Auburn 17 vs. Alabama 10 – Nov. 24, 2007
23. Auburn 33 vs. Ole Miss 20 – Oct. 31, 2009
24. Auburn 26 vs. Tennessee 26 – Sept. 29, 1990
25. Auburn 31 vs. LSU 7 – Oct. 26, 2002
26. Auburn 27 vs. Florida State 24 – Oct. 1, 1983
27. Ole Miss 24 vs. Auburn 20 – Nov. 8, 2003
28. Auburn 24 vs. Georgia 6 – Nov. 13, 2004
29. Auburn 55 vs. Pacific 0 – Sept. 9, 1989
30. Auburn 37 vs. Syracuse 34 – Sept. 28, 2002
3 comments
Man, what a game. The year before Alabama had their longest winning streak in the nation ended by LSU. When this game happened we had the longest winning streak in the nation. I remember thinking, “Man, the same exact thing is going to happen to us that happened to bammer.”.
It’s also the most bonkers I ever remember the Auburn crowd being. People just couldn’t stop screaming, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. No one could believe that LSU kept passing the ball.
I think the ’89 bammer game ever so slightly edges out the ’93 game as the best game at JHS, mainly because of the magnitude of it all….and the paper shakers.
Was present for this game and I can remember feeling so bad at halftime with the thought that the winning streak could end that day. Retained this feeling until the 4th quarter and then the picks started coming one after another. Brian Robinson was my favorite player during this era…he really screwed up at the NFL combine.
Went to the LSU game in Baton Rouge the next year and cheered when they announced Jamie Howard’s name. No one in got my joke. I was ahead of my time.
Looking back, it looks on paper that Auburn was ranked really low for having a 14 game winning streak. But I guess the probation factored into that and it was still early in the season.
I’ve loved this countdown and figured this game would be #1. Can’t wait to see the rest! WAR EAGLE!!!
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