1970 Auburn Tigers football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 35–28 vs. Ole Miss
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 10
Record9–2 (5–2 SEC)
Head coach
CaptainRonnie Ross
Home stadiumCliff Hare Stadium
Legion Field
Seasons
← 1969
1971 →
1970 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 LSU $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 4 Tennessee 4 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 10 Auburn 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 20 Ole Miss 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Georgia 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Alabama 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 1
Mississippi State 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Vanderbilt 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Kentucky 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Under the leadership of head coach Ralph Jordan, Tigers completed the regular season with a record of 8–2. Auburn won the Gator Bowl against Ole Miss by a score of 35–28. They completed the season with a record of 9–2 and were ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll.[1]

The Tigers broke the Southeastern Conference (SEC) record for total yards for the regular season up to that point with 4,850, exceeding the previous record of 4,725 yards set by the 1942 Georgia Bulldogs. They had 1,965 yards rushing and 2,885 yards passing."[2]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Southern Miss*
W 33–1448,500[3]
September 26No. 17 Tennessee
W 36–2365,306[4]
October 3at KentuckyNo. 12
W 33–1537,500[5]
October 10at Clemson*No. 9
W 44–032,806–41,202[6][7]
October 17No. 16 Georgia Tech*No. 8
  • Cliff Hare Stadium
  • Auburn, AL (rivalry)
W 31–762,391[8]
October 24No. 14 LSUdaggerNo. 6
  • Cliff Hare Stadium
  • Auburn, AL (rivalry)
L 9–1762,301–62,392[9]
October 31FloridaNo. 12
W 63–1462,560[10]
November 7Mississippi StateNo. 10
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
W 56–045,000[11]
November 14GeorgiaNo. 8
  • Cliff Hare Stadium
  • Auburn, AL (rivalry)
L 17–3161,791[12]
November 28vs. AlabamaNo. 11
W 33–2871,774[13]
January 1vs. Ole Miss*No. 10
W 35–2871,136[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[15]

Game summaries

Tennessee

The first big test of the season came against Tennessee in Birmingham, Alabama. Tennessee came in ranked #17 in the country and Auburn was not ranked. Auburn overcame a 10–0 deficit to win 36–23. It was the only loss for Tennessee and cost them the SEC championship.[16]

Florida

In a rivalry known for frequent close games, this one wasn't. It was the worst defeat for either side since 1917, when Auburn won 68–0. Pat Sullivan completed 21 of 27 passes for 366 yards and four touchdowns with three of them caught by Terry Beasley in the 63–14 drubbing.[17] It was also Florida's homecoming game.[18] It marked Auburn's fourth victory in a row against the Gators.

Tiger Bowl (LSU)

Auburn's first loss of the season came against LSU. LSU did not lose to any SEC team that year and won the SEC championship. They did not have to play Tennessee.

Iron Bowl (Alabama)

Alabama scored first on an 80-yard touchdown drive 3:17 into the game; then drove 70 yards to add another. After a pair of turnovers, another drive of 71 yards stalled at the 9 and they added a field goal to take the lead 17–0. Auburn finally scored midway through the second half with a touchdown and added a field goal to make it 17–10 at the half. They would then tie the game at 17 midway through the third. Alabama added a field goal at the beginning of the 4th quarter and Auburn answered tying the game again. Auburn then took the lead 27–20 and the Tide answered with a two-point conversion to take the lead by one. With 3:56 left to go in the game, Wallace Clark dove in for a touchdown from the three giving Auburn the lead by 6. Pat Sullivan threw the two-pointer to Terry Beasley, but the play was nullified by illegal motion and the subsequent attempt was intercepted. Alabama was unable to score again and Auburn won 33–28.[19]

Johnny Musso had over 200 yards rushing for the Tide and Pat Sullivan was 22 of 38 passing with 317 yards for Auburn.[19]

Gator Bowl

In an unusual matchup between two teams from the same conference, Auburn met Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl. (The two teams did not meet during the regular season.) It was a matchup between two top quarterbacks, Pat Sullivan for Auburn and Archie Manning for the University of Mississippi. Archie Manning was recovering from a broken arm suffered on November 7, yet played against LSU a month later with his arm.[2] Auburn won 35–28. Coach Jordan was unable to attend the game.[20]

Roster

1970 Auburn Tigers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 7 Pat Sullivan Jr
TB 15 Mickey Zofko Sr
WR 88 Terry Beasley Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 28 Larry Willingham Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 4 David Beverly So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ 2011 Auburn Tigers Football Media Guide, Auburn University Athletic Department, Auburn, Alabama, p. 184 (2011). Retrieved August 19, 2011
  2. ^ a b 1970 Auburn Tigers set new team offensive record in SEC Rome News–Tribune, Sunday 13, 1970, p. 8-C.
  3. ^ "Auburn rambles to 33–14 victory". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 20, 1970. Retrieved March 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Dr. Pat operates nicely as Vols go down, 36–23". The Anniston Star. September 27, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Auburn smashes Kentucky, 33–15". Pensacola News Journal. October 4, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Sullivan triggers Auburn rout of Clemson, 44–0". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. October 11, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1971". Clemson University. 1971. p. 4. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  8. ^ "Auburn zooms past Tech, 31–7". The Clarion-Ledger. October 18, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "LSU's defense stymies Auburn". The Charlotte Observer. October 25, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Nice guys win, 63–14". Pensacola News Journal. November 1, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Tigers wallop Maroons". Pensacola News Journal. November 8, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Bulldogs not all bark, bite Tigers". The Macon Telegraph & News. November 15, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Auburn edges' Tide". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. November 29, 1970. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Ground-gobbling Tigs outgun Ole Miss, 35–28". The Clarion-Ledger. January 3, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b c d e f 2005 Auburn Tigers Football Media Guide, Auburn University Athletic Department, Auburn, Alabama, pp. 142, 178–180 (2005). Retrieved August 19, 2011
  16. ^ Notable AU/UT games auburnfootballfanforum.com. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  17. ^ Florida Routed Again; Alabama Wins 35–6 Milwaukee Journal, November 1, 1970, p. 6. Retrieved August 22, 2011
  18. ^ Auburn Tabbed To Spoil Gators' Homecoming Sarasota Herald-Tribune, October 31, 1970, p. 1-C.
  19. ^ a b With 23 Points in the Last Half, Auburn Rallies to Down Tide Florence Times–Tri Cities Daily, December 29, 1970, pp. 17–18. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  20. ^ Auburn, Alabama To Record Wins: Gator Bowl Florence Times–Tri Cities Daily, December 30, 1970, p. 12. Retrieved August 22, 2011.",
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