Iron Bowl: The Five Greatest Auburn Football Wins Over Alabama (With Video)

November 24, 2012; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide comes to the line of scrimmage against the Auburn Tigers during the first quarter at Bryant Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

1972: “Punt Bama, Punt”

On December 2, 1972, Auburn and Alabama met in Birmingham for the most highly anticipated Iron Bowl to date. The Crimson Tide entered the game 10-0, ranked No. 2, and had already agreed to face Texas in the Cotton Bowl with the national championship on the line. Despite the Tigers being 8-1 and ranked in the nation’s top ten, Alabama was a 16-point favorite.

The Tide didn’t waste time making the odds makers look good and raced to a 16-0 lead at halftime. Auburn’s offense struggled all day, and had just eight total yards in the first half, but two huge special teams plays proved to be exactly what the Tigers needed and will live forever as one of the greatest Auburn football victories of all-time.

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With less than ten minutes left in the game, the Tigers offense still hadn’t been able to find the end zone. Auburn settled for a disappointing field goal to put the Tigers on the scoreboard, which resulted in a fair share of boos from the crowd. However, the Auburn defense held strong and forced Alabama to punt with less that six minutes on the clock.

Using a unique unbalanced alignment, Auburn’s Bill Newton blocked and David Langner recovered and scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 16-10. Three minutes later after the following Alabama offensive series, in what could have passed for an instant replay, Newton blocked his second punt of the afternoon and Langner recovered and ran it back for his second touchdown.

With 1:34 left, the Tigers had their first lead of the day, but the Auburn defense had to make one last stand. The unquestioned hero of the day, a Langner interception sealed the improbable win for the Tigers.

Earlier this year, Langner passed away.

From the SEC Digital Network:

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