After more than nine years without beating a ranked opponent, the Auburn men’s basketball team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Auburn basketball history by defeating No. 14 Kentucky 75-70.
In celebration, Auburn forward Cinmeon Bowers could not hold his emotions back as he recognized he had just helped Auburn make history.
“It’s crazy,” Bowers said. “We just beat Kentucky. We just made history.”
Just like Cinmeon Bowers and the 2015 men’s Auburn basketball team, a number of Auburn sports teams have completed major upsets, making history.
While the win against Kentucky could contend as one of the greatest upsets in Auburn sports history, the game has a number of other upsets to contend against.
Perhaps one of the most iconic games in Auburn sports history, the 1972 Auburn vs. Alabama football game, also known as “Punt Bama Punt,” can go down as one of the biggest upsets in Auburn sports.
Ranked ninth in the Associated Press Poll at the time, coach Shug Jordan’s Tigers rolled into Legion Field in Birmingham to face Bear Bryant and the No. 2 ranked, undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide. Favored to win by 14 points, the Crimson Tide found itself atop the Auburn Tigers 16-0 with eight minutes left in the game.
However, just like the 2013 Kick Six, Auburn found a way to get back in the game.
Jack Simms, co-author of “Auburn: A Pictorial History of the Loveliest Village,” said he was not at the game but remembers his reaction when he heard the news while in New York City.
“Auburn was down 16 points with eight minutes left in the game,” Simms said. “Then that same guy [Bill Newton] blocked both punts, and the same guy [David Langner] ran both of them for touchdowns. I remember I was very shocked to hear that.”
Even Newton, a walk-on, knew Auburn had no business standing up to a team like Alabama, considering the points it scored against other teams.
“They were undefeated, No. 2 in the nation,” Newton told ESPN.com. “We shouldn’t have been able to stand in their way. We were a 14-point underdog, and that was very respectable, considering what Alabama had done to its opponents that year.”
Fast-forward 29 years to 2001 when head coach Steve Spurrier and his undefeated, No. 1 ranked Florida Gators, marched into Jordan-Hare Stadium to face Tommy Tuberville and the 21-point underdog Auburn Tigers.
Gators quarterback Rex Grossman threw for 364 yards on 25 completions. Although the Gators dominated the books, Auburn’s defense stood strong as it held the Gators to negative rushing yards.
With backup quarterback Daniel Cobb at the helm, the Tigers’ offense struggled to get going but managed to hang in the game.
With 10 seconds remaining, Tigers placekicker Damon Duval nailed a 44-yard field goal to seal the upset against the top ranked Gators 23-20.
“(Florida) had a good team but we had a good team too,” Simms said. “It wasn’t a fluke. It turned out to be a real jolter to the program.”
While that victory proved to be one of Tuberville’s signature wins, the Tigers finished the year with a 7-5 record and a loss to North Carolina in the Peach Bowl.
Six years later, the Tigers marched into “The Swamp” in Gainesville, Florida, to face the fourth-ranked Florida Gators.
Jake Stokes, junior in supply chain management, was only 13 at the time but recalls the atmosphere and how quick of a start Auburn got off too.
“Brandon Cox got us out to a 14-point lead, but then Tebow and Percy Harvin started launching a comeback,” Stokes said. “Next thing I know, it’s tied at 17 and we’re about to kick a field goal with three seconds left.”
Kicker Wes Byrum attempted a game-winning 45-yard kick and kicked it right down the middle. However, Florida coach Urban Meyer called for a timeout before the snap to ice Byrum. Following the timeout, Byrum lined up to kick one more time.
“He nailed it,” Stokes said. “The Auburn section erupted, and Byrum ran around the field mocking them with a gator chomp.”
Although the Miracle in Jordan-Hare and the Kick Six could be argued as two of the biggest upsets in Auburn sports history, they were more miraculous finishes than they were upsets.
However, Simms is quick to point out there are probably a number of upsets that neither he nor others are aware about.
“During Shug’s years I’m sure we probably had a few upsets, but we were on probation so no one really remembers,” Simms said. “Then I can’t really get into the teens because I wasn’t born or there yet, so we really have no idea on what could have been a huge upset.”
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