On September 28, 1957, head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan led the unranked Auburn Tigers onto the field in Knoxville, Tennessee, to take on the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers.
The 1956 Tigers had an acceptable season the previous year, going 7-3 with a four-game win streak to end the season. Those Tigers never entered the AP Poll in that season and were looking to avenge a 35-7 loss to Tennessee from the previous season.
The Volunteers, who had gone 10-0 in the 1956 regular season, were hoping for a run at the title after losing to Baylor in the Sugar Bowl and finishing No. 2 in the AP poll behind Oklahoma. Led by third-year coach Bowden Wyatt, the Vols saw Auburn as an easy opponent on the road to a championship trophy.
Coach Jordan had others plans. The Tigers were banned from postseason play in 1957 due to recruiting violations, but they were still determined to improve upon their previous season.
In a huge upset to open the season, the Tigers shut out the Volunteers and left Knoxville with a 7-0 victory. Tennessee’s championship hopes were quickly put to rest, and the hopes of Auburn had just begun.
Auburn’s defense is what held the Tigers in the game against Tennessee, as was the case for the rest of the season.
The Tigers went on to dominate Chattanooga, 40-7, before pulling out a close 6-0 victory over Kentucky, making Auburn 3-0 with a No. 9 ranking in the AP poll.
The closest victory for the Tigers came on October 19, against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech, who was an SEC powerhouse at the time under head coach Bobby Dodd, had also finished the 1956 season with a 10-1 record and a No. 4 ranking in the AP poll.
The game was played at Grant Field in Atlanta, which is now named Bobby Dodd Stadium after the legendary head coach. It was a heavily defensive battle, with no touchdowns being scored. The Tigers were able to leave Atlanta with a 3-0 win, a 4-0 record and a No. 5 ranking in the AP poll.
After an easy 48-7 win over Houston, Jordan and his team looked ahead at a menacing schedule. The next two opponents were No. 19 Florida and No. 17 Mississippi State. In a close matchup in Cliff Hare Stadium, Auburn’s strong defense shut out another opponent in Florida and jumped to No. 3 in the rankings after a 13-0 victory.
The following week, the Mississippi State Bulldogs travelled to Legion Field in Birmingham to try and derail Coach Jordan. While the Bulldogs were able to score a touchdown against the Tigers, which was unusual for the 1957 season, Auburn was able to put up 15 points and keep their undefeated record.
Up next was the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Georgia was a struggling program in the 1950s, finishing no higher than fifth in the SEC until 1959. The Bulldogs entered the Auburn game with a 2-6 record, but Jordan entered cautiously, realizing that a rivalry game holds emotions and passion that tosses the previous wins and losses out the window.
The game was played in the neutral location of A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus, GA, the site of the rivalry from 1916 until 1958. The Bulldogs made a strong defensive effort, holding Auburn to only six points, but they were unable to score any points themselves, like many of Auburns opponents. With a 6-0 victory, the Tigers were No. 2 in the nation with a trip to Tallahassee ahead of them.
Auburn left Doak Campbell Stadium with a 29-7 win over head coach Tom Nugent’s Seminoles. Coach Jordan found his Tigers ranked at the top of the AP poll with a 9-0 record. Being banned from any postseason play, the Tigers had only one game left in their magical season. On November 30, Auburn would make the road trip to Legion Field in Birmingham for the 22nd Iron Bowl.
Auburn had defeated Alabama the previous three seasons, and hoped to extend that streak. Alabama hoped to derail Auburn from their championship run, being the team to put a mark in the loss column for the Tigers.
Those hopes of the Tide did not last very long. After only one half, Auburn led the game 34-0. The defense continued to be lights out, as they had all season, while the offense put on a great performance to go along with it. The game ended in a 40-0 victory for the Tigers, polishing off a perfect season for Shug’s football team.
The only competition the Tigers had for the national championship trophy was Ohio State. The Buckeyes had lost their opening game to TCU, 18-14, but had won every game since and defeated Oregon in the Rose Bowl for a 9-1 record.
The Coaches’ poll named Ohio State the national champion, but the Associated Press chose to recognize Auburn as the national champion. It was the first time a team had been named AP National Champion after being banned from the postseason. This situation has happened only one other time, when Oklahoma was named the AP National Champion in 1974.
The defensive dominance by the Tigers in 1957 was unlike any other defense Auburn has ever seen. They did not allow a single rushing touchdown all season, thanks to the talent in Auburn’s front seven. Future Outland award winner Zeke Smith led the defensive line, while Jackie Burkett set the tone for the linebackers.
The Tiger defense allowed an average of 65.6 passing yards per game and 67.4 rushing yards per game. An average of 2.8 points per game against the Tigers was the lowest in the country, with Auburn allowing only four touchdowns and no field goals over the span of ten games.
After starting quarterback Jimmy Cooke was kicked off the team for breaking team rules, third-team halfback Lloyd Nix was called upon to fill the role. Nix only threw 60 passes the entire season, completing 33 for 542 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. He ran the ball 82 times that season, gaining 261 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Auburn had multiple weapons capable of running the ball, led by Billy Atkins, who had 90 carries for 35 yards and 11 touchdowns. Auburn’s receivers were led by Jimmy Phillips, who had 15 receptions for 357 yards and four touchdowns.
The offensive ground game and dominant defensive play were the perfect formula for a national title run, and Shug Jordan solidified himself as one of the greatest to ever coach at Auburn.
60 years after the title run, Auburn has won one more national title after Cam Newton led the Tigers to a victory over Oregon in the 2010 BCS National Championship game. Another Auburn team, which was on probation, went undefeated in 1993, but did not win any championship due to the newly created Bowl Coalition system. This system required a national championship game between the top two teams to decide on a champion. Florida and Nebraska made the championship game, while Auburn had to stay at home under probation.
In 2004, the Tigers went undefeated again under Tommy Tuberville. The team had four first round NFL draft picks in running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, quarterback Jason Campbell and defensive back Carlos Rogers. Auburn was one of five undefeated teams at the end of the 2004 season, and was left out of the BCS National Championship as USC defeated Oklahoma.
The 1957 team dominated the competition on the football field and, in spite of their probation, the team fought through to convince enough AP voters and be crowned the national champions. The influence of this team is felt around Auburn still today, after Cliff Hare Stadium was renamed Jordan-Hare stadium in 1973 and Shug Jordan Parkway loops around the west side of Auburn.
The title team cemented Auburn as a top program in the country, a tradition that still holds true for the Tigers in terms of recruiting, expectations and talent.
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