Auburn and Oklahoma will collide for the third time on Saturday afternoon as the Sooners take a trip down to Jordan-Hare Stadium — the Sooners first road trip as a member of the SEC.
This will be the first regular season meeting between the two schools as the previous two games were both in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The Tigers have yet to defeat the Sooners, with this being potentially their best chance as both teams have similarly struggled to open the season.
The first battle between these teams was on Jan. 1, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. Oklahoma came into the game ranked third in the country with a 10-1 record and Auburn was ranked fifth with a 9-1 record.
Oklahoma boasted by far the best offense in the country that season, leading the country in scoring at 44.9 points per game, and setting multiple NCAA records for total offense with 566.5 yards per game, rushing yards with 5196 and rushing yards per game with 472.4.
Auburn on the other hand was led by two-time SEC player of the year and Heisman trophy winner Pat Sullivan at quarterback. The Tigers averaged 31.3 points per game on the season with legendary coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan at the helm.
The game started off in disastrous fashion for Auburn, as the Sooners held a 31-0 lead after the first half, thanks to three auburn turnovers and a defense that couldn't stop the prolific Oklahoma offense.
Auburn tried its best to amend the score in the second half, going on a 22-9 run but it was far too late as they fell 40-22 in the program's very first Sugar Bowl.
The second meeting between the two schools came on January 1, 2017, again at the Sugar bowl with Auburn holding a 8-4 record and Oklahoma 10-2.
The Tigers were led by their two headed attack at running back in Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson who rushed for a combined 2119 yards and 18 touchdowns during the season.
Auburn’s quarterback had some uncanny similarities to this 2024 team, with two separate guys getting starts throughout the season in Sean White and Jeremy Johnson, who threw for a combined 10 passing touchdowns and five interceptions.
Kamryn Pettway runs the ball during the first half of the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Monday, Jan. 2, 2017, in New Orleans, LA.
Oklahoma on the other had no quarterback problem, as they were led by future Heisman trophy winner and first overall pick, Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield passed for 3965 yards, 40 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions in his 2016 campaign finishing third in Heisman voting.
Oklahoma had a two headed running attack of their own with Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon combining for 2334 yards and 22 touchdowns.
The second meeting started off differently than the first with Auburn holding a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, thanks to a Chandler Cox three-yard touchdown run.
The game would go back and forth in the second quarter, ending with the Sooners holding a 14-13 lead going into halftime.
Oklahoma opened the floodgates however in the second half scoring 21 unanswered to take home a 35-19 victory, in a game where Auburn tallied only 339 total yards of offense compared to the Sooners 524.
Gus Malzahn and Bob Stoops after the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Monday, Jan. 2, 2017, in New Orleans, LA.
There looks to be a lot more history between these two teams in the coming years following Oklahoma’s move into the Southeastern Conference, where the two programs are slated to play on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium and in 2025 inside of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
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Luke McClure is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in sports production. He joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @lukemcclure0
