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1970 Auburn Tigers football team

1970 Auburn Tigers football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 35–28 vs. Ole Miss
Conference Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 9
AP No. 10
1970 record 9–2 (5–2 SEC)
Head coach Ralph Jordan (20th year)
Home stadium Cliff Hare Stadium
Seasons
← 1969
1971 →
1970 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#7 LSU $ 5 0 0     9 3 0
#4 Tennessee 4 1 0     11 1 0
#10 Auburn 5 2 0     9 2 0
#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 college 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 #10 in the AP Poll and #9 in the Coaches Poll.

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."

The first big test of the season came against Tennessee in Birmingham, AL. 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.

Actually, Tennesse did win the SEC in 1970. LSU won it in 1969. James Byles

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. It was also Florida's homecoming game. It marked Auburn's fourth victory in a row against the Gators.

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.

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.


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