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1983 Auburn Tigers football team

1983 Auburn Tigers football
AuburnTigers.svg
SEC champion
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 9–7 vs Michigan
Conference Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 3
AP No. 3
1983 record 11–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach Pat Dye (3rd year)
Offensive coordinator Jack Crowe (2nd year)
Offensive scheme Wishbone
Defensive coordinator Frank Orgel (3rd year)
Home stadium Jordan–Hare Stadium
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#3 Auburn $ 6 0 0     11 1 0
#4 Georgia 5 1 0     10 1 1
#6 Florida 4 2 0     9 2 1
Tennessee 4 2 0     9 3 0
#15 Alabama 4 2 0     8 4 0
Ole Miss 4 2 0     6 6 0
Kentucky 2 4 0     6 5 1
Mississippi State 1 5 0     3 8 0
LSU 0 6 0     4 7 0
Vanderbilt 0 6 0     2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Coached by Pat Dye, the team finished the season with an 11–1 record and won their first Southeastern Conference (SEC) title since 1957.

The squad featured several star players who went on to long professional careers including Bo Jackson, Randy Campbell, Tommie Agee, Lionel James, Donnie Humphrey, Steve Wallace and Al Del Greco.

Prior to the season, Dye became the first coach in the SEC to require players to take blood and urine tests for drugs. Also prior to the season, fullback Greg Pratt collapsed after making his required time in running tests and died a short time later.

The team capped a stellar 11–1 season, with a 9-7 victory over Michigan in the Sugar Bowl. Despite entering the bowl games ranked third in both major polls, and with both teams ranked higher losing their bowl games, the Tigers ended ranked third in the final AP and the UPI Coaches' poll as Miami jumped from 5th from the AP and 4th from the UPI Coaches' poll to claim the AP/UPI Coaches' National Championship award. Auburn had played the toughest schedule in the nation, including nine bowl teams, eight of which were ranked in the top 20 (four in the top ten), and two teams Auburn faced would compete against each other in the 1983 Florida Citrus Bowl (Tennessee won the game against Maryland 30-23). Also, Auburn beat Florida by a touchdown 28-21, the same Florida team that defeated Miami in the beginning of the season by a 28-3 score. The Tigers did finish ranked first in a few polls including the computer rankings utilized by The New York Times.


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