1983 Auburn Tigers football team
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 team was named national champion by NCAA-designated major selectors of Billingsley, College Football Researchers Association, and The New York Times, while named co-national champion by both Rothman and Sagarin.[1]
| 1983 Auburn Tigers football | |
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National champion (Billingsley, FR, The New York Times) Co-national champion (Rothman, Sagarin) 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 |
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| Offensive coordinator | Jack Crowe (2nd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Wishbone |
| Defensive coordinator | Frank Orgel (3rd season) |
| Home stadium | Jordan–Hare Stadium |
| 1983 Southeastern Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Auburn $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Georgia | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Florida | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Season
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.[2] 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.[3] Auburn had played the toughest schedule in the nation, including nine bowl teams, eight of which were ranked in the top 20 (five 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.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 10 | Southern Miss* | No. 4 | W 24–3 | 73,500 | |||
| September 17 | 11:30 am CDT | No. 3 Texas* | No. 5 |
| CBS | L 7–20 | 73,500 |
| September 24 | at Tennessee | No. 11 | W 37–14 | 95,185 | |||
| October 1 | Florida State* | No. 10 |
| W 27–24 | 75,625 | ||
| October 8 | at Kentucky | No. 7 | W 49–21 | 57,989 | |||
| October 15 | at Georgia Tech* | No. 5 | W 31–13 | 55,112 | |||
| October 22 | Mississippi State | No. 5 |
| W 28–13 | 71,500 | ||
| October 29 | No. 5 Florida | No. 4 |
| CBS | W 28–21 | 75,700 | |
| November 5 | No. 7 Maryland* | No. 3 |
| W 35–23 | 75,600 | ||
| November 12 | 2:50 pm CST | at No. 4 Georgia | No. 3 | ABC | W 13–7 | 82,122 | |
| December 3 | 2:50 pm CST | vs. No. 19 Alabama | No. 3 | ABC | W 23–20 | 77,310 | |
| January 2, 1984 | 7:00 pm CST | vs. No. 8 Michigan* | No. 3 | ABC | W 9–7 | 77,893 | |
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Roster
| 1983 Auburn Tigers football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Rankings
| Week | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final | |||||
| AP | 5 (2) | 4 (1) | 5 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 (7) | |||||
| Coaches | 3 (3) | 3 (1) | 4 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 (4) | |||||
Season summary
Southern Miss
Texas
Florida State
Florida
at Georgia
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vs. Alabama
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Sophomore Bo Jackson ran for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Tigers won the SEC title outright. His long touchdown runs – 69 yards and 71 yards, respectively – bookended the day's scoring.[6]
vs. Michigan (Sugar Bowl)
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References
- 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 114. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- "Auburn Testing Players for Drugs". New York Times. 1983-08-22. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- Barnhart, Tony. "Auburn Wins 1984 Sugar Bowl, but National Championship Still Eludes Tigers". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/CBS. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- "FLORIDA IS BEATEN BY AUBURN, 28-21". The New York Times. October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- Gainesville Sun. 1983 Nov 13. Retrieved 2018-Nov-12.
- "AUBURN SETS BACK ALABAMA BY 23-20". The New York Times. December 4, 1983. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- "TIGERS SET BACK MICHIGAN BY 9-7". The New York Times. January 2, 1984. Retrieved November 2, 2019.