Ranking Greatest SEC Football Games of All Time
The SEC's power and parity over the years has generated some of the most memorable college football games in the sport's history.
From the Iron Bowl to the Egg Bowl to the games in November between non-traditional rivals that carry enormous national weight, the SEC is loaded with classic games that have defined the sport and helped carry it to new heights.
Which games were the best? Our picks based on national importance, SEC championship implications and nature of the game are in this slideshow.
Just Missed the Cut
1 of 11
If there was a way to fit 20 games into a top 10, these games would certainly be included. As it stands, though, some games have to be left off.
These classic games just missed the cut, but keep in mind that getting an honorable mention in a list of top SEC games is like finishing runner-up in the Miss America contest.
- 1969 Ole Miss at Alabama
- 1970 Florida vs. Georgia
- 1972 Auburn vs. Alabama
- 1985 Auburn vs. Alabama
- 1988 Auburn at LSU
- 1989 Alabama at Auburn
- 1992 SEC Championship Game, Florida vs. Alabama
- 1994 LSU at Auburn
- 2000 Florida at Tennessee
- 2009 Tennessee at Alabama
- 2012 SEC Championship Game, Georgia vs. Alabama
10. Arkansas at Kentucky, 2003
2 of 11Final Score: Arkansas 71, Kentucky 63 (7OT)
After playing an FBS-record seven-overtime game vs. Ole Miss in 2001, the Razorbacks matched it in 2003 in this thriller in Lexington.
After each team scored on blocked punts that were returned for touchdowns in regulation, Arkansas and Kentucky were tied at 21 when the Hogs' potential game-winning drive stalled late in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. That is when things got really weird.
Kentucky had a chance to win in the third overtime after holding Arkansas to a field goal, according to ESPN.com. But an illegal substitution penalty on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line when Kentucky was set to go for the win forced the Wildcats to settle for a field goal.
The teams matched each other touchdown for touchdown to the seventh overtime, until Razorbacks running back DeCori Birmingham scampered 25 yards on 2nd-and-10 in the top of the seventh overtime to give the Hogs the lead. Wildcats quarterback Jared Lorenzen fumbled on 4th-and-3 at the 5-yard line to end the game and cap off one of the wildest games in college football history.
"The game was meant for us and we believe we're going to win in overtime," former Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said, according to ESPN.com "We were prepared for overtime. We had three or four two-point plays ready. We didn't draw up things in the dirt like we did two years ago in Oxford (Mississippi)."
9. Alabama at Mississippi State, 1980
3 of 11Final Score: Mississippi State 6, Alabama 3
Alabama cruised into Jackson, Mississippi, with the No. 1 ranking in tow, 28 straight wins and two straight national titles to boast.
Mississippi State put an end to that all with authority.
With the game tied at three for the majority of the game, the Bulldogs finally got the ball rolling early in the fourth quarter when they drove down the field and got to within striking distance of a touchdown. The drive stalled, and the Bulldogs settled for a 22-yard field goal to take the lead.
The defensive slugfest continued late into the fourth quarter, before Alabama quarterback Don Jacobs drove the Crimson Tide down to the doorstep. With time winding down and no timeout to trot the field-goal unit on, Jacobs took the snap out of the wishbone and was promptly met by Tyrone Keys, who forced a fumble that the Bulldogs recovered.
The Bulldogs took one final knee to drain the clock and post one of the biggest wins in program history.
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8. Auburn vs. Alabama, 1967
4 of 11Final Score: Alabama 7, Auburn 3
The first night game in Iron Bowl history was met with a massive rainstorm that turned the Legion Field turf into a quagmire.
Alabama quarterback Ken Stabler didn't care.
Trailing 3-0 after his defense posted two critical goal-line stands to the Tigers, Stabler took off on a 47-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, weaving through defenders and then outrunning the Tigers secondary in the mud to post the game-winning score.
"They had been making me run all day," Stabler told Kirk McNair of BamaMag.com. "I made up my mind there would be no pitch. I was going to run that one."
The win extended the Crimson Tide winning streak over intra-state rival Auburn to four and sealed the status of Stabler as a Tide legend.
7. Arkansas at Tennessee, 1998
5 of 11Final Score: Tennessee 28, Arkansas 24
To win a national championship, you need a little bit of luck. Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner handed Tennessee that luck—quite literally.
After No. 10 Arkansas jumped out to a 21-3 lead over top-ranked Tennessee in the first half, the Vols roared back in front of a raucous Neyland Stadium crowd to cut the lead to 24-22 late in the fourth. But quarterback Tee Martin and his Vols turned the ball over on downs with two minutes to play,in what seemed like the nail in the coffin for the Vols' national title hopes.
With only one timeout and the Hogs lining up on 2nd-and-12 with 1:47 to play, Neyland Stadium was deflated. But Stoerner took the snap, stumbled, fumbled and gave the ball back to Tennessee to set up the game-winning score.
With 28 seconds left, Travis Henry dove into the end zone on his fifth straight run of the drive to give the Vols the win, preserve their title hopes and cap off one of the most improbable victories in SEC history.
6. LSU at Kentucky, 2002
6 of 11Final Score: LSU 33, Kentucky 30
Every classic game needs a nickname, and the "Bluegrass Miracle" is as appropriate as any in SEC history.
Defending SEC champ LSU had surged out to a two-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter, before Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen tossed two touchdown passes to tie it and put Kentucky in position to kick the potential game-winning field goal with 15 seconds to play.
The celebration was on. Wildcats head coach Guy Morriss got the Gatorade bath, the crowd began to congregate on the sideline and it appeared Kentucky had pulled off the upset over Nick Saban's Tigers.
Marcus Randall had other ideas.
Randall let one fly from the 26-yard line with no time left as the blue and white crowd began to litter the field. The ball was tipped and caught in stride by Tigers wide receiver Devery Henderson, who strolled into the end zone to stun the crowd at Commonwealth Stadium.
5. Auburn at Alabama, 2010
7 of 11Final Score: Auburn 28, Alabama 27
Cleverly titled the "Camback," Auburn entered the 2010 Iron Bowl at Alabama with the No. 2 ranking, in position to play for the national title and with Heisman Trophy candidate Cam Newton the subject of enough NCAA controversy to fill Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Newton didn't care.
Auburn's defense let the Tiger down in the first half, as the Crimson Tide cruised to a 24-0 first-half lead. Newton hit Emory Blake late in the first half to cut the lead to 24-7 and give the Tigers a little bit of halftime momentum.
Out of the locker room, Newton caught fire. He hit Terrell Zachery for a 70-yard touchdown on the second play of the second half, plowed in from a yard out midway through the third to get within a score and found tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen in the corner of the end zone with 11:55 to play to give the Tigers a 28-27 lead.
From there, the Tiger defense held off the Crimson Tide to cap off Auburn's 12-0 regular season and keep its national title hops alive. Newton would later go on to win the Heisman Trophy and lead Auburn to the SEC and BCS National Championships.
4. Florida vs. Georgia, 1980
8 of 11Final Score: Georgia 26, Florida 21
The 1980 season for Georgia featured the emergence of superstar freshman running back Herschel Walker, but it was wide receiver Lindsay Scott who provided the season's defining moment.
Trailing 21-20 with under two minutes to play, No. 2 Georgia was pinned back at its own 8-yard line by No. 20 Florida. Quarterback Buck Belue rolled right to escape pressure and found Scott over the middle. Scott took off down the left sideline, outrunning the Gators defense to the end zone to give the Bulldogs the win.
The end was so shocking that former Bulldogs play-by-play man Larry Munson broke his chair—a steel chair.
Georgia would go on to win the SEC title and top Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl to claim its second national title.
3. Alabama vs. Florida, 2008 SEC Championship Game
9 of 11Final Score: Florida 31, Alabama 20
What more could you possibly ask for in an SEC Championship Game? Alabama came in undefeated and ranked No. 1, while once-beaten Florida chimed in at No. 2 in this matchup, which served as a de facto national semifinal.
The balanced Alabama offense, directed by running back Glen Coffee and quarterback John Parker Wilson, led the Tide out to a 20-17 lead after three quarters, before 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and Gators legend Tim Tebow began to work his magic.
Tebow led the Gators on an 11-play drive to end the third and start the fourth quarter, which culminated with a one-yard Jeff Demps plunge to give the Gators the 24-20 lead. Tebow then capped off an eight-play drive midway through the fourth with a five-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper to seal it.
Florida would go on to beat Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl and win its second national title in three seasons.
2. Ole Miss at LSU, 1959
10 of 11Final Score: LSU 7, Ole Miss 3
Top-ranked LSU hosted No. 3 Ole Miss on Halloween night in 1959, hoping to keep its chances of back-to-back national titles alive against its border rival.
Billy Cannon saved the day for the Tigers.
Down 3-0 with 10 minutes left, Cannon fielded a punt at his own 11-yard line and appeared to be pinned in by the Rebels. Cannon weaved through the defense, eluded seven tackles and scampered into the end zone, establishing himself as one of the legends of LSU football.
LSU lost the following week and didn't repeat, but Cannon would go on to win the 1959 Heisman Trophy on the heels of his "Heisman moment" against Ole Miss.
1. Alabama at Auburn, 2013
11 of 11Final Score: Auburn 34, Alabama 28
For the first time in history, the Iron Bowl served as the de facto SEC West title game in 2013. As it turns out, it was also a national quarterfinal.
Alabama entered Jordan-Hare Stadium winners of two straight national titles and boasting an unblemished record. The surprising Tigers—led by first-year head coach Gus Malzahn—were 10-1, ranked No. 4 and already produced one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football history following a 3-9 season in 2012.
Alabama jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter, before Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall led Auburn on a touchdown drive that culminated with a one-yard Tre Mason touchdown run with 1:40 to play in the first half.
Auburn tied it up early in the third when Marshall hit C.J. Uzomah on a hitch-and-go.
In the fourth, things got nuts. Cade Foster initially made a go-ahead field goal, but a false start pushed the Tide back five yards. Foster then shanked one to the left to keep the score knotted at 21.
Crimson Tide quarterback AJ McCarron hit Amari Cooper for a 99-yard touchdown early in the fourth to give Alabama a lead. The Tide defense stopped Marshall on a fourth down the next drive to set up McCarron for a potential game-sealing score.
T.J. Yeldon rushed five straight times but was stoned on 4th-and-1 by freshman Carl Lawson to give Auburn the ball back.
After a three-and-out, Alabama needed a field goal with 2:41 to play to put it away. But Foster's attempt was blocked, Auburn embarked on a methodical drive that culminated with Marshall hitting Sammie Coates for a 39-yard touchdown on a pop pass to tie it.
Alabama ran a couple of draws to see what they could get. Yeldon went out of bounds on the Auburn 38-yard line with no time on the clock, but Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban was granted a clock review that gave the Tide one second to attempt the game-winning field goal.
The rest is history.
After a time out, Adam Griffith's 57-yard field goal fell short and into the hands of Chris Davis, who took it 109 yards to the house with no time on the clock to give the Tigers the SEC West title and grant them a berth in the SEC Championship Game.
It will go down as one of the most improbable endings in college football history.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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