Auburn Football: 25 Most Memorable Bowl Games in Tigers History

Auburn has a rich history of football that includes one of the best bowl records in college football. The Tigers have been to 36 bowl games, 15th most in history, winning 21 of those contests. The 21 wins by the Tigers put them in 12th place overall.

Auburn has tied two of its bowl contests in history and won a national title with another bowl victory. With the Tigers looking to become-bowl eligible once again this season, here is a look at the 25 best bowl games in Auburn history.

1937 Bicardi Bowl

In 1937 the Tigers traveled to Havana, Cuba, to play in the Bicardi Bowl. Traditionally the Bicardi Bowl featured an American football team and a Cuban national team, but Auburn’s first bowl game was the first contest to feature two American teams in the Bicardi Bowl.

The contest was also the first time that two American universities had played against each other on foreign soil. The game was played in front of a large crowd of around 16,000 fans and ended in a tie. The Tigers finished 7-2-2 on the season and ranked 13th in the country.

1938 Orange Bowl

The Tigers faced the Michigan State Spartans in the 1938 Orange Bowl. It was only the fourth Orange Bowl in contest history and ended in a 6-0 Auburn victory. It was the first game to be played at the Miami Orange Bowl Stadium.

This game still holds the record for the fewest points scored in the Orange Bowl's history. Michigan State is one of only seven teams to have ever been shut out in the Orange Bowl.

1954 Gator Bowl

On Jan. 1, 1954, the Auburn Tigers received their first bowl loss at the hands of the Texas Tech Raiders. The Red Raiders defeated the Tigers 35-13 in one of the largest losing deficits in Tigers bowl history. It marked the first of three consecutive appearances in the Gator Bowl for the Tigers.

1954 Gator Bowl

The 1954 Gator Bowl was one of seven bowl games played at the conclusion of the 1954 season. The Tigers faced the Baylor Bears winning the game 33-13. It was the Tigers second consecutive appearance in the Gator Bowl and second time to play in the Gator Bowl during 1954.

1968 Sun Bowl

In 1968 the Auburn Tigers squared off against Arizona in the Sun Bowl. The Tigers won the game 34-10 against an Arizona team that finished the season 8-3.

The Tigers finished the season 7-4 after the victory over the Wildcats in their first bowl appearance that came outside of the Southeast.

1971 Gator Bowl

The 1971 matchup between Auburn and Ole Miss was rare to find in a bowl game as both teams were from the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers were riding high as they had defeated rival Alabama to finish the season.

They Tigers looked to Pat Sullivan to lead them to victory over Ole Miss legend Archie Manning. The Tigers were without head coach Shug Jordan on the sideline but managed to win the game 35-28.

1972 Gator Bowl

The 1972 season was a magical one for the Tigers. The Tigers finished the season with a 10-1 record and No. 5 national ranking with the only loss coming at the hands of LSU.

The Tigers earned an invite to the Gator Bowl after the famous “Punt, Bama, Punt” game. Auburn faced off with Colorado and won the game 24-3 further solidifying their position as a national power in the early '70s.

1974 Gator Bowl

The Tigers had another good season in 1974 finishing the season with a 10-2 record. The Tigers two losses came to Florida and Alabama in that season. After a loss to then ranked No. 2 Alabama, the Tigers faced off with No. 11 Texas.

The Tigers won the game convincingly 27-3 and finished No. 8 in the AP poll to conclude the year.

1982 Tangerine Bowl

Auburn didn’t attend a bowl game for eight years between 1975 and 1981 finally making it back to post season play in 1982. Bo Jackson helped lead the Tigers to the post season during his freshman campaign finishing the year with the “Bo over the Top” victory over Alabama.

 The season finished with a  victory in the Tangerine Bowl over Boston College 33-26. The Tigers were able to finish the year 9-3 and ranked No. 14 in the country.

1984 Sugar Bowl

The Auburn Tigers had a landmark win over Michigan in the 1984 Sugar Bowl. The Tigers went into the game with only one loss on the season and ranked No. 3 in the country. The Tigers had played the most difficult schedule in the country and entered the game 10-1.

The Tigers won the game 9-7 and finished the season 11-1. The Tigers finished the season ranked No. 3 despite the No. 1 and No. 2 teams losing in their bowl games. Miami jumped from No. 5 in the country to leap frog the Tigers for the National Title.

1984 Liberty Bowl

Auburn followed up a tremendous 1983 season with a mediocre 1984 performance. The Tigers started the season with losses to Miami and Texas. The Tigers finished the season with four total losses.

Auburn would eventually face future conference foe Arkansas in the Liberty bowl. The Tigers won the game 21-15 to finish the season 9-4 and ranked No. 14 in the country.

1986 Cotton Bowl Classic

The 1985 Auburn Tigers team started the season ranked No. 1 in the country on the back of Bo Jackson. The Tigers eventually lost four total games that year but Bo Jackson went on to win his Heisman trophy in the same season.

The Tigers played in their first Cotton Bowl Classic in 1986 to follow up the ’85 season losing handily to Texas A&M 36-16. 

1987 Citrus Bowl

 The Tigers entered the 1987 Citrus Bowl with nine wins and riding a national ranking. The Tigers two losses that season came within a total of three points.

To conclude the season the Tigers faced off against Southern Cal winning the game 16-7. The Tigers finished the season ranked No. 6 overall by the AP.

1988 Sugar Bowl

The 1987 Auburn football team were the first of three consecutive SEC title winning Tigers squads. Auburn finished the season with a 9-1-2 record losing only to Florida State.

The Tigers played against the Syracuse Orangemen in the Sugar Bowl finishing the game deadlocked at 16-16. The Orangemen were undefeated that same year marking only their second season ever as an undefeated football team.

This Sugar bowl is also only one of two bowl games that the Tigers have finished tied.

1990 Hall of Fame Bowl

Auburn faced off against Ohio State in the 1990 Hall of Fame Bowl in Tampa, FL. The Tigers had hosted the first Iron Bowl in Auburn a month prior winning the game 30-20.

The Tigers went on to defeat the Buckeyes 31-14 in the game finishing the season at 10-2 overall. The Tigers closed the season ranked No. 6 overall and the Tigers won their third straight SEC title that same season.

1990 Peach Bowl

Auburn ended their three year SEC title streak when the lost two conference games in 1990. The Tigers finished with and 8-3-1 record and a victory of Indiana in the Peach Bowl.

The 1990 Tigers team lost to both Florida and Alabama late in the season ending their hopes at a fourth consecutive conference title. At the end of the season the Tigers finished with a victory over Indiana winning the game 27-23. The Tigers finished No. 19 in the final polls.

1996 Independence Bowl

Auburn faced off against the Army Black Knights in the independence Bowl in ’96. The Tigers had a mediocre year under the leadership of Terry Bowden eventually winning eight games that season.

The Tigers finished 8-4 with a win against Army finishing the game 32-29. The Tigers finished the season ranked No. 24 in the country.

1998 Peach Bowl

The Tigers achieved above expectations during the 1997 season. The Tigers finished the season 10-3 overall and won their first SEC Western Division title.

The Tigers went on to lose by one point to the Peyton Manning led Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC title game but earned a bid to the Peach Bowl against Clemson to finish the season.

The Tigers won the game 27-17 and finished the season ranked No. 11 in the country.

2003 Capital One Bowl

The Tigers had high expectations for the 2002 season but entered the year with a loss to Southern Cal. The Tigers went on to a 9-4 record and on to face Penn State in the Capital One Bowl.

The Tigers faced 2,000-yard rusher Larry Johnson in the game and held him to under 100 yards in the contest. The Tigers went on to win the game 13-9 with Ronnie Brown earning MVP honors.

2003 Music City Bowl

The 2003 season was one of the most disappointing for the Tigers in recent memory. The Tigers entered the season No. 6 in both major polls and No. 1 according to the Sporting News. The Tigers went on to lose their first two games dropping them from the Top 25.

The Tigers went on to face Wisconsin in the Music City Bowl and came out victorious 28-14. The win enabled the Tigers to finish with an 8-5 overall record for the season. The Tigers finished the season unranked.

2005 Sugar Bowl

The 2004 Auburn Tigers team will forever be remembered as one of the most special teams in Auburn history. The Tigers managed to defy numerous odds and finished the season surprisingly undefeated.

The Tigers did not earn their way to the national title game but played in the Sugar Bowl against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Auburn finished the season with a 16-13 bowl win over the Hokies marking only the third undefeated season in school history.

2007 Cotton Bowl Classic

Auburn entered 2006 with another round of high expectations chasing them. The Tigers were in the Top 5 until a midseason loss to Arkansas.

To finish the season the Tigers were invited to play in the Cotton Bowl Classic against then No. 22 Nebraska. The Tigers had Brandon Cox and Kenny Irons in the backfield and looked to capitalize on their playmaking. The game was tighter than most expected but Auburn finished with the victory defeating the Cornhuskers 17-14.

2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl

Auburn had numerous ups and downs offensively in the 2007 season. So many downs that the then head coach Tommy Tuberville decided to make a change at the offensive top and hired Tony Franklin to install his “Tony Franklin System.”

Franklin came into the Tigers pre-bowl practice and installed a spread system that utilized the strengths of both Auburn quarterback’s Brandon Cox and Kodi Burns.

Burns got the call with a quarterback keeper to win the game for the Tigers in overtime. The Tigers defeated Clemson 23-20 in overtime.

2010 Outback Bowl

Gene Chizik’s first season at Auburn was nothing spectacular but he did get the Tigers to a bowl game. Auburn squared off against Northwestern in Tampa for their third invite to the Outback Bowl in school history.

This game was a steady back and forth as the Wildcats looked to earn their first bowl victory since 1949. The game went into overtime seeing the final fourth down play replayed three different times do to penalties and miscues. The Tigers sealed the win and Chizik’s first bowl victory with a  stop at the 2-yard line.

2011 BCS National Championship game

Auburn had played in numerous bowl games and earned victories in 20 of them prior to this contest. No other bowl win has mattered as much to the Tigers as their 22-19 victory over Oregon in the 2011 BCS title game, though.

This game was full of surprises and big plays, including an Auburn earned safety and Michael Dyer’s 37-yard acrobatic scamper. Auburn took the final drive 73 yards, setting up a 19-yard field-goal attempt from Wes Byrum for the victory.