Auburn vs. Alabama: The Best Tigers Victory over the Crimson Tide

The Iron Bowl is one of college football’s most intense rivalries. It has become a game that has engulfed a state and mesmerized the country, as the storylines never cease no matter the month or day of the year.

Looking back at the games that have been played, one stands out as the most memorable win so far in my lifetime. The 2010 Iron Bowl was far and away the most memorable game that I have witnessed in the series. 

Most recently, ESPN Films attempted to capture the intensity of the rivalry in the documentary Roll Tide/ War Eagle  placing a focus on the past two years. There is no film or book that could encapsulate the intensity felt on a daily basis in the state as co-workers and friends constantly discuss the rivalry, but the film gave a valiant effort.

The intensity surrounding this rivalry has grown to a fever pitch in the past few years, as both teams have won a national title and claimed their own Heisman winner. What used to seem friendly on the surface, even though people talked behind your back, has become an outright battle on the surface between these two fan bases. 2010 simply made the battle reach epic proportions.

In 2010, the Tigers were pushing their way towards a national championship when the final game of the season rolled around. It was the Friday after Thanksgiving, and my family and I had taken a trip to the mountains around Gatlinburg, Tenn. to celebrate the holiday.

When I first arrived at the cabin early in the week, my first move was to check the television signal to ensure that I would not miss the biggest Auburn game in my lifetime. There wasn’t a great signal to start, but by Friday, I had worked the kinks out. Luckily, the signal came in strong and clear after some fidgeting with the back of the television set.

As the documentary Roll Tide/ War Eagle displayed by the married couples scattered throughout the one-hour special, the Iron Bowl can bring a very intense internal family strife. For instance, my family vacation included my grandfather, a diehard Alabama fan dating back to the pre-Bear Bryant days. He still tells the story of Bryant doing the coaches' review show and saying “Bingo” when a Bama player made a big hit. Diehard Alabama fan is definitely a fitting description.

That being said, this game was interesting to say the least. We have watched Iron Bowls together before, but nothing was this intense. With the Tigers coming into the game undefeated and Alabama being ranked in the top five with talks of a two-loss national title opportunity, this game had plenty of storylines.

The game started, and within the first few minutes of kickoff, the Tide had rolled into the end zone. Auburn was unable to stop Alabama no matter what they did, and the Tide made it to a 24-0 lead quite quickly. The game looked to be a route.

As the game rolled on, the intensity began to not only heat up on the field, but also in the cabin. My grandfather sat smiling ear to ear as his Tide were rolling to a major victory. I sat in angry disbelief as the Tigers looked to be giving away their title hopes.

The Tide rolled to 21 points in the first 13 minutes of the game. Alabama was rolling to a fourth score in the beginning of the second quarter when “the fumble” occurred. Mark Ingram was rushing to the outside when Antoine Carter came from behind to punch out the ball and create an Auburn touchback and fumble recovery.

Shortly after the Tigers forced the fumble, Cam Newton hit Emory Blake for a touchdown strike through the air. The Tigers went into the locker room down 24-7.

When the Tigers came out after halftime, they got the ball on the kickoff and answered with a scoring strike quite quickly. With less than a minute off of the clock, Cam Newton hit Terrell Zachery between two defenders for a long touchdown pass. The comeback had begun.

Toward the end of the third quarter, Cam Newton punched in a short touchdown run after a lengthy Auburn drive. At this point, it was 24-21, and the Tigers owned the momentum.

At the 13:45 mark, Auburn went for it on 4th-and-3 and converted the first down. The finish was beginning.

With 11:55 left in the game, Cam Newton found a wide open Philip Lutzenkirchen on the left hash mark, who caught the pass and ran it in for the winning touchdown. Lutzenkirchen became an instant dance world sensation, as he celebrated the winning touchdown with his very own version of a river dance style jig now known as “The Lutzie.”

Auburn and Alabama battled back and forth for the remaining 12 minutes, but in the end, the Tigers had overcome the largest deficit in the history of the Iron Bowl, winning the game 28-27. That victory sealed the Tigers' hopes for a title and the Heisman winning campaign for Cameron Newton.

Many games have come close to huge victories for the Tigers, but no other game has seen the pageantry and surrounding drama as the 2010 Iron Bowl did. Not only did Auburn come from the largest deficit in school history to earn a win, Alabama had also lost their largest lead in school history.