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
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
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
Record11–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJack Crowe (2nd season)
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorFrank Orgel (3rd season)
Base defense5-2
Home stadiumJordan–Hare Stadium
1983 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Auburn $ 6 –0 –011 –1 –0
No. 4 Georgia 5 –1 –010 –1 –1
No. 6 Florida 4 –2 –09 –2 –1
Tennessee 4 –2 –09 –3 –0
No. 15 Alabama 4 –2 –08 –4 –0
Ole Miss 4 –2 –06 –6 –0
Kentucky 2 –4 –06 –5 –1
Mississippi State 1 –5 –03 –8 –0
LSU 0 –6 –04 –7 –0
Vanderbilt 0 –6 –02 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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 an 11–1 season, with a 9–7 victory over 3-loss Michigan in the Sugar Bowl. Despite having lost to Texas by 13 points at home the Tigers ended ranked third in the final AP and the UPI Coaches' poll ahead of the 1-loss Longhorns 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).

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 10Southern Miss*No. 4
W 24–373,500[4]
September 1711:30 am CDTNo. 3 Texas*No. 5
  • Jordan–Hare Stadium
  • Auburn, Alabama
CBSL 7–2073,500[5]
September 24at TennesseeNo. 11
W 37–1495,185[6]
October 1Florida State*No. 10
  • Jordan–Hare Stadium
  • Auburn, Alabama
W 27–2475,625
October 8at KentuckyNo. 7
W 49–2157,989
October 15at Georgia Tech*No. 5
W 31–1355,112
October 22Mississippi StateNo. 5
  • Jordan–Hare Stadium
  • Auburn, Alabama
W 28–1371,500
October 29No. 5 FloridaNo. 4
  • Jordan–Hare Stadium
  • Auburn, Alabama (rivalry)
CBSW 28–2175,700
November 5No. 7 Maryland*daggerNo. 3
  • Jordan–Hare Stadium
  • Auburn, Alabama
W 35–2375,600
November 122:50 pm CSTat No. 4 GeorgiaNo. 3
ABCW 13–782,122
December 32:50 pm CSTvs. No. 19 AlabamaNo. 3
ABCW 23–2077,310
January 2, 19847:00 pm CSTvs. No. 8 Michigan*No. 3
ABCW 9–777,893
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1983 Auburn Tigers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 30 Tommie Agee So
OL 76 Pat Arrington Sr
WR 11 Clayton Beauford Jr
QB 14 Randy Campbell Sr
RB 21 Ed Graham Jr
RB 34 Bo Jackson So
RB 6 Lionel James Sr
OL 74 David Jordan Sr
OL 66 Jeff Lott So
QB 17 Mike Mann Jr
C 55 Ben Tamburello Fr
OL 78 Steve Wallace So
TE 85 Ed West Sr
WR 1 Chris Woods Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
NT 61 Dowe Aughtman Sr
FS 31 Vic Beasley Jr
LB 54 Gregg Carr Jr
DE 96 John Dailey Jr
DE 90 Kevin Greene Jr
DT 79 Donnie Humphrey Sr
DT 88 John Prudhomme Sr
LB 42 Jeff Jackson Sr
CB 27 David King Jr
SS 9 Tommy Powell Fr
DE 95 Gerald Robinson So
DL 99 Doug Smith Sr
CB 45 Jimmie Warren So
DL 93 Quency Williams Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 5 Lewis Colbert So
K 3 Al Del Greco Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt

    Rankings
    Further information: 1983 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
    ( ) = First place votes.
    Week
    PollPre1234567891011121314Final
    AP5 (2)4 (1)5111075543333333 (7)
    Coaches3 (3)3 (1)41410108553333333 (4)

    Game summaries

    Southern Miss
    See also: Southern Miss Golden Eagles football

    Texas
    See also: 1983 Texas Longhorns football

    Florida State
    See also: 1983 Florida State Seminoles football team

    Florida
    See also: 1983 Florida Gators football team

    [7]

    At Georgia
    1 234Total
    • No. 3 Auburn 7 600 13
    No. 4 Georgia 0 007 7
    • Date: November 12
    • Location: Sanford Stadium
    • Game attendance: 82,122
    • Referee: Dick Burleson
    • TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
    Scoring summary
    1AUBJames 4 yard run (Del Greco kick)AUB 7–0
    2AUBDel Greco 21 yard field goalAUB 10–0
    2AUBDel Greco 41 yard field goalAUB 13–0
    4UGAArchie 13 yard pass from Lastinger (Butler kick)AUB 13–7
    See also: 1983 Georgia Bulldogs football team and Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

    [8]

    Vs. Alabama
    1 234Total
    No. 19 Alabama 0 1460 20
    • No. 3 Auburn 0 10130 23
    Scoring summary
    2AUBBo Jackson 69-yard run (Al Del Greco kick)AUB 7–0
    211:42BAMAJoey Jones 20-yard pass from Walter Lewis (Van Tiffin kick)Tied 7–7
    25:30AUBDel Greco 29-yard field goalAUB 10–7
    20:46BAMAJoe Carter 3-yard pass from Walter Lewis (Tiffin kick)BAMA 14–10
    3AUBDel Greco 26-yard field goalBAMA 14–13
    3AUBDel Greco 34-yard field goalAUB 16–14
    32:20BAMARicky Moore 57-yard run (conversion failed)BAMA 20–16
    42:03AUBBo Jackson 71-yard run (Del Greco kick)AUB 23–20
    See also: 1983 Alabama Crimson Tide football and Iron Bowl

    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.[9]

    Vs. Michigan (Sugar Bowl)
    1 234Total
    Michigan 7 000 7
    • Auburn 0 036 9
    Scoring summary
    1MICHSteve Smith 4-yard run (Bergeron kick)MICH 7–0
    3AUBAl Del Greco 31-yard field goalMICH 7–3
    4AUBDel Greco 32-yard field goalMICH 7–6
    4AUBDel Greco 19-yard field goalAUB 9–7
    Main article: 1984 Sugar Bowl
    See also: 1983 Michigan Wolverines football team

    [10]

    References
    1. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 114. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
    2. "Auburn Testing Players for Drugs". New York Times. August 22, 1983. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
    3. Barnhart, Tony. "Auburn Wins 1984 Sugar Bowl, but National Championship Still Eludes Tigers". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/CBS. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
    4. "Auburn rips Southern Miss". The Selma Times-Journal. September 11, 1983. Retrieved March 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
    5. "Longhorns power past Tigers 20–7". The Clarion-Ledger. September 18, 1983. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
    6. "Auburn rebounds with win". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 11, 1983. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
    7. "FLORIDA IS BEATEN BY AUBURN, 28-21". The New York Times. October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
    8. Gainesville Sun. 1983 Nov 13. Retrieved 2018-Nov-12.
    9. "AUBURN SETS BACK ALABAMA BY 23-20". The New York Times. December 4, 1983. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
    10. "TIGERS SET BACK MICHIGAN BY 9-7". The New York Times. January 2, 1984. Retrieved November 2, 2019.


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