A Saturday to Remember…
When Pat Dye came to Auburn he was asked how long it would take to beat Alabama. Dye’s famous response was “60 minutes”. Those “60 minutes” came in November of 1982. Auburn broke their 10-game losing streak to Bama and beat Bear Bryant in his last regular season game 23-22. “Bo over the top” was the signature play and Pat Dye’s “I am going to go back out there and thank our people” was the signature quote. My family watched it on TV and I just remember the absolute jubilation after it was over. You can definitely use the term “Auburn Family” for that day because if they were wearing orange and blue, they were family. It was a monumental game and marked the “turning of the tide” in the Iron Bowl. Bama had dominated the series in the Bryant era but since this game it is Auburn up 16-13 as of 2011. However it all started here in one of Auburn’s greatest “Saturdays to Remember”.
Honorable mention: Auburn went on to beat Boston College in a battle of future Heisman Trophy winners (Bo Jackson and Doug Flutie) in the Tangerine Bowl 33-26.
A Saturday to Forget…
Auburn would be back in the elite of college football the very next season in 1983 but the scrappy ’82 team was not quite ready yet. They only had one bad game all season and in it top-ten ranked Nebraska came to Jordan-Hare and laid a complete beat down on Auburn 41-7.
The Players
Award Winners...
We had five players make All-SEC this season: Dowe Aughtman, NG, Bob Harris, SS, Bo Jackson, HB, David Jordan, OL, and Doug Smith, DT. Bob Harris is the only senior of the group and I remember him being a vicious hitter at safety. Harris also made All-American.
Departures...
Dennis Collier S, Mark Dorminey S, Tim Drinkard CB, Mike Edwards WR, Bob Harris S, Chris Martin LB, and Ron O'Neal FB.
I remember Dorminey catching that fumble out of the air in the Bama game and almost taking it back for a touchdown but was caught by Bama quarterback Walter Lewis. I also remember the big fullback Ron O'Neal and him rumbling for several touchdowns the year before.
Arrivals...
Victor Beasley S, Lewis Colbert P, BO JACKSON RB, JAY JACOBS OT and Athletic Director, Tim Jessie RB, Jeff Lott OG, Ron Middleton TE, Jeff Parks TE, Greg Pratt FB, Gerald Robinson DE, Rob Shuler OG, Doug Smith DT, Steve Wallace OT, and Gerald Williams DE.
NOTE: People talk a lot about some of the great groups of running backs Auburn has had that were all there at the same time. Well this recruiting class brought together maybe the best group of tight ends ever at Auburn in Ed West who came in under Doug Barfield the year before Coach Dye came, and then Ron Middleton and Jeff Parks this year. Both West and Middleton would play a long time in the NFL.
A Saturday to Remember…
I may have gone down for a game this season but I cannot remember. It was only one if I did. I do not remember a whole lot about this season except what I have seen in the “Decade of the 80s” video. With that said the game that sticks out to me is the Tennessee game where Pat Dye gave his first legendary speech. Auburn lost 10-7 to Tennessee in Knoxville but nearly won it driving down to the Tennessee goal line in the closing seconds. This is probably the only “Saturday To Remember” I will list that is a loss. However it signaled that this team and any team fielded by Coach Dye was going to fight and scratch and claw and get back up “again and again and again”. Auburn then did prove it again the next week hanging with a highly ranked Nebraska team in Lincoln.
A Saturday to Forget…
This was the year Bear Bryant broke the all-time coaching victories record against Auburn, 28-17. I remember watching this game on TV. It was definitely a Saturday to forget.
The Players
First of all, thanks to www.lostlettermen.com for refreshing my memory on our rosters. I orginally created this post without these player sections. Later I realized how much I left out not mentioning the different players enough. I then rewrote this section several times. I could bring up so many names talking about players and of course some of the better players are key players for 3 or 4 years. I finally settled on having three different entries in this section. The first entry will list the award winners, basically the All-SEC and All-American players for Auburn that season. The second entry will list some of the more memorable or valuable seniors or players that would leave after the season in question. Finally the third entry would list some of the good or great recruits brought in that year. I do have to put out a disclaimer here that I may be off at times on when a player started at Auburn. The lostletterman site only lists the years they lettered at the school I believe. That means that a player could be at a school for four years but only letter two years. So without further ado here is my first players section.
Award Winners...
We had two players make All-SEC in seniors Danny Skutack LB and Keith Uecker OG. Keith Uecker was also an All-American and would play in the NFL for almost a decade.
Departures...
There were not too many memorable departures this season with the talent level being so low but there were a few. There was: Alan Bollinger P, Ken Hobby QB, Edmund Nelson DT, George Peoples RB, Danny Skutack LB, Joe Sullivan QB, Charles Thomas S, and Keith Uecker OG.
I remember running back George Peoples and his big run against Bama the most. I remember quarterback Ken Hobby, #13, in the Tennessee game, he did not last long after that unfortunately. I remember Joe Sullivan who also played some quarterback this year. Finally, I remember big Edmund Nelson, mostly from his interviews on the Decade of the 80s video talking about the first spring under Coach Dye.
Arrivals...
Coach Dye's first recruiting haul included: Pat Arrington OT, Clayton Beauford QB/WR, Randy Campbell QB, Gregg Carr LB, Lionel James RB, David King CB, Ron O'Neal FB, and Ben Thomas DT.
Inherited...
This is an extra section just for this season listing some of the good players that Pat Dye inherited from Doug Barfield. They are: Dowe Aughtman DT, Dennis Collier S, Al Del Greco K, Mark Dorminey S, Mike Edwards WR, Bob Harris S, Donnie Humphrey DT, David Jordan OT, Chris Martin LB, Edmund Nelson DT, George Peoples RB, Danny Skutack LB, Joe Sullivan QB, Charles Thomas S, Keith Uecker OT, Ed West TE, Quency Williams DE, and Chris Woods WR.
