The name for this blog comes from the book “Saturdays To Remember” written by David Housel in the 1970s. In my opinion it is the definitive work on the greatest games of the Shug Jordan era at Auburn. Also while Housel tells the story of these games he also weaves in all the history of that season, info on other teams and much more. I read the book over and over in junior high and high school. I loved reading it and still do. Just about all of my knowledge of that era comes from that book. If you can get a copy of this classic I wholeheartedly recommend it. Though David Housel made some mistakes when he was AD at Auburn there is no doubt he is an Auburn man through-and-through.
The other mandatory parts of an Auburn collection in my opinion after “Saturdays To Remember” (Coach Jordan) is “The Decade of the 80s” video (Coach Dye) along with the 1993 and 2004 season videos (Bowden and Tuberville’s best seasons) plus the 2010 complete season DVDs or at least the last three games. With that said though it is the offseason and it is the time for lists and trips down memory lane. So… I have decided to take one of those strolls and talk about some of the “Saturdays to Remember” from over 30 years of watching Auburn football. This post is the introduction for my posts that will cover the first half of the 80s. I will also have to talk about some “Saturdays to Forget” because there are always a few of those as well unfortunately.
The book “Saturdays to Remember” ends with the 1972 “Punt Bama Punt” game. While Coach Jordan had a couple more good seasons, that game really marked the final great point of his career. There is simply not much good to say about the Doug Barfield era except for the "ABC" of great Auburn running backs in William Andrews, James Brooks and Joe Cribbs. They were great but the teams were not. It is the low point of modern Auburn football history. Auburn had several mediocre seasons including NCAA probation before completely bottoming out in 1980 going 0-6 in the SEC. Meanwhile Auburn’s two biggest rivals, Georgia and Alabama, won SEC and mythical national championships in 1978 (Bama), 1979 (Bama) and 1980 (Georgia).
One good memory from the Doug Barfield era for me was I attended my first Auburn football game. My first game was the 1978 Auburn vs. Georgia game. This game was also memorable for several other reasons. First, we came out in orange jerseys. I remember thinking we look like Tennessee. Second, the game ended in a tie, 22-22. My first game ended with a tie between Auburn and Georgia. Finally, I remember my dad being upset because I got him to take me to the concession stand and we missed a Joe Cribbs touchdown run. So I learned the golden rule of watching football games at the stadium right off and that rule is if you have to get up and miss some of the game, do it while we are on defense.
The situation when Coach Dye took over in 1980 was dire indeed. Auburn had seemingly nothing going for it at that time. Those who poke fun and disrespect Coach Dye now as an older man would do good to watch Coach Dye then. He was one tough SOB. As told in the “Decade of the 80s” video, the spring and fall workouts for Dye’s first team were legendary tough. He talked about building a foundation and he was obviously right. The results were seen in the years to follow. He laid a foundation that all success since then has been built on. In my next few posts I will cover each season during this period of time of "Laying The Foundation" from 1981 to 1985.
Personally, at the exact time Coach Dye took over, my life as an Auburn fan really started. I turned 12 years old and started junior high school in the fall of 1981, Coach Dye’s first season. I had of course grown up listening to Auburn football on the radio with my Dad. College football was not on TV near as much in the 1970s and Auburn was on much less. Even in the 1980s college football on television was nothing like it is now. However our family started buying season tickets in 1983. That started an 18 year run for me where the amount of home games I missed I could count on two hands and I travelled to every campus in the SEC except for Arkansas and Florida. During that time I also graduated high school and college, started my career and got married. All while being completely obsessed with Auburn football.
My next post in this series will cover the 1981 season...
