The two greatest multi-sport athletes in history share the field one time
Auburn vs. Florida State. Pat Dye vs. Bobby Bowden. One of the great but relatively unknown rivalries between teams and coaches. While Auburn football started in 1892 the Florida State program did not start till 1947. Basically till Bobby Bowden built Florida State into a national powerhouse the Seminoles were basically a lower tier school like Louisiana Tech or one of those schools are now. Case-in-point, Florida State was 0-9-1 against Auburn before Bowden arrived. Florida State did not break into the national top 20 rankings till 1968. That only lasted two weeks. They returned to the rankings for another two weeks in 1971 and were ranked the first five weeks of the season in 1972. After that the bottom fell out, the Seminoles only won four games in three seasons before Bowden took over in 1976.
Bowden lost his first game against Auburn but finally led FSU to their first win in the series the next year in 1977. That was up to that point the best team in FSU history. They went 10-2 and finished 14th in the nation. Bowden would follow that up with 11-1 and 10-2 finishes in 1979 and 1980 with Orange Bowl berths and two top ten finishes. Bowden literally turned a program with no history into a top ten power in just a few years. Lost in his declining years and for Auburn fans dealing with his son people forget how good a coach this guy was. Researching this blog post really gave me a new appreciation for the job Bobby Bowden did at Florida State.
Meanwhile as Florida State rose in the late 1970s the Auburn program plummeted. In 1980 Pat Dye was hired to bring Auburn back. Pat Dye did just that and in 1983 Auburn and Florida State really started this rivalry. The first game was of course a classic at Jordan Hare Stadium. On the Auburn "Decade of The Eighties" video it is called "maybe the most dramatic victory of the year" and that "both teams played inspired football". Florida State took a late lead 24-20. Auburn then had to go the length of the field converting multiple fourth downs along the way before scoring on a pass from Randy Campbell to Lionel James to make it 27-24. Florida State got one more chance till All-American Gregg Carr ended the game with an interception.
It did not seem possible but the two teams would top that game the next year in 1984 in one of the wildest games in Auburn history. In fact Coach Dye would call this game his "wildest and craziest game as head football coach at Auburn." Jay Coulter at Track'em Tigers said:
"The 1984 Florida State game in Tallahassee is without question the best game that was never seen by most Auburn fans. It’s my all time favorite. Despite pairing two top twenty teams, no networks picked up the game – what a shame. No, it didn’t have the importance of an Alabama or Georgia match-up, but for sheer excitement, it’s the best I’ve ever witnessed."
You can read the full story of the game in Coach Dye's words here at Scout.com and see the Auburn highlights of the game here (including some great Jim Fyffe). It is a great piece by Coach Dye and definitely does a better job describing the game than anything I can do here. The play of the game was Brent Fullwood returning a kickoff and fumbling and then as Pat Dye said: "It bounced off the ground, up into the air and one of our running backs, Eddie Graham, caught it on a dead run and went 60 yards for a touchdown." Auburn was down again in this one late in the fourth quarter 41-36 and like the year before made another great clutch drive down the field with Brent Fullwood scoring the go-ahead touchdown to give Auburn the win 42-41.
The teams were back in Auburn the next year in 1985 and another crazy game was in store. It would be a close back-and-forth game till Auburn blew it open taking advantage of same late Seminole mistakes and win 59-27. Here are the highlights of the game (watch for Bo running through Deion Sanders as pictured above) and a short summary of the game. This was one of Bo's biggest games on the way to the Heisman this season. He would shred the Seminoles for 176 yards on 30 carries. The runs were vintage Bo as he would break through the line of scrimmage and turn on the afterburners. This game would end one of the wildest three games series Auburn has ever played. The series would take a year off in 1986 and resume again in 1987.
The next three sections of this post could be named "The Revenge of Bobby Bowden and Florida State". Bowden and the Seminoles were 1-13-1 against Auburn coming into Saturday November 7, 1987. Auburn was riding high. The Tigers had not lost a game and had routed the Florida Gators the week before. The fact that Auburn had won the last three games against Florida State was still fresh in most everyone's minds as well. It obviously was for Bobby Bowden because he had the Seminoles ready to play. Florida State crushed Auburn 34-6. It was a monumental game in the series and also was the unofficial start of one of the greatest runs in college football history. Florida State and Bobby Bowden would finish in the top five in the country for the next fourteen years straight (1987-2000).
Auburn and Florida State were not scheduled to play a game during the 1988 season but ended up being paired in the Sugar Bowl. I give the Seminoles and Bobby Bowden their due credit for their wins in 1987 and 1989 but not so much in this game. I think Auburn was the best team in the country in 1988. I think the 1988 team is the most underrated team in Auburn history and is one of the top three Auburn teams ever. The 1988 team boasted the best defense in Auburn history and one of the best in college football history. If the Tigers could have stopped LSU on a 4th and 13 this Auburn team would have played Notre Dame for the national championship (and would have won). I think this Auburn team lost their edge when they were locked out of the national championship and were playing in the Sugar Bowl for the second year in a row with nothing to play for. They certainly played like it as Auburn fumbled twice and quarterback Reggie Slack threw three interceptions. Florida State took a 13-0 lead in the first half. Auburn rallied but Deion Sanders intercepted Reggie Slack in the end zone to end it and the Seminoles won 13-7.
Auburn returned to Tallahassee in 1989 with a young team trying to find an identity. The Seminoles would prevail 22-14 but the game was not that close. The Bobby Bowden vs. Pat Dye era of this rivalry was now tied at three games a piece. As I have written before, I have accused a lot of teams and programs of being overrated but I can never say that about Bobby Bowden and Florida State. They beat three SEC Champion Auburn teams in a row. That is a pretty amazing feat. This rivalry had been one of the best and most entertaining in the 1980s. It had featured two of the best programs in college football in the 1980s and two hall of fame coaches. It was only fitting that there had to be a tiebreaker and these two great coaches and great programs would get to square off one more time...
That brings us to 1990. Florida State returned to Jordan Hare Stadium on October 20th of that year. It was a cool night, perfect weather for a showdown between two top ten teams. It would be another close hard fought game. Auburn scored first and took the lead 7-0. Florida State roared back and put up 17 straight points. Auburn then rallied behind freshman quarterback Stan White and senior running back Stacy Danley to tie the game 17-17 with under four minutes to play. The Seminoles then drove to the Auburn 37 yard line and went for it on 4th and 5. In one of the bigger defensive plays in Auburn history linebacker Ricky Sutton sacked Seminole quarterback Casey Weldon for a 22 yard loss. Weldon dropped back, tried to elude Sutton and then stumbled backwards almost 10 yards after being hit by Sutton. It was deafening inside Jordan Hare Stadium. Stan White then hit Herbert Casey on a great pass and catch to set Auburn up for the winning field goal. Auburn kicker Jim Von Wyl then nailed the game winner as time expired to give Auburn the 20-17 win. My favorite memory of this game was the entire stadium doing the "Tomahawk Chop" chant after the game.
That would end the Auburn vs. Florida State rivalry under Pat Dye and Bobby Bowden. Coach Dye and Auburn won the series 4-3 but Dye's reign would soon end and the Seminoles and Bowden would have a lot more great years. The series would end but the Bowden connection would continue as Dye hired Tommy Bowden to be his offensive coordinator in 1991 and then Terry Bowden would succeed Dye as head coach at Auburn in 1993 (with current Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher as his quarterbacks coach). Auburn and Florida State were scheduled to play again in 1999 to be the first division 1A father vs. son game. The game was cancelled by Auburn after coach Terry Bowden quit midway through the 1998 season when he found out he would be fired at the end of the season.
Auburn was criticized heavily but it was the right call. Auburn was not a contender and needed confidence building wins and to separate the program from the Bowdens. The first division 1A father vs. son game still happened between Bowdens in 1999 when Clemson hired Tommy Bowden. Since Terry left Auburn there has been hard feelings on all sides and there did not seem to much chance Auburn and Florida State would ever play again... till they ended up #1 and #2 in the last Bowl Championship Series national championship this season.
Auburn vs. Florida State for the BCS National Championship. It should be another great entry in a series full of crazy and unpredictable turns. The game winning drive by Auburn in 1983, the unbelievable 42-41 shootout in 1984, Bo vs. Deion in 1985, Florida State making a stand and starting one of the greatest streaks in college football history in 1987, the Sugar Bowl in 1988, the Seminoles holding off a sleeping giant in 1989 and finally a last second game winning field goal for Auburn in 1990. What will happen this time?
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