Auburn now ludicrously claims 9 national titles… where does it end?
By David Wasson
Published:
Quick quiz: Who won the 1993 and 2004 national championships in college football?
If you answered Florida State in 1993 and Southern California in 2004, you are correct. Correct, anyway, unless you’re an Auburn fan starting today.
The Tigers leapt into the deep end of the absurdity pool with all 4 paws Tuesday morning, announcing that the football program will now recognize itself as 9-time national champions. Auburn’s new “official” national titles: 1910 (new), 1913, 1914 (new), 1957, 1958 (new), 1983, 1993, 2004 (new) and 2010.
Huh?
Yes, somehow overnight the fine folks on the Plains decided to re-brand the Auburn football program with several national titles that people in Los Angeles, Tallahassee, Miami and beyond are wondering openly about. That’s because the Trojans clearly won the BCS title in 2004, the Seminoles clearly won the AP/Football Writers Association of America/National Football Foundation, USA Today-CNN/UPI polls in 1993, and the Hurricanes claimed the same set of polls as consensus national champs in 1983.
And yet, there is Auburn, proceeding to blanket over Jordan-Hare Stadium with imagery and banners and signs proclaiming 9 national championships.
“For too long, Auburn has chosen a humble approach to our program’s storied history – choosing to recognize only Associated Press National Championships. Starting this fall, we have made the decision to honor the accomplishments of our deserving student-athletes, coaches, and teams from Auburn’s proud history,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “Our visible National Championship recognitions now align with the well-established standard used by the NCAA’s official record book and our peers across the nation.”
We will focus here in 1983, 1993 and 2004 specifically, seeing as how they are within many fans’ lifespan. The 1983 Auburn Tigers won the SEC and as the No. 3 team in the country defeated No. 8 Michigan 9-7 in the Sugar Bowl. At 11-1, an undisputed great season – and one in which Auburn played perhaps the toughest schedule in the nation.
Problem is, Miami jumped from No. 4 with the coaches and No. 5 with the AP to the top spot after beating No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Auburn was deemed “national champions” by Billingsley, the College Football Researchers Association and The New York Times, along with co-champs by Rothman and Sagarin.
OK, we can understand the argument there – especially given the prism that cross-state rival Alabama views its 9-2 season in 1941 as a national championship as awarded by the fine people running the Houlgate System. That 1941 title, incidentally, is the one that Auburn fans most love throwing in the face of Alabama fans when the subject of claimed national titles comes up in barbershop debates.
But 1993? Auburn was on NCAA probation that season – and didn’t compete in the SEC title game or a bowl game. Sure, Terry Bowden’s bunch went 11-0 and something called the National Championship Foundation recognized the Tigers as one of 4 co-champions… but c’mon, we all watched Florida State with Heisman winner Charlie Ward at the helm topple No. 2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl to win the consensus crown.
And 2004? Tommy Tuberville coached Auburn to an undefeated 13-0 season, but the Tigers were the odd team out of the BCS national title matchup in part because of a nonconference schedule that included a win against I-AA The Citadel. Not to worry, though, as Darryl W. Perry and the GBE College Football Ratings both awarded their national titles to the Tigers.
We would argue the merits of 1910 (Maxwell Ratings and College Football Rankings national titles), 1913 (Billingsley Margin of Victory), 1914 (James Howell’s Power Ratings System) and 1958 (Montgomery Full Season Championship) too… but the point is pretty clear at this juncture – if someone gives you a trophy, I guess you are a legitimate national champion!
Central Florida earned plenty of notoriety (and scorn…) for this gambit in 2017, of course, ironically after beating Auburn in the Peach Bowl. And as mentioned, Alabama magically upped its national title count from 6 to 11 in 1984 by claiming titles from before polls were established.
But c’mon, people. Let’s use the brains most of us have attached to our shoulders on this. Should the folks in Tuscaloosa care to counter, they could offer the exact same argument that Auburn did Tuesday and tack on the 1945, 1966, 1975, 1977, 2016 national crowns as well.
Incidentally, Auburn also announced it was adding back 3 conference titles – 1904, 1908 and 1910 – that were previously recognized but lost in the recesses of history back when Auburn participated in the SIAA. That’s fair, but really… more than quadrupling your actual national championship count?
Incidentally, when one simply visits the NCAA.com page and finds the “college football championship history” page, voila, Auburn is listed precisely twice – for the 2010 BCS crown earned by Cam Newton and Co., and the split title with Texas in 1957.
But not at Auburn, oh no. Nine-time national champs it is from here out. And that, plain and simple, is absurd.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
