Auburn–Tennessee football rivalry

The Auburn–Tennessee football rivalry is an American college football rivalry  between the Auburn Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers. The game was traditionally played prior to the 1992 football season, when the Southeastern Conference split into its Eastern and Western divisions. Auburn leads the series 28–22–3, however Tennessee has won the most recent matchup.

Series history
The series started in 1900 with a 23–0 Auburn victory in Birmingham, Alabama. When the SEC split into two divisions in 1992 the annual rivalry was suspended. Tennessee then started a rivalry with Georgia, while Auburn began an annual rivalry with LSU. Auburn is 6–3 vs Tennessee since the SEC expanded. Both teams met in the 1997, and 2004 SEC Championship Game. Tennessee won 30-29 in 1997 while Auburn won 38-28 in 2004. Since 2003 Auburn owns the longest win streak in series history at six. The teams will meet again in 2018 in Auburn, Alabama.

The Auburn–Tennessee game has been played in four locations. They have played in Birmingham, Alabama at Legion Field, Knoxville, Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, Auburn, Alabama at Jordan–Hare Stadium and Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Dome. Auburn leads 10-5 in Birmingham, Tennessee leads 13–10–2 in Knoxville, Auburn leads 7–2–1 in Auburn and the teams are tied 1–1 in Atlanta.

Game results
A 1997 SEC Championship Game B The game played on December 4, 2004 was the 2004 SEC Championship Game, and was the second time the Tigers and Volunteers met during the 2004 season.

Sources: 2011 Auburn Football Media Guide 2011 Tennessee Football Media Guide and College Football Data Warehouse.

Notable games

 * 1970: Auburn overcame a 10–0 deficit and defeated the #17 Vols by a score of 36–23 in Birmingham. It was the only loss of the year for Tennessee and cost the Vols the SEC Championship.
 * 1972: Unranked Auburn upset No. 4 Tennessee in Birmingham. Auburn led most of the game 10–0. Tennessee came back to cut the lead 10–6, but Auburn held on for the upset.
 * 1985: In a game nationally televised by ABC, the Tigers came to Neyland Stadium ranked #1 with Heisman Trophy candidate Bo Jackson. However, Tennessee quarterback Tony Robinson made a case to be considered for the Heisman himself by passing for 259 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-20 blowout.
 * 1990: Proving once again that big leads do not hold up in the Auburn–Tennessee series, Auburn spotted Tennessee a 26–9 fourth-quarter lead, only to storm back to tie it at 26-26. Auburn QB Stan White threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes, both on fourth down. Tennessee missed a potential game-winning field goal with 15 seconds left.
 * 1997 SEC Championship Game: In the 1997 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, Auburn scored 20 unanswered points to take a 20–7 lead. Tennessee scored two touchdowns late in the third quarter and another early in the fourth to win, 30–29. Tennessee's quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns, while Auburn signal caller Dameyune Craig passed for 262 yards and a pair of scores. Tennessee went on and lost to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 42–17.
 * 2003: Tennessee came into Jordan–Hare Stadium ranked No. 7. Auburn took their opening drive 80 yards and scored on a 6-yard run by Ronnie Brown. On their next possession, Jason Campbell threw a 29-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone to Ben Obomanu. The Auburn defense held Tennessee in check for most of the first half, but the Vols drove 85 yards to cut the lead to 14-7 at halftime. Cadillac Williams scored on a 1-yard run on Auburn’s first possession of the second half to give the Tigers a 21–7 lead. Jason Campbell then completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Cole Bennett on the second play of the fourth quarter to put Auburn up 28–7. Clausen threw for a touchdown on each of the Vols’ next two possessions bringing the score to 28–21 with just over seven minutes left in the game. The Vols drove to the Auburn 30-yard line late in the game but Carlos Rogers intercepted a pass to end the threat. Auburn won 28–21 to beat Tennessee for the first time since 1988.
 * 2004 SEC Championship Game: After Auburn blew out the Vols in the regular season the two teams won their divisions and played again in SEC Championship game. Auburn won the SEC Championship with a 38–28 victory then went on to defeat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.