American Football Database
Advertisement
1983 Auburn Tigers football
SEC Champions
Sugar Bowl, W 9–7 vs Michigan
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
1983 record11–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coachPat Dye
Offensive coordinatorJack Crowe
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorFrank Orgel
Home stadiumJordan-Hare Stadium
Seasons
← 1982
1984 →
1983 SEC football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#3/3 Auburn 6 0 0     11 1 0
#5/5 Georgia 5 1 0     10 1 1
#6/6 Florida 4 2 0     9 2 1
Tennessee 4 2 0     9 3 0
#15/12 Alabama 4 2 0     8 4 0
Ole Miss 4 2 0     6 6 0
Kentucky 2 4 0     6 5 1
Mississippi State 1 5 0     3 8 0
LSU 0 6 0     4 7 0
Vanderbilt 0 6 0     2 9 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll/Coaches Poll

The 1983 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Coached by Pat Dye, the team finished the season with a 11–1 record and won their first SEC title since 1957.

The squad featured several star players who went on to long professional careers including Bo Jackson, Randy Campbell, Tommy Agee, Lionel James, Donnie Humphrey, Steve Wallace and Al Del Greco.

Prior to the season, Pat Dye became the first coach in the Southeastern Conference to require players to take blood and urine tests for drugs.[1] Also prior to the season, fullback Greg Pratt collapsed after making his required time in running tests and died a short time later.

New York Times National Champions[]

The team and capped a stellar 11–1 season by beating Michigan in the Sugar Bowl 9–7. Despite entering the bowl games ranked third in both major polls, and with both teams ranked higher losing their bowl games, the Tigers ended ranked third in the final AP poll as Miami jumped from 5th to claim the AP National Championship award.[2] Auburn had played the toughest schedule in the nation, including eight bowl teams, seven of which were ranked in the top 20 (four in the top ten). The Tigers did finish ranked first in a few polls including the computer rankings utilized by The New York Times.[2]

Schedule[]

Date Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 7* Southern Miss #4 Jordan-Hare StadiumAuburn, AL W 24–3   73,500
September 17* #3 Texas #5 Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL CBS L 7–20   73,500
September 24 at Tennessee #11 Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN W 37–14   95,185
October 1* Florida State #10 Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL W 27–24   75,625
October 8 at Kentucky #7 Commonwealth StadiumLexington, KY W 49–21   57,989
October 15* at Georgia Tech #5 Grant FieldAtlanta, GA W 31–13   55,112
October 22 Mississippi State #5 Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL W 28–13   71,500
October 29 #5 Florida #4 Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL W 28–21   75,700
November 5* #7 Maryland #3 Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL W 35–23   75,600
November 12 at #4 Georgia #3 Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (Deep South's Oldest Rivalry) ABC W 13–7   82,122
December 3 vs. #19 Alabama #3 Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) ABC W 23–20   77,310
January 2* vs. #8 Michigan #3 Louisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl) ABC W 9–7   77,893
*Non-Conference Game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

[3]

References[]

Advertisement