Top 10 Auburn football games of the decade

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10. The 2017 Iron Bowl: Auburn 26, Alabama 14

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9. 2013: Auburn 45, Texas A&M 41

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8. The 2013 SEC Championship: Auburn 59, Missouri 42

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7. Cam Newton’s Heisman moment: Auburn 24, LSU 17

The game that provided Cam Newton his Heisman moment.

On a day neither LSU or Auburn's quarterbacks could find success throwing the ball, Newton was unstoppable on the ground. He pulled Auburn ahead on a fantastic 49-yard touchdown run in which he broke three tackles and somehow avoided super fast defensive back Patrick Peterson as he appeared to have the angle on Newton as he approached the red zone. Newton instead carried Peterson into the end zone for the touchdown, but not before breaking three tackles on the inside-zone run, including a juke move down the field.

LSU tied the game early in the fourth quarter, but Onterio McCalebb exploded for a 70-yard touchdown run with 5:05 remaining to secure the 24-17 victory. Auburn finished with 440 rushing yards against No. 6 LSU.

Newton rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries, and as soon as Newton extended the ball across the end zone to cap his 49-yard run, the words "Heisman moment" began to creep into the media's vernacular as the Tigers moved to 8-0.

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6. The 2010 SEC Championship: Auburn 56, South Carolina 17

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5. The 2019 Unfair at Jordan-Hare: Auburn 48, Alabama 45

Nick Saban called a perfectly-legal Auburn play "unfair," and one of the more exciting Iron Bowls added yet another layer of drama following the Tigers' 48-45 victory in 2019.

With a loud clank off the left upright, Alabama's Joseph Bulovas missed a 30-yard field goal in the final 2 minutes and Auburn held on for the win.

The "unfair" play? The Tigers forced Alabama into a substitution infraction on fourth-and-4 with 1:06 remaining thanks to a trick formation, sending the Auburn sideline into celebration and fans into a frenzy. Auburn placed punter Arryn Siposs on the field at receiver as quarterback Bo Nix lined up in the backfield. Alabama placed its special teams unit on the field, and then replaced the special teams with the defense. There was one problem: punt returner Jaylen Waddle was still on the field. An official threw the flag and Alabama was charged a 5-yard penalty for 12 men on the field. Auburn picked up the first down and kneeled two times to secure the victory.

Saban went crazy on the sideline, and afterward called it "unfair." Auburn fans laughed it off as Gus Malzahn claimed his third victory against the legendary coach, including the second in three years.

Meanwhile, Saban remained winless (0-8) against Auburn teams to end a season with nine wins or more. He has also yet to defeat the Tigers when they're ranked inside Jordan-Hare Stadium — streaks that stretch back to his tenure as LSU's coach.

The game had a little bit of everything, including controversy that ended with Auburn on the right side of history on the six-year anniversary of the Kick Six. Officials placed 1 second on the clock before halftime, allowing Anders Carlson to kick a 52-yard field goal. The field goal proved to be the difference in the victory, and in the eyes of Malzahn, all of the momentum swung to the Tigers after the kick pulled inside the right upright.

It wasn't just those three moments (Alabama's missed kick, the penalty and Carlson's kick) that defined this crazy Iron Bowl.

Alabama and Auburn combined to score 48 points in a wild second quarter. The teams combined for 17 points in the final 66 seconds.

The game featured 10 ties and three lead changes.

Auburn returned two interceptions for touchdowns, including a 100-yard return by linebacker Zakoby McClain on a pass that deflected off the backside of running back Najee Harris in the end zone.

Anders Carlson drilled four field goals of 42 yards or longer after entering the game missing six straight such field goals.

And, finally, it was the second-highest scoring Iron Bowl in history.

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4. The 2013 Prayer at Jordan-Hare: Auburn 43, Georgia 38

Auburn was absolutely dominant in the first 50 minutes of the game as the Tigers built a 37-17 lead against Georgia. Then Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray placed the Bulldogs on his back and erased the lead with three touchdown drives in a span of 7:46 in the fourth quarter.

Down 38-37, Auburn seemed destined to lose as quarterback Nick Marshall faced a fourth-and-18 with 36 seconds remaining. He had several options on the field, but only two stood out after a meeting on the sideline: Sammie Coates dragging across the middle of the field at the first-down marker and Ricardo Louis on a go route down the field. Coates was open at the first-down marker, but Marshall went deep. The moment he released it, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee voiced displeasure to head coach Gus Malzahn. Louis was in double coverage. Malzahn could not look at the field.

Then an amazing thing happened: Josh Harvey-Clemons tipped the pass into the air, Louis kept running and spotted the ball in the air and snagged it in stride. He jogged into the end zone for the 73-yard touchdown to put Auburn ahead 43-38. Georgia players could not believe. They took off their helmets in disbelief, drawing flags. Several coaches along the Georgia sideline collapsed on the field. It was a scene unlike any other in the history of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

Auburn’s defense struggled throughout the fourth quarter and Georgia had a chance to win it in the final 25 seconds, but Dee Ford managed to lay a big lick on Murray at the 20-yard line. Murray’s pass fell incomplete and Auburn celebrated the victory, which also set up the “Mother of All Iron Bowls.”

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3. The 2010 Camback: Auburn 28, Alabama 27

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2. 2013 Kick Six: Auburn 34, Alabama 28

Everyone will remember Chris Davis’ 109-yard return of a missed field goal as regulation ended. It will always be among the top plays — if not at the very top — in college football history. Auburn fans stormed the field and celebrated the greatest Iron Bowl in history and the biggest turnaround in college football history. The Tigers went on to win the SEC title and advance to the final BCS national championship game. The Tigers were 13 seconds away from a national title before Jameis Winston threw a touchdown pass to give Florida State the title.

The Kick Six game had so many great moments for both teams. It was a true heavyweight fight, but it was Auburn that took advantage of every mistake and also made big stop after big stop in the second half. The Tide managed only one touchdown in the second half. Cade Foster missed three field goals, including one that was blocked with 2:32 remaining in the game. That blocked field goal set up the game-tying drive by quarterback Nick Marshall and the Tigers, who drove 65 yards for a touchdown with 32 seconds remaining. The 39-yard pop pass to Sammie Coates on first down was a beauty as no defender was within five yards of him. He trotted into the end zone, tying the game and setting up an epic finish.

Alabama drove past midfield as time expired, but Alabama coach Nick Saban insisted referees to look at the replay and place 1 second on the clock. The replay showed he was right, but in the end the Tigers called an additional timeout to set up a potential return of a missed 57-yard field goal. Defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson and his staff helped set up the play and the rest is history.

“There goes Davis!”

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1. 2011 BCS National Championship: Auburn 22, Oregon 19

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