re: Most heart breaking losses

2017 national title game without a doubt. So goddamn close but fricking Bama just had to have a Heisman caliber backup QB

quote:

---

Fsu National championship

---

This and the 2019 Final Four vs Virginia. Those 2 games by a mile, nothing else comes close

But those are obvious answers so I'll give a couple other examples

- 2017 SEC Championship vs UGA
Losing a rematch to UGA sucked, and without Kerryon you knew it was coming because Gus would Gus it up trying to overcompensate

- 2019 @ LSU 23 - Auburn 20.
This was a game that Auburn probably should've won, LSU was bailed out multiple times throughout the game by the refs. Auburn's defense played incredibly vs the best offense in CFB history, but were let down by Gus and his inept offense It was heartbreaking on multiple counts. At the time the immediate heartbreak comes from the fact that it should've gotten the Baton Rouge monkey off Auburn's back, and it was the 3rd straight heartbreaking loss to LSU after they beat us the year before on a FG as time expired after Gus choked a two score 4th Qtr lead, and in 2017 @LSU when Gus choked a 23-7 lead going into the 4th and also lost that on a lady minute FG. Auburn also would've been 8-1 going into the UGA. If we had beaten LSU and kept up our momentum, confidence, and playoff hopes still alive then our guys would've overcome Gus's shitty gameplan to beat UGA. Even after the LSU loss, UGA still needed the refs to bail them out in Athens. After that AU would've gone on to beat Bama just like we did anyway, won the SECCG and gone on to the playoffs. We would not have won the Natty however, we had terrible RBs, true FR Bo Nix, and Gus calling plays. Our defense could not have overcome that. Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma all wouldve beaten us comfortably. In retrospect this game became even more heart breaking since it allowed LSU to win the Natty

- 2017 (6-14) and 2016 (13-19) vs Clemson
Auburn lost both of those game by 1 score. Auburn had opportunities to win both of those games, and could have, but Gus fricked up both games trying too hard to be an offensive genius and the offense failed to function in either game, when it wouldn't have taken much to win either game

- 2014 @ Mississippi State
This was the game that broke Gus. Auburn was #2, Mississippi State was #3. This was the eve of the very first CFB Playoff ranking and Gus's chance to establish himself and Auburn as being a serious program. Gus had fully let his ego get the better of him at this point and expected to win over an inferior program. Mississippi State of course was an insanely talented team that year, but coaching made all the difference in that game. It gave State an advantage with Mullens, and crippled Auburn with Gus overthinking everything bc he thought he was a genius. Gus was never the same after this, and Auburn lost all the momentum it had started building as a program.

- 2009 Iron Bowl. (Bama 26- Auburn 21)
Auburn was a very average team that year and already had 4 losses, but Bama was #2 and undefeated. Auburn held a 1 point lead until the final minute. They still would've gone to the SECCG and if they had still won vs #1 Florida and Tebow then it's possible they could've still won the Natty anyway (but Cincinnati, TCU, and Boise State were all undefeated too and Cincy would've gotten media support to play Texas). But it's interesting to think how it would've changed the landscape if Bama has hangover from an Iron Bowl loss and loses to Florida. If they win their 2nd straight and 3rd in 4 years then maybe Urban doesn't have heart problems after a down 2010 and they keep up recruiting momentum. What does that do to Bama fans if Florida has that dynasty started, then Cam still comes to AU and Auburn wins a Natty before Saban and Bama do? Maybe that hurts their recruiting just enough that LSU is able to win the rematch in 2011. With Urban possibly still at Florida, LSU reinging National Champs, and Bama fans going crazy with Auburn fans gloating over their still fresh Natty and Heisman winner and Bama with nothing to show (I'm assuming in a world where Bama loses the 09 Iron Bowl and SECCG, that Toby Gerhardt rightfully wins the Heisman over Ingram). Imagine still that with Urban maybe Florida wins in 2012, meanwhile Auburn suffers the same post-Cam collapse and still goes 3-9 (0-8) in 2012, fires Chiz, hires Gus who brings in Nick Marshall. Since Bama and Saban in this universe dont have 3 Natty's and an unquestioned dynasty, maybe Auburn was able to tuck away just enough young defensive talent to emerge in 2013 that they're able to hold off Winston, Benjamin and FSU in the last BCS National Championship Game. Do now Auburn has 2 Natty's in 4 years, Florida and Urban have 4 total, and Les Miles and LSU have 2 recent Natty's, and Bama and Saban have 0 all bc Auburn won the 2009 Iron Bowl

- 2004 we didn't lose a game, but what was heartbreaking was Bowling Green backing out of our scheduled game just a few months before the season to play Oklahoma instead of Auburn. This forced AU to scramble to replace BG on the schedule with The Citadel. That move hurt Auburn's Strength of Schedule so bad having to play a terrible FCS team instead of solid mid major like BG was at the time that it actually kept us from jumping Oklahoma in the BCS standings. So imagine Bowling Green honoring their contract and Auburn playing and beating USC, combined with my last scenario so that Auburn has won 3 BCS National Championships after the 2013 season, and Bama and Saban being denied any Natty's to that point by the combined success of Florida, Auburn, and LSU. How crazy would Bama fans have been?



Last heartbreaking loss will be another basketball one

- 2003 Sweet Sixteen vs eventual champ Syracuse and Carmelo Anthony. (Cuse 79 - AU 78)
Auburn lost by 1 point and it was heartbreaking. But Auburn was a 10 seed and was unlikely to have gotten any further than the Elite 8 after that anyway. But still it was heartbreaking to be that close to upsetting a great team in that fashion and falling short

2001 SEC championship game
1996 Florida
2000 Florida
1999 Arkansas

quote:

---

Half of Gothard's body was laying in the endzone.

---

Frick Gothard. I still have a headache from hitting that sumbitch every play Lowndes ran against us in 1979. He was out of bounds! End of discussion.

2010 Iron Bowl- second half collapse of epic proportions after dominating...freak things like Ingram's fumble headed to the end zone...Mark Barron's injury that kept him from defending a TD pass (shouldn't have been in the game at that point).

2016 NC vs Clemson- offense stunk, but when it managed to grab the lead, I thought the D, even gassed, would rise up for one final NC winning stop. It didn't.

Both games should have been wins...very disappointing.

The 2018 NC game vs Clemson was just embarrassing, not heart breaking...the first actual butt whipping of the Saban era. The few other losses during that time at least were all relatively close games.

quote:

---

2. The Nebraska Flea Kicker game in '97 when they were #1 and Mizzou hadn't beat them in 20 plus years.

---

Was going to post this one myself. This game was heartbreaking as you couild tell the team really put their all into the game and came up just short. Still remember Coach Smith (RIP) with a tear in his eye afer that Coby TD. Really though the team fell back in a couple of years was the start of turning Mizzou away from being a laughing stock.

1988 LSU (aka Earthquake Game)

I was 12 y/o - and it was the first time I ever saw AU play in my hometown. I was so pumped about that game!!

That was also the only regular season loss for Auburn that year

As a Georgia fan the list is long but one that pissed me off royally was Dan Marino throwing that TD pass on 4th down with 20 something seconds left to lead Pitt to that Sugar bowl win. I damn near threw a beer bottle at the TV over that one

1994 Auburn - I was 14 at the time, and it was so gut wrenching.

1999 Alabama - I was at this game. I thought we had this won. But noooo.....Freaking Josh Booty..

2009 Ole Miss - Classic Les Miles

2012 Alabama - IMO, This game had a bigger impact on LSU than 21-0. This was our revenge game, and Bama scored 14 points of their 21 against Chavis' 2 minute defense.

1994 SEC Championship game vs Florida
2010 Camback
2011 Game of the Century (was healed)
2013 Kick Six
2014 OSU (We should have won)
2018 Clemson