There was a time Auburn and Georgia Tech played annually. In fact, from 1905-1987 the two squads faced off every single year but one (1942), often with one team holding the upper hand for an extended period of time. Auburn won 8 straight from 1907-1914, then it was the Yellow Jackets turn to dominate the series. Georgia Tech went 13-1-2 against the Tigers from 1915 to 1930, the majority of those teams coached by Bill Alexander who won a national championship in 1928.
Over the next 10 years, Auburn took control of the series once again going 7-3. Then it was the Bobby Dodd era for the Rambling Wreck and things took a turn for the bad for the Tigers. Georgia Tech reeled off thirteen wins with Dodd capturing his first 10 contests in the series. Things sort of leveled off between the two squads once Shug Jordan took control of the Tigers. Jordan and Dodd battled to an almost .500 record between the years 1955 and 1968 before the Tigers regained the upper hand once again. Sadly, the annual rivalry ended in 1987 though Auburn faced Georgia Tech twice under Tuberville, losing both times....
All that to say, we used to play Georgia Tech a lot.
A year before the annual rivalry ended, Auburn was in a dominant run of their own in the series. The Tigers had won 7 straight in the series and were looking to extend it to 8 against Bill Curry’s squad. The truth is that Yellow Jacket team just wasn’t at the same level as Pat Dye’s 1986 Tiger team. Auburn was ranked #7 in the country and had opened the year with five straight wins. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets were 2-2-1. It would not go well for them in Jordan-Hare that day as the Tigers crushed their rival 31-10. The play of the game that day was undoubtedly made by Lawyer Tillman.
Lawyer Freaking Tillman.
The Tigers would finish the year 10-2. This season is probably most known for the Auburn-Georgia game where after the Dawgs victory in Jordan-Hare, the grounds crew turned the sprinklers on to get the Dawg fans off the field. You gotta love college football.
34 days till kickoff! War Eagle!