I was there in 2004, when Auburn boasted the offensive firepower of Jason Campbell, Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown, and watched as they bulldozed over defensive lines for a perfect 8-0 SEC record.
Gene Chizik, in his third year as Auburn’s DC, had built up a top 5 defensive unit that stifled not one, not two, but five opponents in the BCS top 15, led by future NFL first-rounder Carlos Rogers.
I remember both my dad and I watching in disappointment as USC blew out Oklahoma for all the marbles because the playoff had not been invented yet. Auburn settled for a Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech and a perfect record.
It hit too close to home for my dad, who had watched Auburn’s 1993 team go undefeated, but had to forfeit any postseason bowls due to NCAA recruiting violations.
Adding Hardware
But now, 21 years later, here we are. News broke on Aug. 19 that Auburn was adding national titles from 1910, 1914, 1958, and 2004 to the books. A small part of me feels validation for that season. The rest? Well, that depends entirely on how the season plays out.
In the end, no one cares about nine until you get to 10.
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Yes, I think it is exciting to say “nine-time champion,” and no one has been a bigger supporter of Hugh Freeze’s tenure here on the Plains than myself—just go look at all my old articles and tweets. However, entering a pivotal year three for both he and Athletic Director John Cohen, we don’t have time to reflect on titles from the past that no one in the fanbase was even alive for (except for 2004 and 1983).
Alabama gets away with claiming at least three or four titles that are either shared or didn’t count due to a season-ending loss. The reason they get away with it? Nick Saban won six from 2009-2020 while winning the SEC West almost every year.
Yale claims 27 titles. Do we care? No, because Kirby Smart won back-to-back titles at Georgia once he stepped out of the shadow of his Crimson Tide mentor.
Still Waiting
Point being, this will be a hot media topic for a day or two, and then forgotten. Unless, Freeze can prove he can get Auburn its 10th.Still Waiting
Since day one, Freeze has preached that Auburn is a “three-year rebuild” before the Tigers start contending for titles. After all the damage the disastrous Bryan Harsin era did, we all believed him and gave him a pass for going 6-7 in year one.
However, with a returning starter in Peyton Thorne at QB, a top defensive unit and rushing attack led by Jarquez Hunter, the Tigers took a latteral move, and then fell flat for year two. At 5-7, in a year where if a missed field goal or interception went the other way, they could have easily been 7-5 at least.
Now, it’s year three and Auburn fans are out of breath. As much as we love retiring Cam Newton’s No. 2 jersey, claiming nine national titles and watching Bruce Pearl and Butch Thompson take our basketball and baseball programs to new heights, we love winning football games today even more.
This is make-or-break for Freeze and company. There are no more media titles to claim. We live in the College Football Playoff era, and Auburn needs to show it can compete. For Freeze, and even Oklahoma cast-off QB Jackson Arnold, this is literally “Last Chance U.”
I know, I sound harsh. Auburn fans are all over the place emotionally with Freeze, but after four years of selling out Jordan-Hare despite the (losing) record, I think we’ve earned the right to criticize. I do however, hope and pray Freeze and Arnold shuts all of us up this year, and permanently puts any doubts to rest, and there’s a good chance they do.
In the meantime, we’ll enjoy the nine national titles. I’ll probably celebrate 2004 with my dad later this year.
No one else will care though, not until Auburn wins a 10th.
Freeze, Cohen’s top choice for the job, better prove he’s the man for it soon.
