The 1972 Iron Bowl pitted 10-0 Alabama, riding a 21-game winning streak, against 8-1 Auburn. Bear Bryant's Tide were ranked #2 behind USC while Shug Jordan's overachieving Tigers, dubbed the "Amazins," sat at #9 in the AP poll. The Tide had scored 367 points on the season while holding their opponents to just 116.

Oddsmakers installed Bama as a 16-point favorite. During the week of the game, Bryant pro­claimed, "I'd rather beat that cow college than beat Texas ten times," referring to the fact that he had already accepted an invitation to play in the Cotton Bowl for a chance to end his five-game bowl losing streak. Oddsmakers installed Bama as a 16-point favorite.

The 1971 Auburn team, Jordan's 21st, went 9-2 and finished #5 in the nation. But the sensational aerial duo of QB Pat Sullivan and WR Terry Beasley had graduated.

Jordan even considered retiring rather than face a rebuilding season. His enthusiasm was dampened even further when longtime athletic director Jeff Beard.

To prepare his team for the '72 season, Jordan put his Tigers through one of the most grue­ling spring practices he ever conducted. It was a throwback to the boot camp he oversaw in his first season at Auburn in 1951. On April 22, he put 11 on 11 and gave the offense just three running plays that they ran over and over for the equivalent of two full games without punts or passes. "We had one play," recalled Shug, (RB) "Terry Henley up the middle."

LB Mike Neel, one of the '72 captains, recalled, "After we went through that day, I think the whole team realized we could go through anything."

Nevertheless, the sportswriterrs picked Auburn to finish seventh in the Southeastern Confer­ence. An Associated Press writer visited Auburn, surveyed the situation, and wrote: "The biggest change in the Southeastern Conference power structure will be the demise of Auburn."

Undaunted, the '72 Tigers won eight of their first nine games to enter the annual finale with Alabama ranked #9 in the nation.

Both teams threatened to score in the first quarter but were stopped by penalties or turnovers.

A 3y run by Steve Bisceglia capped a 71y Alabama drive in the second quarter. However, DB Roger Mitchell blocked Bill Davis' PAT—a crucial play as it turned out and not the last block­ed kick of the game. Alabama 6 Auburn 0

The Crimson Tide defense, which held Auburn to one first down in the first half, set up the next score when Lanny Norris returned an interception to the Tiger 13. However, the defense rose up and held Bama to a 24y field goal by Davis just before halftime. 9-0 Alabama.

The Tide took the second half kickoff and drove 78y to extend their lead. Wilbur Jackson slammed off right tackle from the 6 behind the blocking of John Hannah to increase the lead to 16-0, matching the oddsmakers' consensus point spread.

With Auburn mustering no offense—it was held to 80y for the entire game chances of a Tiger comeback seemed dim to non-existent. Not even an interception by David Langner at the Tide 35 in the first half brought points because of a bad snap on a field goal attempt.

After Bama's Greg Gantt missed a 50y field goal attempt at the end of the third period, Jor­dan's boys finally put together a six-minute drive that resulted in a 42y field goal by Gardner Jett with 9:15 left. Alabama 16 Auburn 3.

Jordan said later: "I remember the crowd booing when we went for the field goal. We went for the field goal to create enthusiasm. We had some, but we needed more."

Pat Dye, an Alabama assistant coach, recalled, "Everybody in the stadium—35,000 on one side wearing red, 35,000 on the other wearing orange and blue—got up and booed Shug for kick­ing the field goal. Our fans were booing because he'd spoiled the shutout, and their fans were booing because they thought he'd given up."

Bryant was content to milk the clock by running the ball on offense and relying on his elite defense to keep Auburn from coming back. The problem was, Bama couldn't get its defense on the field.

Alabama consumed three and a half minutes on its next drive but had to punt from midfield. Gantt's last punt had gone 72y. Auburn assistant coach Paul Davis had noticed on film that Alabama had some weaknesses in its punting game, even though Gantt was the SEC's leading punter for the second straight year. The soft spots had to do with blocking assignments.

Auburn lined up ten men on the line of scrimmage and eight of them broke through. LB Bill Newton blocked the ball backwards. The pigskin bounced right into the hands of Langner who scampered 25y into the end zone. With 5:30 to play, Auburn had reduced the lead to 16-10.

On its next possession, Bama got two first downs but had to punt from its own 43 after Neel dropped the Alabama quarterback for a 5y loss—his 14th tackle of the day. The next play would show that "lightning never strikes twice" does have exceptions. Bryant ordered Gantt to move a couple of yards closer to the line of scrimmage and just punch the ball downfield to get it away without being blocked. Amazingly, double-teaming by an Alabama guard and up-back left New­ton untouched again, and he roared through and blocked Gantt's punt. And, again, the ball bounced right to Langner who raced 20y for the tying touchdown. The snap for the go-ahead PAT was low, but David Beck, the holder, placed it down. Jett kicked the ball through the uprights to give Auburn an improbable 17-16 lead with only 1:34 remaining.

Having no passing attack, the Tide desperately tried to get into field goal range. But Langner struck again with his second interception with 0:55 left to seal the victory.

Beneath the Legion Field stands, the custodians in the Alabama locker room were so busy preparing for yet another celebration that they paid little attention to the roaring of the crowd in the last few minutes. They had turned the radio off, presuming Bama had the game wrapped up. So they were stunned when the doors burst open, and the Tide players came in cursing and throwing things.

Bryant took responsibility for what happened in the fourth quarter. "I've always said, and I mean this sincerely, that mistakes are head coaching. And of course, you saw what happened out there. The best coached team won. I did a lousy job."

Langner, a soft-spoken junior from Birmingham, sat quietly by his locker, holding a pair of footballs as his teammates turned the room into a madhouse.

"It was just unbelievable for this to happen," Langner said. "The greatest game. The greatest moment of my life."

Alabama's 1973 yearbook provided the following summary of the game:

Ala 16.

Aub 3.

Santa Claus 14.

Auburn defeated Colorado in the Gator Bowl 24-3 to finish the season ranked #5 and win Jordan the SEC Coach of the Year award. Meanwhile, Alabama lost to #7 Texas in the 1973 Cotton Bowl.

The game, known forever as "Punt, 'Bama, Punt," turned out to be the Tide's only SEC loss from 1971-74. It was also Auburn's last Iron Bowl victory until 1982 in Bear's last regular-season game as head coach.