In honor of Iron Bowl week, I ask you this important question: should Auburn recruit more Newtons? And, it's interesting that the roles were somewhat reversed 38 years ago.
1972.... Punt, Bama, Punt
In 1972,
The decade of the 1970s was colored in crimson as far as the Iron Bowl is concerned but the Auburn Tigers were not without their moments of emotion and glory. Alabama installed the wishbone offense and won three more national championships before the decade ended but perhaps one of the greatest upsets in the history of the storied series occurred in 1972 in what has become known as the "Punt, Bama, Punt" game.
Alabama came into the game undefeated, ranked number two in the nation. Auburn came into the game as heavy underdogs despite a 9-1 record. The Crimson Tide was completely in control of this game for three quarters and had a 16-0 lead with only 10 minutes left in the game. An Auburn drive stalled and Coach Shug Jordan was booed as he ordered his team to try a long field goal. It was good and the margin was 16-3.
Then, Alabama got the ball and could not move it. Auburn's Bill Newton blocked an Alabama punt and it bounced into the hands of teammate David Langner who ran 25 yards for a Tiger touchdown and that narrowed the gap to 16-10.
Again, the Auburn defense was tough and Bama's Greg Gantt was sent in to punt again. The ball was snapped and Newton broke through and blocked the punt and Langner again scooped it up for a 20-yard gallop to paydirt. The extra point was good and Tide fans were stunned as the scoreboard revealed a 17-16 Tiger win.
http://www.angelfire.com/al/bamacrimsontide/ironbowlhistory.html
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