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| Auburn strong safety Brian Robinson(20) celebrates after scoring what would be the game-winning touchdown on Auburn's 3rd interception return for a touchdown in their 30-26 win over LSU. |
There was the game in 1988 where LSU won 7-6 on a 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tommy Hodson to Eddie Fuller that lead to a huge roar by the crowd in Baton Rouge, that it registered on a seismograph in a building nearby Tiger Stadium, leading the game to dubbed the "Earthquake Game".
There was the game in 1996 that was played in Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn while a fire was going on at the Auburn Sports Arena, known as "The Barn" while the game was going on, which LSU won 19-15.
Then there is the "Interception Game" that was played at Jordan-Hare two years before "The Night The Barn Burned Down" where the Auburn defense returned three interceptions for touchdowns in the 4th quarter alone.
Auburn entered the game ranked #11 with a 2-0 record as they were led by second-year head coach Terry Bowden, who had led the Tigers to an undefeated season the year before.
However, Auburn was on probation for violation of NCAA rules that lead to the resignation of former head coach Pat Dye following the 1992 season and a two-year postseason ban for the 1993 and 1994 seasons, meaning Auburn could not go to a bowl game.
But at least Auburn fans would get to watch their team on television as the TV ban for the 1993 season had expired.
Meanwhile, LSU came into Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 1-1 record in hopes of pulling off the upset, like they did the year before against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, ending the Crimson Tide's 31-game unbeaten streak.
A win in Auburn would go a long in helping head coach Curley Hallman keep his job as Hallman had not coached LSU to a winning season in his first three years as head coach of the Tigers.
LSU got the ball to start the game and drove 52 yards in 10 plays with the big plays being a 20-yard run by running back Jermaine Sharp and a 16-yard pass from junior quarterback Jamie Howard to senior wide receiver Brett Bach to set up a 38-yard field goal attempt by Andre Lafluer.
However, the kick was blocked by Auburn defensive lineman Mike Pelton, keeping the game scoreless with 8:26 left in the first quarter.
On Auburn's first play from scrimmage, quarterback Patrick Nix connected with Harrold Marrow for a 32-yard completion that put Auburn at the LSU 47-yard-line.
Three plays later, Auburn was faced with a 4th-and-1 at the 38-yard-line when Bowden decided to forgo a punt and go for the 1st down.
But the gamble backfired as Nix could not sneak for the 1st down as he was stopped at the line of scrimmage, giving the ball back LSU with exactly seven minutes to go in the first quarter.
After the Auburn defense forced a three-and-out, the Tigers got the ball back at their 22-yard-line and drove 25 yards until sophomore running back Stephen Davis fumbled the football which was recovered by LSU's Pat Rogers at the 50-yard-line.
But LSU failed to capitalize on the turnover and were forced to punt as the first quarter would end still tied 0-0.
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| Auburn running back Stephen Davis carried the ball 15 times for 82 yards in the "Interception Game". |
The scoreless tie would be broken three minutes and eleven seconds into the second quarter as Auburn kicker Matt Hawkins drilled a 41-yard goal to give Auburn a 3-0 lead.
LSU started its next possession at its own 25-yard-line but were faced with a 3rd-and-11 when Howard rifled a pass that was almost intercepted by Auburn junior strong safety Brian Robinson as the ball went through his hands and instead landed in the hands of LSU's Bech, who made the catch at the LSU 45-yard-line and then outran the rest of the Auburn defense for a 76-yard touchdown to give LSU a 7-3 lead with 10:48 left in the first half.
The LSU defense would force another Auburn punt but were pinned back as they began their next possession at their own 10-yard-line.
After Sharp was stopped for no gain on 1st down, Sharp got the ball again on 2nd down, only to lose the football as he ran into a crowd at the five-yard-line, leading the ball to bounce back into the end zone which was recovered by senior cornerback Chris Shelling for an Auburn touchdown to give them the lead.
However, Hawkins missed the extra point, keeping the score 9-7 with 7:34 left in the second quarter.
LSU would respond with a 17-play, 68-yard drive that took over seven minutes off the clock and culminated with a 22-yard field goal by Lafluer to give LSU a 10-9 lead as the first half came to a close.
After went Auburn went three-and-out on their opening possession of the second half, the two teams traded turnovers which started with Shelling picking off a Howard pass intended for Bech, to give Auburn the ball at their 47-yard-line.
But three plays later, Auburn gave the ball back to LSU when Nix fumbled the football which was recovered by LSU linebacker Chuck Wiley at the Auburn 46-yard-line, only to have LSU give fumble the ball two plays later when Sharp was stripped of the football by Robinson, who also recovered the fumble at the Auburn 35-yard-line.
The trading of turnovers would end as Auburn went three-and-out on their next possession, punting the ball back to LSU, who drove 54 yards in 10 plays, setting up Lafluer's 45-yard field goal to extend LSU's lead to 13-9 with 4:30 left in the third quarter.
LSU kept the momentum going as their defense forced another three-and-out on Auburn's next possession, then had a 36-yard punt return by Kennison to put LSU at the Auburn 25-yard-line.
From there, junior running back Robert Toomer carried the ball three times in a row, with the last carry being a 10-yard touchdown run to push the LSU lead to double digits as they held a 20-9 lead with 2:28 left in third quarter.
Auburn's 13-game winning streak was in jeopardy especially when kick returner Thomas Bailey fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Auburn offense poor field position as they took over at their eight-yard-line.
With his offense having only complied only 174 yards of total offense and eight 1st downs, Bowden decided to take out Nix and insert redshirt freshman Dameyune Craig at quarterback in hopes of providing a spark.
But it didn't work as Craig was almost sacked for a safety on 2nd down, leading to another three-and-out and then a 21-yard punt by punter Terry Daniel, giving LSU the ball at the Auburn 25-yard-line and a chance to put the game away with another touchdown as the third quarter came to a close.
However, the Auburn defense would not permit a 1st down and force LSU to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Lafluer, which increased LSU's lead to 23-9 just 43 seconds into the fourth quarter, but keeping it a two-score game.
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| LSU quarterback Jamie Howard had a meltdown for the ages as he threw six interceptions in the 2nd half with five them coming in the 4th quarter alone. |
Still, the Auburn offense could not get going as they gained only one yard on its next possession, leading to another punt, and giving LSU the ball at their 30-yard-line.
If Auburn were to pull out the victory, they were going to need the defense force a turnover to give its offense a chance to score.
They got that and more when freshman strong safety Ken Alvis picked off Howard on a 3rd-and-9 pass intended for Bech and returned the pick 42 yards for the touchdown that cut LSU's lead in half to 23-16 with 13:13 left in the game(double-click to play this and all of the videos).
Sadly for Howard, Alvis' pick-six was the beginning of a 4th quarter nightmare for the LSU quarterback.
LSU began their next drive at their 14-yard-line and were faced with another 3rd-and-long situation, this time 3rd-and-10, when Howard was picked off again, this time by senior cornerback Fred Smith who returned the interception for Auburn's second pick-six in 64 seconds.
Bowden opted to go for the extra point(there was no overtime in college football in 1994 so games could have ended in ties after 60 minutes)which was successful as Auburn tied the game at 23 with 12:09 to go in the game.
Howard would respond to the back-to-back pick-sixes by completing his next four passes, gaining 46 yards as LSU to set up a 1st-and-goal from the Auburn eight-yard-line.
But the Auburn defense would rise up again and hold LSU out of the end zone, forcing Lafluer to kick his fourth field goal of the game, a 22-yarder to put LSU back on top, 26-23 with 5:20 to play.
Auburn fans were hoping that the performance of the Tiger defense would inspire their offense to put together a game-winning drive when they began their next possession from their 28-yard-line, only for the Auburn offense to go three-and-out for the sixth time in the second half, leading to another punt by Daniel.
Unlike in the third quarter when Daniel shanked one for 25 yards, Daniel booted a 59-yard-punt to pin LSU back at their 15-yard-line with 3:42 to play with hopes that the Auburn defense would once again stand tall and give their team to at least preserve a tie.
LSU decided to go to the ground game in hopes of running out the clock and were able to gain 17 yards on four straight running plays, forcing Auburn to burn their last two timeouts with their final coming before a critical 3rd-and-4 at the Auburn 32-yard-line with just over two minutes to go.
One more 1st down would probably mean victory for LSU and for Bowden his first loss as head coach.
That is when LSU tried to catch the Auburn defense off guard by having Howard dropped back and fire a screen pass, only to have the pass get deflected by Auburn linebackers Jason Miska and Anthony Harris and lands in the hands of Robinson for the interception
Robinson then ran down the left side of the field untouched for a 41-yard touchdown, the third pick-six of the quarter, to give Auburn a 30-26 lead with 1:55 left in the game.
Despite the three interceptions returned for touchdowns and four interceptions in the 4th quarter, Howard still a chance to redeem himself and help lead LSU to the upset as they got the ball at their 40-yard-line with 1:48 to play.
Howard began the drive with a 25-yard pass to Todd Burks, followed by a 10-yard run on a scramble to LSU at the Auburn 25-yard-line in just two plays.
But after an incomplete pass, Howard would throw his fifth interception as Robinson at the Auburn 10-yard-line, apparently to clinch the win for Auburn.
However as Robinson was returning the interception, he was hit at the Auburn 30-yard-line by LSU wide receiver Shedderick Wilson, knocking the ball loose and leading it to be recovered by LSU tackle Marcus Price at the Auburn 46-yard-line, giving LSU a new set of downs and another chance to save themselves and win the game.
Following a 14-yard pass to Eric Smith to give LSU a 1st down at the 32-yard-line, Howard decided to throw to the end zone, only to be picked off for the sixth time in the quarter as Shelling made a diving interception in the end zone with 16 seconds left to give Auburn an improbable 30-26 win and extend their winning streak to 14 games.
Auburn would extend their winning streak to 20, which included a 36-33 win over #1 Florida in Gainesville, before they tied Georgia 23-23 to give Bowden his first non-win, which was followed by his first loss as the Tigers lost 21-14 to Alabama in the Iron Bowl.
Bowden would remain the Auburn head coach until 1998 when he resigned midway through the season as his relationship with school administrators disintegrated in addition to a 1-5 start to the season as Bowden would finish his tenure in the Plains with a 47-17-1 record and one SEC Western division title.
As for LSU, the "Interception Game" marked the beginning of the end for Hallman as he was fired following a 4-7 season, the sixth straight losing season for LSU.
The Tigers would hire Gerry DiNardo who would lead LSU to three straight winning seasons until his firing following the 1999 season, which ultimately lead to the hiring of Nick Saban as head coach.
As for Howard, he would gain a matter of revenge on Auburn in 1995 when he helped lead LSU to a 12-6 upset win over #5 Auburn in the "Bring Back the Magic Game" where the LSU Tigers wore their white uniforms at home for the first time since 1982 as they won the game when Nix was picked off by Troy Twillie in the end zone on the final play of the game.
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