College Football Old School Game of the Week: LSU Beats Auburn in "Barnburner"

A cloud of black smoke is seen outside Jordan-Hare Stadium during the 1996 LSU-Auburn game.

The rivalry between the Auburn Tigers and the LSU Tigers, known by some as the "Tiger Bowl", have had some bizarre incidents, including the famous 1988 "Earthquake Game" when a LSU touchdown pass from Tommy Hodson to Eddie Fuller in the 4th quarter produced a reaction so loud that it registered on a seismograph on the LSU campus.

Eight years later, the rivalry had another strange episode while the two SEC rivals were battling in an important SEC West game.

Both teams entered the game ranked as the visiting LSU tigers were ranked #21 having won their season opener against Houston, while Auburn entered the game ranked #14 already 3-0.

The contest was vitally important for both teams as they both had aspirations to win the SEC Western Division title meaning the winner of the "Tiger Bowl" would take a huge step in the race to earning a trip to the SEC Championship Game.

But the game would take a backseat to what was going across the street from Jordan-Hare Stadium during the first quarter of play.

A fire had broken out at the Auburn Sports Arena, nicknamed "The Barn", where the Auburn men's basketball team had played from 1946-1969, thanks to a grill that was left underneath an overhang.

The building which was 75 yards east of Jordan-Hare Stadium would be completely engulfed causing many Auburn fans who saw the huge cloud of smoke and the flames to be concerned.

However, the game would continue without any delay and the fire would be contained within a hour.

Thankfully, there were no injuries as only "The Barn" which was set for demolition anyway and 21 cars were destroyed.

The Auburn Sports Arena or "The Barn" as it was known burns while LSU and Auburn play at nearby Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Meanwhile, the action on the field began to heat up on the first play of the second quarter when LSU punter Chad Kessler could not get a punt away and was tackled by defensive back Larry Melton, giving Auburn the ball at the LSU 39-yard-line.

On the next play from scrimmage, quarterback Dameyune Craig would hit Robert Baker for a 16-yard reception for an Auburn 1st down at the LSU 23-yard-line, but the LSU defense would hold the Auburn offense to just five more yards, forcing a 35-yard field goal by Jaret Holmes to give Auburn a 3-0 lead just 1:41 into the second quarter.

LSU would respond by driving from its 37-yard-line to the Auburn 10-yard-line where they had a 3rd & 2 when quarterback Herb Tyler fumbled the snap, losing three yards and forcing LSU to settle for a 30-yard field goal attempt by Wade Richey, which was no good, only for Richey to get a reprieve as Auburn was offsides, given Richey another a chance to kick the field goal, this time from 25 yards out.

Richey's 25-yard field goal bounced off the left upright, but though the uprights to tie the game, only to have Auburn be called for offsides again, which gave LSU a 1st-and-goal at the Auburn four-yard-line.

Two plays later, LSU would be in the end zone as Tyler went around the left side and in for a two-yard touchdown run to give LSU a 7-3 lead with 6:34 left in the 1st half.

Auburn would come back by driving 74 yards in 10 plays to set up a 3rd & 4 from the LSU five-yard-line when Craig was sacked for a 11-yard-loss by LSU defensive back Greg Hill, forcing Auburn to try a 33-yard field goal.

But that went awry when LSU's Arnold Miller was able to get around the Auburn offensive line untouched and blocked the kick, keeping the score 7-3 in LSU's favor as the first half came to a close.

LSU quarterback Herb Tyler accounted for 169 yards of total offense and one touchdown.

That blocked field goal would only be the beginning of Auburn's kicking woes in this game.

LSU got the ball to start the second half but quickly gave it back to Auburn when running back Kevin Faulk  was stripped of the ball by Auburn defensive end Shannon Suttle, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Auburn free safety Brad Ware to give the ball at their 35-yard-line.

Auburn would go three-and-out on its ensuing possession, but the defense would force a second straight turnover when linebacker Ricky Neal intercepted a Tyler pass intended for wide receiver Yahmani Adams, and returned the pick 10 yards to the LSU 29-yard-line, giving Auburn an excellent chance to put some points on the board.

The Tigers would drive to the 13-yard-line before calling on Holmes to attempt a 29-yard field goal, only to have Holmes miss the chip shot field goal, keeping a 7-3 game with 9:47 left in the third quarter.

The Auburn offense would get another excellent chance to score more points when they got the ball at their 49-yard-line following a 26-yard punt by Kessler.

However, the LSU defense would come up big again as at the end of a 10-yard run by Eric Hines-Tucker, LSU linebacker Pat Rogers would forced and recover a fumble to give the ball back to the LSU offense at their 24-yard-line.

That is when Tyler caught fire(sorry about the pun) as he completed passes of 37 yards to wide receiver Chris Beard and a pair of completions totaling 29 yards to tight end David LaFleur to set up a 23-yard field goal by Richey to increase LSU's lead to 10-3 with exactly two minutes to play in the third quarter.

It seemed though as the third quarter came to an end Auburn was poised to tie the game as Craig hit Markeith Cooper for a 33-yard gain on the final play of the quarter to give Auburn a 1st down at the LSU 16-yard-line.

Once again though, the LSU defense would rise up and force Auburn to try for another field goal, this time from 34 yards out, and once again Auburn would be unsuccessful as Holmes missed it keeping a 10-3 game with 13:21 left in regulation.

The Auburn defense would force another punt to get the ball back at their 31-yard-line with 11:24 to go in the 4th quarter.

When the offense came back out on to the field, they had a new quarterback as Jon Cooley replaced Craig who complained of dizziness after a hit by Pat Rogers on the previous possession.

Jon Cooley completed 11 of 18 passes for 121 yards in relief of Dameyune Craig.

Cooley started slow by throwing two straight incomplete passes to start the drive, but found Tyrone Goodson for a 15-yard completion to give Auburn a 1st down at their 46-yard-line.

Then after being sacked for a seven-yard loss, Cooley would complete his next five passes with the last one being a 30-yard touchdown to Robert Baker to bring Auburn to within an extra point of tying the game.

But that is when Auburn's kicking problems struck again as Holmes' extra point was blocked by LSU defensive back Chris Cummings, keeping LSU in the lead at 10-9 with 8:46 left in the 4th quarter.

The Auburn defense forced another three-and-out to give the ball back to Cooley and the offense at with 7:29 to go and a chance to take the lead.

But on the first play of the drive, Cooley was intercepted by LSU safety Raion Hill who ran it back for a 39-yard touchdown to increase the LSU lead to 17-9 with 7:19 left.

In a strange way, they might have been some Auburn fans who were relieved that now they needed a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game, instead of relying on Holmes to kick a potential game-winning field goal as he had missed two field goals and had another field goal plus an extra point blocked.

Following Hill's pick-six, Auburn took over at its 20-yard-line where it took the offense four plays to get back into LSU territory as they had a 1st-and-10 at the 49-yard-line.

On the very next play, Cooley handed the ball off to Hines-Tucker, who ran for six yards, only to fumble the ball, which was recovered by LSU linebacker Allen Stansbury, whose 25-yard return give LSU the ball at the Auburn 32-yard-line with 5:41 remaining and a chance to put the game away.

However, the Auburn defense would give their offense one more chance to tie the game as Auburn cornerback Jason Bray picked off a pass that bounced off the chest of LaFluer and into Bray's hands, to give Auburn possession at their 37-yard-line with 5:20 left, needing eight points to tie and force overtime.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Cooley hit Karston Bailey for 13 yards and a 1st down, which was followed by two straight passes for nine yards, setting up a 3rd & 1 at the LSU 41-yard-line.

That is when Cooley handed the ball off to Kevin McLeod, who picked two yards and the 1st down.

Cooley would go back to the air on the next play and throw an incomplete pass, which was followed by 19-yard pass to Bailey, then a 8-yard completion to Baker to put Auburn at the 12-yard-line with a 2nd & 2.

McLeod would get the ball on the next two plays, picking up three yards and setting up a 1st-and-goal at the nine-yard-line.

This time Cooley handed the ball off to Rusty Williams who gained two yards forcing Auburn to call their first timeout with 44 seconds left in regulation.

On 2nd & goal, Auburn kept it on the ground as Cooley handed the ball off to Williams, who ran it in for the seven-yard touchdown to make it a 17-15 game with 38 seconds to go as Auburn prepared to for try and tie the game with a two-point conversion that would force the overtime game for both teams as overtime was introduced to FBS or Division 1-A in 1996.

On the two-point try, Cooley took the snap, and fired a pass toward the right side, only to be intercepted by Raion Hill again, who proceeded to run down the field 98 yards to give LSU two points and apparently clinch the game with a 19-15 lead.

However, there was still the onside kick try by Auburn, which was successful as Baker recovered it at midfield to give Auburn one last chance to win the game.

But on the very next play from scrimmage, Cooley was intercepted by cornerback Cedric Donaldson and after Tyler took a knee, LSU had come away with the 19-15 win.

The huge road win gave LSU a leg up in the SEC West division race, but a 26-0 loss to Alabama in November would keep the Tigers out of the SEC Championship Game.

LSU would finish the season 10-2 and ranked in the top 15 of the final AP and coaches polls while Auburn would finish with a 8-4 record as they would finish in the #24 and #25 in the final AP and Coaches polls respectively.

But when it comes to the 1996 LSU and Auburn seasons, most college football fans will remember the game they played "The Night The Barn Burned".