College Football Old School Game of the Week: Auburn Shocks #1 Florida in The Swamp

Auburn wide receiver Frank Sanders prepares to make the game-winning touchdown catch against Florida in 1994.

Even though they had won 17 games in a row, the #6 ranked Auburn Tigers still felt they were not getting any respect as they traveled to Gainesville, Florida to face the #1 Florida Gators on October 15, 1994.
The Tigers were undefeated and had not lost a game under head coach Terry Bowden, who had taken over after the resignation of legendary head coach Pat Dye, who stepped down following the 1993 season when it was revealed that a former Auburn player, Eric Ramsey, received money from Auburn football boosters and coaches.
This resulted in a two-year probation for Auburn, which included a two-year postseason ban, a one-year television ban, and reduction in scholarships it could hand out.
Despite all this, Bowden would lead the Tigers on a magical season as Auburn finished 11-0 in 1993 and #4 in the final AP poll, which included a 38-35 win over the Florida Gators.
The Tigers would start off the season 6-0 as they prepared to travel to one of the most hostile environments in college football, the 85,000 Florida Field nicknamed "The Swamp" as they prepared to face off the Gators.
The Gators entered the game looking for revenge for their loss to Auburn the previous year which ended with Florida winning its second SEC championship in three years as they finished with a 11-2 record and top-five ranking in both polls.
Florida was coached by 1966 Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier, who had lead the Gators to the top of the SEC and to a national title contender thanks to his "Fun & Gun" offense which was built primarily on the pass instead of the run as most SEC offenses were at that time.
Florida entered the season ranked #1 and won their first five games by a combined score of 254-62 as quarterback Terry Dean, who been in a seesaw battle with Danny Wuerffel the year before, had thrown 18 touchdown passes in the first five games and had become a Heisman Trophy candidate.
With the Gators averaging over 50 points per game and playing at home where they had complied a 26-1 record since Spurrier took over, Florida was made a 16-point favorite despite the fact they were playing a team that was ranked #6 in the country and had not lost a game in nearly two years.
What would ensue would be considered one of the greatest games in SEC history.
 After the Gators punted on the opening drive of the game, the Tigers put together a seven-play, 68-yard drive which ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Patrick Nix to Thomas Bailey, who out-leaped Florida linebacker to make the catch in the end zone to give Auburn a 7-0 lead with 10:36 left in the first quarter.
Now trailing for the first time all season, the Gators look to respond quickly with their "Fun & Gun" offense.
But on the first snap of their next drive, Dean fumbled the snap from center, which was recovered by Auburn defensive tackle Gary Walker, giving the Tigers the ball at the Florida 19-yard-line.
The Tigers would drive to the two-yard-line before settling for a 19-yard field goal by Matt Hawkins which increased Auburn's lead to 10-0 with 8:42 to go in the opening quarter.
Dean and the Florida offense would get back on track on their ensuing possession as they drove 65 yards in six plays, culminating in a 42-yard touchdown pass from Dean to Jack Jackson which cut the Tigers' lead to 10-7 with 5:52 remaining in the first quarter.
The Tigers would get the ball at their 35-yard-line to start their next drive after the opening kickoff went out of bounds as Nix would lead the Auburn offense to the Florida 27-yard-line, setting up a 44-yard field goal attempt.
But Hawkins' kick was wide right, keeping it a 10-7 game in favor of the Tigers.

Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix would complete 28 of 51 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

Following a Florida punt on their next possession, the Tigers would take over at their 36-yard-line as they it take them 10 plays to drive to the Gators 17-yard-line until faced a 4th & 1.
Bowden decided to gamble and go for the 1st down and appear to have it when Davis ran for eight yards only to have it called back because of a holding penalty on tight end Andy Fuller which nullified the 1st down run.
Instead, the Tigers had to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Hawkins which increased the Auburn lead to 13-7 with 10:16 left in the second quarter.
Following the field goal, the Gators would get the ball at their 35-yard-line after Hawkins sent the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, and drove to the Auburn 24-yard-line until Dean was picked off by Auburn free safety Brian Robinson, who went out of bounds at the one-yard-line killing the Florida drive.
The Florida defense would permit a 1st down, forcing the Tigers to punt the ball to Sarola Palmer, whose 19-yard return set up shop for the Gators at the Auburn 31-yard-line.
Florida would pick up one 1st down but would soon face a 3rd & 19 at the 22-yard-line when Dean scrambled for 18 yards to set up 4th & 1 at the four-yard-line.
Spurrier decided to go for the 1st down, but got more than that as Jackson took a reverse around the left side and scored on a four-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave Florida its first lead of the game at 14-13 with 5:08 left before halftime.
It seemed like the Gators would absorbed the Tigers' best shot as they forced Auburn to punt the ball on their next possession to get the ball with a chance to increase their lead.
However, Dean would be picked off by Robinson again, whose 14-yard return gave the Tigers the ball at the Florida 43-yard-line.
Auburn would drive to the Florida 28-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 1 when they decided to call on a reverse play, with wide receiver Frank Sanders being the one to take the reverse as he ran untouched for the 28-yard touchdown to give the lead back to Auburn.
Auburn went for two but failed to convert, keeping it a 19-14 game with just 77 seconds left in the first half.
There was still plenty of time for the Gators to drive down the field and pick up some more points, but Dean would throw his third interception of the half, this time with strong safety Chris Shelling, whose 33-yard return plus 15-yard face mask penalty on Florida gave Auburn the ball at the Gators' 14-yard-line with 26 seconds left.
Auburn was only able to pick up six more yards so they had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Hawkins with one second left which increased the Tigers' lead to 22-14 as the first half came to a close.
Auburn would get the ball to start the second half but would punt away to Florida, who began the second half by handing the ball off five straight times to freshman running back Fred Taylor, before putting back it in the air when Dean threw his fourth interception of the game as cornerback Fred Smith, giving the Tigers the ball at their 46-yard-line.

Starting quarterback Terry Dean would account for five turnovers(four interceptions, one fumble) before being pulled midway through the third quarter.

Auburn would drive to the Florida 26-yard-line before calling on Hawkins to attempt a 43-yard field goal only to have it go wide right keeping it a one-possession game at 22-14 with 7:05 left in third quarter.
That is when Spurrier benched Dean and inserted Wuerffel into the game in hopes of stopping the turnovers and getting the "Fun & Gun" offense.
Wuerffel came out hotter than a firecracker as he would complete all five of his passes for 74 yards on the drive, with the last one being a 26-yard touchdown to Reidel Anthony that pulled the Gators to within two at 22-20. The Gators attempted to tie the game with a two-point conversion, but Wuerffel's pass fell incomplete keeping it 22-20 in favor of Auburn with 5:30 left in the third quarter.
Then on the ensuing kickoff, the Gators almost caught a huge break as Sanders lost the football at his 15-yard-line, giving Florida a chance to recover and set up their offense in the red zone.

But Florida's Demetric Jackson could not pick up the loose football, leading to a scramble where the ball was accidentally kicked out of the end zone by Florida's Paul Lowe, resulting in a touchback and giving Auburn the football at their 20-yard-line.

Despite the missed opportunity on the kickoff, the Gators defense would force an Auburn punt to give Wuerffel and the Florida offense the ball at their 31-yard-line.
Wuerffel continued his hot streak on the opening play of the drive as he hit Ike Hilliard for 22 yards, then connect with Hilliard again four plays later on a 17-yard touchdown to give Florida a 26-22 lead with 12:15 to go in the fourth quarter.
Once again, the Gators attempted go for two, and again failed as Wuerffel's pass fell incomplete.
The Tigers would strike back on their next possession as they drove 67 yards in eight plays, culminating with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Fuller, atoning for his holding penalty earlier in the game, to give the lead back to Auburn at 29-26 with 8:45 to play.
However, the "Fun & Gun" offense was now rolling as Wuerffel would lead the Gators on their third straight touchdown drive with Jackson being the hero on the seven-play, 65-yard drive.
First, Jackson caught a 24-yard pass to give Florida a 1st down at the Auburn 30-yard-line, then two plays later got behind Shelling and caught Wuerffel's pass in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown to give Florida the lead once again at 33-29 with 5:51 left.

Danny Wuerrfel would come and throw three touchdown passes in relief of Terry Dean.

The Gators defense would force an Auburn punt on their next possession to get the ball back at their 20-yard-line with four minutes to go and a chance to pick up some 1st downs and run out the clock to escape with the victory.
Florida picked up one 1st down, but then a delay-of-game pushed them back to their 29-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 15 with about a minute and a half to play.
That is when Wuerrfel, dropped back to throw, and fired a pass deep downfield that was intercepted by Robinson, his third of the game, who returned it 10 yards to give Auburn the ball at the Auburn 45-yard-line with 1:20 left and a chance to pick up the winning touchdown.
The drive began with Nix hitting Sanders for 13 yards to pick up a 1st down at the Florida 42-yard-line.
Then, Nix would throw three straight incomplete passes, with the third one being a drop by Sanders that would have given the Tigers a 1st down, setting up a do-or-die 4th & 10 with 51 seconds to go.
The Tigers would not die as Nix found Bailey for 14 yards and the 1st down at the  Florida 28-yard-line with 43 seconds to go.
On the next play from scrimmage, Nix hit Willie Gosha for 20 yards to set up 1st & goal at the Florida 8-yard-line with 36 seconds to go.
That is when Nix dropped back and lofted a pass to the left side of the end zone for Sanders, who outleaped Florida defensive backs Anthone Lott and Michael Gilmore to haul in the eight-yard touchdown catch, stunning the majority of the 85,000 fans at "The Swamp" as the Tigers took a 36-33 lead with 30 seconds left.

The Gators would need a miracle to at least force a tie but that become even more remote when Chris Bilkie was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after the ensuing kickoff, pushing the Gators back to their 11-yard-line.
A sack of Wuerrffel for a nine-yard-loss lead to third-stringer Eric Kessler to come in and attempt a desperation pass on the final play of the game which fell incomplete as the Tigers had pulled off the 36-33 upset, marking the first time that head coach Steve Spurrier had lost a SEC game in "The Swamp".
Following the stunning events in Gainesville, the Gators dropped from #1 to #5 while Auburn jumped from #6 to #4 following their 18th straight win.
With Wuerffel as the starter for the rest of the season, Florida would go on to win the SEC East division title for the third year in a row and play in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama, but a week before their meeting with Alabama, the Gators experienced a "defeat" even worse than the one to Auburn.
The Gators would blow a 31-3 4th quarter lead to Florida State, who scored 28 straight points to tie Florida 31-31 in a game that became known as "The Choke at Doak".
The Gators would rebound the next week to beat Alabama 24-23 to win their second straight SEC championship, before losing to Florida State in a rematch in the Sugar Bowl to finish the season with a 9-2-1 record and #7 ranking in both polls.
As for Auburn, the win over Florida would be the high mark of their 1994 season as a month later they would be tied by unranked Georgia 23-23 and then lose to Alabama 21-14 in the "Iron Bowl" to finish with a 9-1-1 record and final #9 ranking in the AP poll.
While the ban for postseason play would be lifted the following season, the Tigers would take a step back as they finished with back-to-back 8-4 seasons in 1995 + 96, before winning the SEC West title in 1997 and playing in the SEC Championship Game where they lost to Peyton Manning and the Tennessee Volunteers 30-29.
After a 1-5 start the following season, Bowden would step down as Auburn head coach finishing with a 47-17-1 record in his five and half seasons in the Plains.
25 years after the Tigers historic upset in "The Swamp", another Nix etched his name in Auburn lore as Patrick's son Bo lead the Tigers on a 11-play, 60-yard drive which ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Seth Williams with nine seconds left to give Auburn a 27-21 win over Oregon in the opening game of the 2019 season.