84 Days Until Auburn Kicks Off against Baylor - Celebrating the 1984 Tigers

The Auburn Tigers are 84 days away from kicking off the 2025 football season against the Baylor Bears. The Tigers will travel to Waco, Texas, to take on the Bears on Friday, August 29, at 7:00 p.m. CT.

The adults reading this recognize that time is fleeting, and these next 84 days will pass like a sneeze on the breeze. But if one is staring at a calendar, 84 days looks and feels like an exaggerated plod in an ever-increasing incline, up the dreariest of hillsides. And there is no end in sight. Join AuburnOnSI as we attempt to ease the toil through time by counting down the days to kickoff with former Tigers’ jersey numbers. 

This marks the 16th installment of this countdown. And throughout the previous 15 players, we have discussed defensive dynamos, offensive weapons, and even a punter. And now, at 84, in lieu of a former player, we take a look back at a special game that capped one of the best seasons in Auburn football history, the 1984 Sugar Bowl. 

The 1983 team was as talented a roster as Auburn ever assembled on the field. Led by head coach Pat Dye in his third season, Auburn was headlined by legendary running back Bo Jackson. Jackson, who rushed for 1,213 yards and averaged almost eight yards per carry in his sophomore season.

On the legs of Jackson and his backfield mates, Lionel James and Tommie Agee, and backed by a stout defense led by all-time Tigers like Kevin Greene, Donnie Humphrey, and Gerald Robinson, the Tigers established themselves as one of the top teams in the country. 

After dropping a game against then No. 2 Texas in the second week of the season, Auburn would go on a monumental run, finishing the regular season on a nine-game win streak, including a four-game stretch of victories over then No. 5 Florida, No. 7 Maryland, No. 4 Georgia, and No. 19 Alabama.

The Tigers would finish the season as Southeastern Conference Champions for only the second time in school history, and for the first time since 1957. 

By the time Auburn met the No. 8 Michigan Wolverines on January 2, 1984, in the 50th Sugar Bowl, the Tigers were ranked third nationally and were in position to win a national title. All Auburn needed was a victory and a little help in the form of Georgia beating Texas and Miami beating Nebraska. At least, that’s what they thought they needed. 

Michigan didn’t make the victory part simple. The Wolverines scored a touchdown on their second possession of the game and stymied Auburn’s devastating rushing attack for much of the first half. The Tigers would go into halftime down 7-0, only the second time that season Auburn had been held scoreless in the first half. 

After halftime, the Tigers got rolling on offense, and Auburn kicking legend Al Del Greco would knock through his first of three field goals early in the third quarter. The Tigers' defense would turn over Wolverine quarterback Steve Smith, resulting in Del Greco’s second field goal. 

On the Tigers’ final possession of the night, Jackson and Company controlled the ball for the final seven minutes of play, driving 61 yards in 10 plays. Then, with just 27 seconds left on the clock, Del Greco booted in what would be the game winner, and put the Tigers up 9-7. Jackson would win the game’s Most Valuable Player award after rushing for 131 yards. James would add 93 yards, and Agee another 84.

It ultimately was a bittersweet ending for the Tigers. They did get the help they needed from the Bulldogs and the Hurricanes, as both No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Texas fell that day. But despite Auburn’s more than impressive resume and victory over Michigan, previously ranked No. 5 Miami jumped the Tigers in the polls to number one and the Mythical National Title.

A sour result shouldn’t take away from what was one of the best teams in Auburn football history. An 11-1 record is nothing to sneeze at, and the final stretch of the regular season remains one of the toughest runs in college football history.

The season and bowl game dragged the Tigers from the ashes of the SEC basement and once again established Auburn as a premier team in the conference, essentially setting the bar for the program’s expectations for the next 40-plus years.