1969 Auburn Tigers football team

The 1969 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. It was the Tigers' 78th overall and 36th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Ralph Jordan, in his 19th year, and played their home games at Cliff Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. They finished with a record of eight wins and three losses (8–3 overall, 5–2 in the SEC) and with a loss against Houston in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl.

1969 Auburn Tigers football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 7–36 vs. Houston
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 20
Record	8–3 (5–2 SEC)
Head coach	Ralph Jordan (19th season)
Captain	Mike Kolen
Home stadium	Cliff Hare Stadium
Seasons ← 1968 1970 →

1969 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 15 Tennessee $	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 10 LSU	4	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Auburn	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Florida	3	–	1	–	1			9	–	1	–	1
No. 8 Ole Miss	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Georgia	2	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Vanderbilt	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Alabama	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Mississippi State	0	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	Wake Forest*	No. 20	Cliff Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 57–0	35,000	[1]
September 27	at No. 19 Tennessee	No. 17	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ABC	L 19–45	57,826	[2]
October 4	Kentucky		Cliff Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 44–3	38,000	[3]
October 11	Clemson*	No. 20	Cliff Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		W 51–0	38,000	[4]
October 18	at Georgia Tech*	No. 15	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)		W 17–14	59,464	[5]
October 25	at No. 9 LSU	No. 14	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	ABC	L 20–21	65,000	[6]
November 1	No. 7 Florida	No. 17	Cliff Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		W 38–12	50,086	[7]
November 8	Mississippi State	No. 11	Cliff Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 52–13	47,600	[8]
November 15	at No. 16 Georgia	No. 11	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)		W 16–3	59,306	[9]
November 29	vs. Alabama	No. 12	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)		W 49–26	72,303	[10][11]
December 31	vs. No. T–17 Houston*	No. 12	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)	Hughes	L 7–36	55,203	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13][14]

Personnel

1969 Auburn Tigers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Pat Sullivan So	Defense Pos. # Name Class S Buddy McClinton	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Shug Jordan Coordinators/assistant coaches George Atkins Tim Christian Joe Connally Paul Davis Bobby Freeman Jim Hilyer Tom Jones Gene Lorendo Sam Mitchell Bill Oliver Claude Saia Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Clemson

1 2 3 4 Total Clemson 0 0 0 0 0 • Auburn 0 23 21 7 51 Date: October 11 Location: Cliff Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama Game attendance: 38,000

Scoring summary Q2 AUB Frederick 39 yard pass from Sullivan (Riley kick) AUB 7–0 Q2 AUB Sullivan 1 yard run (Riley kick) AUB 14–0 Q2 AUB Riley 22 yard field goal AUB 17–0 Q2 AUB Frederick 43 yard pass from Sullivan (kick failed) AUB 23–0 Q3 AUB Beasley 8 yard pass from Sullivan (Riley kick) AUB 30–0 Q3 AUB Zofko 3 yard run (Riley kick) AUB 37–0 Q3 AUB Traylor 2 yard run (Riley kick) AUB 44–0 Q4 AUB Traylor 8 yard run (Riley kick) AUB 51–0

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Alabama

1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 3 7 7 9 26 • Auburn 0 14 14 21 49 Date: November 29 Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

Scoring summary 1 Alabama Buck 32-yard field goal Alabama 3-0 2 Auburn Clark 1-yard run (Riley kick) Auburn 7-3 2 Alabama Husband 4-yard pass from Hunter (Buck kick) Alabama 10-7 2 Auburn Clark 3-yard run (Riley kick) Auburn 14-10 3 Auburn Sullivan 3-yard run (Riley kick) Auburn 21-10 3 Auburn Zofko 1-yard run (Riley kick) Auburn 28-10 3 Alabama Ranager 100-yard kickoff return (Buck kick) Auburn 28-17 4 Alabama Buck 27-yard field goal Auburn 28-20 4 Auburn Zofko 9-yard run (Riley kick) Auburn 35-20 4 Auburn Clark 1-yard run (Riley kick) Auburn 42-20 4 Auburn Frederick 85-yard run (Riley kick) Auburn 49-20 4 Alabama Bailey 7-yard pass from Hunter (run failed) Auburn 49-26

Auburn's first win versus Alabama since 1963.

^[16]

Stats

Passing

• Pat Sullivan 123/257, 1686 yards, 16 TD, 16 INT^[17]

Rushing

• Pat Sullivan 205 yards^[18]

Receiving

• Terry Beasley 34 receptions, 610 yards (LG: 42), 6 TD^[19]

Defense

• Buddy McClinton 9 INT (school record), 92 yards (LG: 24)
• Larry Willingham 7 INT, 85 yards
• Don Webb 4 INT, 48 yards (LG: 24)^[20]

Awards

• All-Americans: S Buddy McClinton
• All-SEC: C Tom Banks, LB Mike Kolen, S Buddy McClinton, PK John Riley
• Cliff Hare Award: Al Griffin^[21]

References

1. "Auburn pounds Deacs". Asheville Citizen-Times. September 21, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Vols gun down Auburn, 45–19". The Miami Herald. September 28, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Auburn routs Kentucky, 44–3". The Times and Democrat. October 5, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sullivan, Auburn defense too much for Tigers 51–0". The Gastonia Gazette. October 12, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Riley's late goal wins for Auburn". The Dothan Eagle. October 19, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Kick blocker hero for LSU in win over Auburn". The Selma Times-Journal. October 26, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Auburn hands Florida first defeat of year". The Opelika-Auburn News. November 2, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Auburn romps over Maroons". The Daily Advertiser. November 9, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Auburn blasts Georgia, nails down major bowl". The Macon Telegraph & News. November 16, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Land, Charles (November 30, 1969). "Auburn beats Bama 49–26". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
11. "Auburn trounces Alabama by 49–26". The News and Courier. Associated Press. November 30, 1969. p. 4B. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
12. "Auburn downed 36–7". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 1, 1970. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. 2009 Auburn Football Media Guide (PDF). Auburn, Alabama: Auburn Media Relations Office. 2009. p. 189. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
14. "1969–1970 Auburn University Football Schedule". Auburn University Athletics. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
15. "Auburn Buries Clemson, 51-0." Palm Beach Post. 1969 Oct 12.
16. "Auburn Defeats Alabama." Palm Beach Post. 1969 Nov 30.
17. 2011 Auburn football media supplement
18. 2011 Auburn football media supplement
19. 2011 Auburn football media supplement
20. 2011 Auburn football media supplement
21. 2011 Auburn football media supplement