ON THIS DATE: Auburn is 6-0 on Sept. 9, which includes wins against Mississippi State '72, Pacific '89, Chattanooga '95, Ole Miss '00, MSU '06 and MSU '10.
Two of those games really stand out to me. Since we talk about Cam Newton all the time, for good reason, let's pass over his lone game against MSU and focus instead on Alexander Wright for a moment. Auburn won that 1989 game against Pacific by a score of 55-0 as Wright along with quarterbacks Reggie Slack and Frank McIntosh pieced together one of the most efficient collaborations in the history of college football.
Wright caught five passes for 263 yards that afternoon, which established a Southeastern Conference record for receiving yardage that stood nine seasons. (It's currently the 7th-highest total in league history.) Four of those five passes went for a touchdown. Distances on those passes: 78 yards, 73 yards, 60 yards and 41 yards. The three longest arrived from Slack's hand.
Slack, for his part, was 9-of-10 for 252 yards and four touchdowns. Not too shabby.
Auburn finished 10-2 that season with narrow losses at Tennessee and Florida State as the only smudges on an otherwise sterling season. The team won its last six games of the year including a 30-20 win over Alabama in the first Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium and a 31-14 win over Ohio State in the Hall of Fame Bowl.
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Happy Birthday to former All-American center Ben Tamburello, who turns 51 today. He's quite a story -- a Birmingham kid who grew up idolizing Bear Bryant and the Crimson Tide realized (in 1982) that his childhood team was about to lose its head coach and its swagger. Auburn, on the other hand, was on the upswing with Pat Dye's intensity and Bo Jackson's mere presence fueling a new rise to national prominence. A graduate of Shades Valley High in Birmingham, Tamburello spent a season at prep school to get bigger. The plan worked. Tamburello started at Auburn as a true freshman in 1983 and was an All-America pick in both 1985 and 1986. He was a finalist for the Outland and Lombardi Trophies as a senior. One of the very finest linemen Auburn ever has produced -- and he didn't have a scholarship offer coming out of high school.Happy Birthday to former tailback/linebacker Derrick Graves, who turns 35 today. He's a fascinating cat. Grew up outside of Tuscaloosa, ended up at Auburn, changed positions, had a solid career, ended up in jail, now he's clean and sober and happy. He always struck me as a happy guy who simply couldn't shake some bad habits he picked up as a youngster. He now appears to be on the right path and that's huge.
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