Auburn may get an ‘04 ‘title’ yet (and who’s USC’s cover boy?)
All 156 All-Americans, 11 (or 10) national titles and 7 (or 6) Heismans? Lane Kiffin did that.
Before we get into this media guide cover — and thanks to devoted reader/serial e-mailer Andy Rosenberg for the tip — there is a movement afoot to appease Auburn in its national title claim for the 2004 season.
Rewind: Auburn, USC and Oklahoma all went undefeated in the regular season in 2004, but only two could go to the BCS title game. So Auburn was snubbed, went on to win the Sugar Bowl and finish 13-0, and coach Tommy Tuberville and Tiger Nation screamed injustice. The Trojans won the championship game but, as you might have heard, just got put into NCAA timeout and now must vacate that win (among others).
Now comes this: The executive director of the Football Writers Association of America said at the Big 12 Conference’s preview that the organization may take away USC’s 2004 title and award it to Auburn. “I wouldn’t say we’re definitely going to do that, but it’s a possibility,” Steve Richardson said. “As we survey the scene, we have an opportunity to consider for the first time of vacating, in the modern era, a national championship.” (It’s worth noting Tuberville now coaches in the Big 12, at Texas Tech.)
The FWAA honor might be all Auburn gets. The BCS has said it won’t make its decision until after USC’s appeals to the NCAA are complete. Even then, it probably will just vacate the championship. The Associated Press will not change its final rankings, even though Auburn finished second to USC.
Meanwhile, the poor USC sports information department doesn’t know what to do. Note the hysterical media guide cover. It references 11 national championships (including 2004). But the original cover that listed seven Heisman Trophy winners now has been changed to six. This is kind of bizarre, given that while the school made a big show of returning Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy, the Heisman Trust hasn’t done anything yet and won’t make a decision until after the appeals.
In summary, Bush, whose family lived in a home rent free, is not recognized by the school, but O.J. Simpson, who killed — excuse me, may have killed — two people is still embraced by USC.
Now, about the guy on the cover. I’m not sure who that is. But given the way those numbers are super imposed over his proud stance, I guess he had something to do with 11 national championships, 31 bowl victories, 6 Heisman winners, 156 first-team All-Americans and 437 NFL players.
Maybe he mentored John McKay or something.
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265 comments Add your comment
larry
July 28th, 2010
1:32 pm
Auburn Man
Citadel, La Tech & La Monroe
Jack G.
July 28th, 2010
1:38 pm
Our Father who art in Heaven “harold” be his name
Bartender Gimme Another One Dawg
July 28th, 2010
1:39 pm
Auburn Man, So Cal has made a living off of SEC teams lately. They beat you home-and-home, and the one at Auburn was embarrassing. But worse, they put 70 on Arkansas one year and 50-something the next. I’d take SC heads up over virtually ANY SEC team most times. Of course, we’re not likely to find out, because most SEC teams won’t schedule somebody like them. So, hats off to you and Arky. At least you had guts enough to schedule them.
gatorman770
July 28th, 2010
1:39 pm
Why would anyone put a dildo like that on their media guide?
I agree with the dawgster’s 11:03 am comment
“First of all i think that the title will just be listed as vacated…But a case can be made for Au or Ok to be the National Champion” but also think the original BCS buster undefeated Utah Utes should be in the conversation.
Stephen
July 28th, 2010
1:47 pm
KIFFIN’S THE BIGGEST FRAUD IN SPORTS.
Tide Rising
July 28th, 2010
1:49 pm
bartendender give me another one,
We’ll gladly take on USC. We’ve played them a couple home and home series and in a bowl. We lead the series 5-2 and spanked USC last time we played them in a bowl in the late 80s 24-3. Bring it!
PTC DAWG
July 28th, 2010
1:49 pm
WGAS?
PTC DAWG
July 28th, 2010
1:50 pm
I’ll add that I don’t think USC has EVER beaten an SEC team that won more than 8 games in the year that USC played them.
tim
July 28th, 2010
1:58 pm
Auburn without a doubt deserves this. They went undefeated in the SEC and won the SEC Championship and Sugar Bowl. Yeah they did play Citadel and La-Monroe, but they also beat Miss St, Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia, LSU ,Bama, Ole Miss, and Tennesse (twice). Oh yeah, and VT in Sugar Bowl. What a joke. They would have beat USC and without a doubt would have dominated Oklahoma. Auburn was by far the best team in the country.
Arlo
July 28th, 2010
2:00 pm
If USC vacates the win and it goes to Oklahoma, then OU is undefeated, played in the title game & gets the Crystal Ball! Although that is not how OU usually gets their National Championships, they usually earn them. Compare Auburn’s SOS with Oklahoma’s SOS that year and you will see who should get the NC if they are re-issuing it.
ADL
July 28th, 2010
2:05 pm
Tide Rising…you can thank USC and Sam Cunningham for kicking your segregated asses into the modern era back in 1972.
DawgDad
July 28th, 2010
2:05 pm
I say vacate the 2004 title but don’t award it to anyone. Agree you can’t go back in time and properly square things with Auburn players and fans, and NCAA football fans in general. Put a big blight mark in the record book on 2004 to remind people of the stain on the sport left by blatant cheating and the ridiculously corrupt BCS selection process. Kind of like what no 1994 World Series does for MLB.
AUTigress
July 28th, 2010
2:07 pm
I am an Auburn grad and I DON’T feel that we should “pull a Bama” and claim a championship that isn’t really ours. It sucks that we were left out, but it is time to let it go. You can’t move forward if you are looking behind.
Kerryb
July 28th, 2010
2:18 pm
Jeff, I don’t know why you and other people that make this comment don’t get this. I by no means am an O.J. defender but, O.J. Simpson won his Heisman trophy as an eligible player for USC. What he did after that does not change what he did that year in football. Claim the trophy but, I would agree about is don’t make it a front and center piece of your trophy case. On the other hand Reggie Bush won his trophy as an ineligible player for USC. I think the Heisman Trust would have every right to take that trophy away. I think if USC has to vacate wins for that year then why should they be able to claim 11 NC. You should recognize the #2 team who was also undefeated as the champion for that year.
Arlo
July 28th, 2010
2:19 pm
I would argue that Auburn has already “Pulled a Bama”… Auburn’s football program was placed on probation by the NCAA in May 1956 and banned from postseason play in 1956 and 1957.
The Tigers were awarded the AP National Championship in 1957—even though they were not eligible to play in a postseason bowl that year. Isn’t that the ONLY NC Auburn officially recognizes?
Wo Fat
July 28th, 2010
2:19 pm
Is Kiffin really Montes’ offspring…if so, Monte should be slapped for having sired and spoiled this turd.
Truth Hurts
July 28th, 2010
2:20 pm
For the record, if a win is vacated, that game disappears from the historical records for that team. The LOSS suffered by the other team does NOT disappear in the record books. With the vacated win – Oklahoma still has a 12-1 record, Auburn has a 13-0 record.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
2:24 pm
“there is a movement afoot to appease Auburn in its national title claim for the 2004 season.”
APPEASE????????????????????????? Most Auburn fans/alum have let it go. We’re just laughing at the BCS and the fact that USC cheated and tried to cover up their star player.
SEC FAN
July 28th, 2010
2:27 pm
Oklahoma did go undefeted in the regular season; however they lost the Big 12 Championship game to Kansas State; Auburn went undefeated in the regular and beat Tenesssee by 10 in the SEC championship game, WHY THEN! was Oklahoma even in the BCS championship game to begin with? Blame ESPN!
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
2:28 pm
“I dont see how Auburn deserves it over them.”
Geez, more stupidity from idiots.
Ok, here are the stats
Auburn played and beat 5 top 25 teams. One of those teams twice.
Auburn set an all-time ALL-TIME NFL recruiting record that season.
Auburn had a tougher strength of schedule than both USC and Oklahoma.
Oklahoma played ONE ranked team the entire season..
Nuff said.
Criminal Terds
July 28th, 2010
2:29 pm
Arlo – “pulling a Bama” means adding titles decades after the fact when so no name geologist creates his own ranking system and retroactively awards titles. Alabama didn’t recognize many of their so-called thirteen titles until the 1980s when some schmuck saw some useless polls that had UAT at #1.
The AP, arguably one of the main services that names a national champion, named Auburn the national champion in 1957. How is that pulling a Bama.
THIS is the definition of “pulling a Bama.” The 1941 national championship is a fairy tale. Alabama (9-2) had lost to Mississippi State (SEC champs) and Vanderbilt. The Tide finished ranked 20th in the Associate Press Poll, behind four SEC teams.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
2:31 pm
“The reason they didn’t play for it was the weak schedule they played.”
You gals over in Tuscaloser played several crap teams.
Ga State anyone?
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
2:34 pm
“Compare Auburn’s SOS with Oklahoma’s SOS that year and you will see who should get the NC if they are re-issuing it.”
2004 SOS rankings.
From NCAA: Texas A&M was #1, followed by North Carolina, Arizona, Arizona State, and Auburn. Where did the BCS title game teams rank? Oklahoma’s schedule was ranked 11th and USC’s was 18th.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
2:36 pm
“Oklahoma did go undefeted in the regular season; however they lost the Big 12 Championship game to Kansas State”
?????????????????????????????????????????
Oklahoma played and beat Colorado in the Big 12 Championship.
Guest
July 28th, 2010
2:36 pm
UGA folks can brag all you want to about beating Tech in football most years, and that’s perfectly fair. What’s also fair is to point out that with a history of Jan Kemp (Vince Dooley days), Jim Harrick, and now Damon Evans, the UGA Athletic Department is truly “The Cesspool of the South,” and is richly deserving of that title. No one outside of Georgia has any respect for your University or your Athletic Department, and that is a fact. It has been said many times: “Tech people are proud of their school, Georgia peoUGA folks can brag all you want to about beating Tech in football most years, and that’s perfectly fair. What’s also fair is to point out that with a history of Jan Kemp (Vince Dooley days), Jim Harrick, and now Damon Evans, the UGA Athletic Department is truly “The Cesspool of the South,” and is richly deserving of that title. No one outside of Georgia has any respect for your University or your Athletic Department, and that is a fact. It has been said many times: “Tech people are proud of their school, Georgia people are proud of their football team.” What a legacy to be proud of!
UGA fans can now return to your mobile home parks and resume waiting for your unemployment checks.
And watching those red panties falling from the sky, always a good time-killer for thUGA morons. :-) :-) :-)
Tommy
July 28th, 2010
2:47 pm
Tuberville won six straight against the farm boys from Tuscaloser.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
2:48 pm
“Citadel, La Tech & La Monroe”
Bama and Florida played those teams, too.
Greensboro, GA
July 28th, 2010
2:49 pm
**********************
Nesbitt for Heisman
**********************
wxwax
July 28th, 2010
2:51 pm
I like the irony about OJ and Bush, that’s a good one.
As for the Kiffin bashing, I guess that’s the columnist’s easy out on a slow day for, oh, the next decade or so?
Let’s see: LeBron’s a narcissist, Kiffin’s a creep, A-Rod’s unloved. Am I missing any of the current hackneyed, cliched sports narratives that columnists rely upon?
ps An estimated 160 million people consumed World Cup information on ESPN’s platforms in the United States. Yup, soccer’s dead here all right.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
2:53 pm
I wonder if Florida and UGA will ever go undefeated…….
gdawginkalamazoo
July 28th, 2010
2:58 pm
Don’t let the envy eat you up mr guest. And really beating Tech in football is nothing to brag about.
Old Dawg
July 28th, 2010
2:58 pm
Lane Kiffin is taking the game of college football to the level of professional wrestling. Or am I being to harsh on wrestling?
kiffin basher
July 28th, 2010
2:59 pm
11 national championships, 31 bowl victories, 6 Heisman winners, 156 first-team All-Americans and 437 NFL players,watching USC crumble under Kiffin…. PRICELESS!
Go DAWGS! 30-24
Criminal Terds
July 28th, 2010
2:59 pm
What I don’t understand is why people claim Auburn would have lost to USC because they lost the previous two years. By that reasoning, Alabama should be awarded the 2010 National Championship as well – they already beat most everyone on their schedule. Why even play the games. Just base everything off of last year’s scores. Auburn changed offensive coordinators between 2003 and 2004. They went from Hugh Nall’s “Jump in the middle of the pile and see if you can’t get two yards” philosophy to Al Borges’ wide open offense. Auburn immediately went from having an anemic offense to one that could score at will. 34 points at #10 Tennessee, 38 against Arkansas, 42 against Kentucky, 35 at Ole Miss, 24 vs #8 Georgia, 38 against #15 Tennessee.
And for those whining about Auburn playing La Monroe, Citadel and La Tech – look at your own schedules. Everybody plays cupcakes. The two Louisiana schools (both of who have beaten Alabama recently – La Tech several times) were scheduled for a long time. Citadel was a last minute replacement for Bowling Green, who took more money to go play Oklahoma and left us scrambling to find an opponent.
Pete Carroll
July 28th, 2010
3:01 pm
I wash my hands of this whole situation down in SoCal. Oooh look it’s raining again! I can stick my hands out the window and wash them.
joe
July 28th, 2010
3:02 pm
Lane forgot one stat…38 times placed on probation (or whatever the real # is)…
Old Dawg
July 28th, 2010
3:05 pm
Guest: Sure, UGA has had its fair share of problems. Just remember that many other schools have had similar issues. Tennessee has the Fulmer Cup. Tech and all those players receiving unearned academic credits. Alabama with its probations and coaching changes. Auburn and the midnight ride to Louisville. Florida and its probations in the past, including paying players’ girlfriends for abortions. BYU and its year of missions for players, who end up being in their mid-20s by the time they graduate. The list goes on and on.
So, what have you done useful to society recently?
kiffin basher
July 28th, 2010
3:06 pm
Give Auburn the NC.
On the kiffer…. look at this track record….Raiders depleted! Tennessee depleted!…. now USC in the process of being depleted.
What in the world do these Ath. Directors see in him? An opportunity to clean house and start from bottom?
I guess it is getting ole Monte with the package?
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
3:08 pm
Criminal Terds
FINALLY! Someone comes along and provides common sense to the brain dead bloggers.
“What I don’t understand is why people claim Auburn would have lost to USC because they lost the previous two years.”
Alabama lost to Auburn SIX years in a row. If you use the logic of the idiots spewing the USC beat AU two years in a row, then Bama has yet to beat Auburn.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
3:09 pm
“Give Auburn the NC.”
It would be awesome if Auburn was given the award and when they were handed the trophy, Chizek and the players took and threw it in a dumpster as a F U to the BCS and USC.
POAD
July 28th, 2010
3:20 pm
If you gave it to Auburn Cam Newton would scratch the old name off and then throw it in the trash.
76-Dawg
July 28th, 2010
3:21 pm
As much as I hate Auburn they beat the hell out of a good UGA team in 2004 and they deserve any recognition they can get even if it is 6 year too late.
Reuben Houston
July 28th, 2010
3:22 pm
Hey, Guest, let’s just let bygones be bygones, okay?
The Doctor
July 28th, 2010
3:24 pm
“Citadel, La Tech & La Monroe”
Last year’s NC Bama played Fla International, North Texas and Tenn-Chattanooga.
And USC had 6 opponents under .500 in 2004.
The path to the NC is littered with wins over creampuffs.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
3:29 pm
“The path to the NC is littered with wins over creampuffs.”
The only people who scream about OOC games are the Pac-10. Everyone knows that the SEC has a hard enough time beating up on each other.
It’s interesting how the PAC-10 has ONE school with a football national title in 30 years. SEC- 5 not counting 2004 Auburn.
Bama, Bama, TN, LSU, LSU, FL, FL, FL, UGA
Hockey Steve
July 28th, 2010
3:36 pm
Auburn was the best team in the nation that year and would have taken USC out to the woodshed. They deserve the title.
Tide Rising
July 28th, 2010
3:37 pm
ADL,
True enough. USC kicking our butts in 1972 didn’t just bring Alabama into the modern era. It brought the whole deep south into the modern era. Several books were written about the importance of this one game. But you should remember that we returned the favor and beat USC the next year in LA.
It's a shame what he did to that dog
July 28th, 2010
3:40 pm
“But you should remember that we returned the favor and beat USC the next year in LA.”
No one cares.
Tide Rising
July 28th, 2010
3:48 pm
Criminal Terds at 2:29,
Trying to revise a little history there buddy? You’ve got a point about one national title that Bama claims that being the 1941 title. So what. Throw it out.
Bama officially counts 13 ncs while the ncaa media guide credits us with 17 going by any poll. If you go by the most usual standard which is by one of the 2 major polls since 1936(AP and coaches poll) we have 8 legit titles(tied with ND). Going by this standard USC has 7 including the one in question and not the 11 that USC prints on that media guide featurning Kiffin. Likewise Michigan claims 11 national titles but only 2 in the modern era going by the 2 legitimate polls the AP and coaches poll since 1936.
Bama’s other titles include 1925, 1930, and 1934 saw 3 Bama teams go 10-0 and win the Rose bowl the defacto national title game at the time. Those 3 are very legit mythical titles even if they are mythical and or retroactive. No one was better in those 3 years and any objective person looking at those seasons would agree. Just cause you don’t like it doesn’t make these 3 titles any less legitimate. Show me who else went unbeaten, untied, and won the biggest bowl of the day in these 3 years.
1926 Bama team was unbeaten and tied the other top team in the land Stanford in the Rose Bowl. A split title is certainly warranted there also but I’ll chose not to include it just so you won’t complain. But when you consider our team played on hostile ground and took a 5 day cross country train ride to get there I think a split title is not unreasonable.
Bottom line is that we have 8 recognized titles by one of the 2 major polls since 1936, 11 totally legit titles throwing out 1941 and 1926, and this doesn’t include 2 unbeaten, untied Bama teams in 1945 10-0 and 1966 11-0 that weren’t awarded ncs.
Tide Rising
July 28th, 2010
3:50 pm
Its a shame,
No one cares? Then you need not reply.