< PreviousSTATS COMPARISONS AUBURN STATS LEADER RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Payton Thorne 50 225 4.5 2 61 37.5 Jarquez Hunter 57 218 3.8 3 19 43.6 Brian Battie 36 172 4.8 0 24 28.7 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Payton Thorne 71-117-4 60.7 745 4 124.2 Robby Ashford 11-22-0 50.0 123 2 20.5 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jay Fair 21 232 11.1 2 36 38.7 Rivaldo Fairweather 16 153 9.6 1 41 25.5 Shane Hooks 8 106 13.3 1 32 17.7 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Eugene Asante 28 19 47.0 5.0-27 3.0-20 Larry Nixon III 14 14 28.0 1.5-11 0.0-0 Donovan Kaufman 13 11 24.0 3.5-11 1.0-6 OLE MISS STATS LEADER RUSHING ATT NET AVG TD LONG AVG/G Quinshon Judkins 108 443 4.1 6 37 73.8 Jaxson Dart 63 302 4.8 4 68 50.3 Ulysses Bentley IV 37 275 7.4 3 43 45.8 PASSING CMP-ATT-INT PCT YDS TD AVG/G Jaxson Dart 107-167-2 64.1 1638 12 273.0 Spencer Sanders 10-16-0 62.5 142 2 35.5 RECEIVING NO. YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G Jordan Watkins 36 536 14.9 2 68 89.3 Dayton Wade 27 390 14.4 2 43 65.0 Tre Harris 17 367 21.6 6 56 73.4 DEFENSE UA A TOT TFL-YDS SACKS-YDS Trey Washington 22 20 42.0 2.0-11 0.0-0 Ashanti Cistrunk 15 22 37.0 3.0-13 2.5-12 John Saunders Jr. 20 12 32.0 2.0-9 0.0-0 Here is a quick look at the top team statistics for the Tigers and the Rebels. Quick Look n Total Touchdowns 2131 n Rushing Yards 1,1491,100 n Passing Yards 9351,836 20 STATS COMPARISONS AUBURNTIGERS.COM® FAVORITE CHIP OF THE22 1993 TEAM REUNION As the state’s top high school recruit in the class of 1993, offensive lineman Willie Anderson chose Auburn over Al- abama despite the Tigers coming off consecutive non-winning seasons while their in-state rival had just won the na- tional championship. “I wanted to be part of the turn- around,” Anderson said. “We got that my freshman year. It was unbelievable.” “For us it was all about rebuilding Auburn and the legacy,” remembered kicker Scott Etheridge, one of the Tigers’ captains in 1993. “Getting us back to where we were. We took that mentality, and we went undefeated.” Before the triumph there were trials. Two weeks before the season opener, the Tigers received a postseason ban for NCAA violations, an especially pain- ful penalty for Auburn’s seniors, many of whom cried as the news broke, the tears fueling their resolve. “We fed off the energy of the seniors,” recalled Anderson, mentioning Wayne Gandy, Stan White, Reid McMilion and Tony Richardson. “We became special out of the lead- ership,” said Frank Sanders, a junior in 1993, instantly ticking off the names of 14 team- mates on offense and defense who made their mark that season. “Playmakers.” “Those guys took care of me,” An- derson said. “There was a standard of toughness you had to have to play at Auburn and all of those guys expected me to have that. They made sure I abid- ed by that toughness too. We felt like we were better prepared, and we practiced tougher than every team.” Auburn coach Pat Dye stepped down after the 1992 season. Terry Bowden came to the Plains from Samford and im- pressed on the team the importance of attitude. “It would take us developing, having and displaying an attitude of greatness to show the world about Auburn foot- ball,” Sanders said. Showing the world would be a chal- lenge because of an additional NCAA penalty indicative of a bygone era, a television ban. The 1993 Auburn Tigers would be heard, not seen. For the upperclassmen, Dye’s influ- ence still weighed heavily. “The players on every level, from scholarships to walk-ons, were com- mitted to the coaches, each other and Coach Dye,” Sanders said. “Especially Coach Dye.” Sanders credited Bowden for how he managed the coaching staff, giving autonomy to the defensive coaches and coordinator Wayne Hall while the offen- sive-minded head coach focused on his area of expertise. “It was like two head coaches working together,” Sanders said. Not much was expected of the 1993 Auburn Tigers. On probation, off TV, and a new coach making a jump to the big time. “I was 36,” Bowden said. “I was the youngest head coach in the country at that time. I’d had 10 years to mess up ev- erywhere else to prepare me for that ex- perience. I was a lot more prepared than people thought, just because I’d been a head coach for 10 years in college at a smaller level. “Coach Dye is a legend. I was replac- ing someone who had brought Auburn’s program to an equality with Alabama, getting the game to Auburn and bring- ing the two programs to a level stage. “People didn’t know what to expect. There was worry, and there was doubt.” The doubts subsided as the victories accumulated. Ole Miss, LSU, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State. “When you’re going through it, you just say, ‘Hey, let’s go out there and play every week, and go win,’” said quarter- back Stan White, a senior captain in ’93. 1993 TEAM REUNION AUBURNTIGERS.COM AUBURN FOOTBALL RETROSPECTIVE: 1993 UNDEFEATED SEASON BY JEFF SHEARER“It seems very simple, but we had that mindset because we weren’t expected to be very good.” Then came No. 4 Florida to Jor- dan-Hare in mid-October. “Everyone thought nationally, ‘Who’s this team that’s not on television? They’re not going to be able to hang with Spurrier and that juggernaut offense,’” White recalled. “Most people thought, if you get into a Fun-and-Gun type game with Spurrier, you’re going to lose. That’s exactly what we did, and we won. That put us on the radar. That Florida game was the pivotal moment in that season. I think every- body on that team after that said, ‘Okay, here we come. We can do something.’” Calvin Jackson’s 96-yard pick-six got Auburn on the board against the Gators. Scott Etheridge’s tie-breaking 41-yard field goal with 1:21 remaining gave Au- burn a 38-35 win. “That was a special one to beat the Gators,” said Etheridge, who walked on at Auburn after playing only one season of high school football. “That Florida kick will always be special.” “All of a sudden, at that point, every- body said, ‘We can do something special here,’” Bowden said. “Because nobody was better than Florida that year. That was the point at which we began to look and see ourselves as someone who could really be a contender for the conference, although we weren’t eligible for post- season. We weren’t eligible for the SEC championship. But we knew we could win it on the field. We had a chance to be the best in the SEC on the field. “There was a point that our expec- tations changed, it was the day we beat Florida at Auburn.” A month later, Auburn completed its perfect season by beating Alabama in the second Iron Bowl played at Jordan-Hare Stadium thanks in part of one of the most iconic plays in program history. Lying on the Auburn bench, his in- jured knee being examined by Dr. James Andrews, White heard the roar of the crowd. “I did not physically see the play,” said White. “I basically heard the play.” The Play. Nix to Sanders. A 35-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-15 that sparked Auburn’s comeback victory. “When you think of the season, that play stands out in your mind,” said Bowden. “The improbable circumstanc- es in a final game of the season. I think that play defined 1993.” Auburn’s 22-14 win capped an 11-0 season, Auburn’s first undefeated, un- tied campaign since the 1957 national championship. Trailing 14-5 midway through the third quarter, backup quarterback Pat- rick Nix replaced White when Stan tore his medial collateral ligament on a third- down blitz. “That’s when your emotions turn,” White said. “’Wow, is this my last play at Auburn?’ I don’t think there was any question that the players on that team, on that sideline, including myself, didn’t think we were about to come back and win that game. There was no question.” From the sideline, White cheered on his understudy. “I was laying down with my back on the bench, and I hear the crowd and our sideline go wild,” White said. “One of the first ones over there, my roommate, Reid McMilion, saying we just got it. “Several of them came up, ‘This one’s for you. We’re going to win this for you.’ That really made me feel special.” Continued on page 52 AUBURNTIGERS.COM 24 1993 TEAM REUNION 1993 TEAM REUNION Frank Sanders Stan White Wayne Gandy Tony Richardsonsave on auto insurance spend on Tiger merch *INSURANCE FEATURE NOT AVAILABLE IN EVERY STATE. Countrywide average premium savings for customers with safe driving discounts and Drivewise vs. those without. Savings vary by state, based on driving behaviors & based on how you buy. Subject to terms, conditions & availability. In some states, through your participation in Drivewise, your driving data may be used for purposes of rating & your rate could increase with high-risk driving. Allstate Fire and Casualty Ins. Co. & affiliates. 3100 Sanders Rd, Northbrook, IL. © 2023 Allstate Insurance Co. Marks are registered trademarks of their respective owners. PROUD PARTNER Safe driving and Drivewise® saves you 40%*28 HEAD COACH HUGH FREEZE Hugh Freeze became the 31st head football coach in Auburn history in No- vember, 2022. Freeze has nearly three decades of continued coaching success, including head coaching experience that has led to conference titles, nationally ranked recruiting classes and bowl appear- ances at multiple stops during his highly decorated career. Freeze came to Auburn from Liber- ty University, where he was head coach from 2019-22. Freeze led the Flames to four bowl games and a 34-15 record. Freeze experienced similar success at each of his head coaching stops prior to Liberty that include Lambuth Univer- sity (2008-09), Arkansas State (2011) and Ole Miss (2012-16). Freeze led each school to double-digit win seasons, while helping Ole Miss to a top 10 national fin- ish in 2015. His on-field coaching record in 12 years is 103-47. Liberty was just one of five FBS teams in the country to win a bowl game each season from 2019-21, joining Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana. It was the second team in NCAA history to win a bowl game during its first three full sea- sons at the FBS level, all coming under Freeze’s leadership. Freeze guided Liberty to a 10-1 overall record in 2020 and the team’s first-ever national ranking as it finished No. 17 in the country. That season, Lib- erty had the best start in program history (8-0), tied the program record for wins (10) and defeated two Power 5 programs in Syracuse and Virginia Tech. For his ef- forts, Freeze was a finalist for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. Known for his fast-paced offensive style, Freeze’s 2020 Liberty team set a school record for rushing yards in a sea- son in 2020 (2,776) and ranked No. 9 in the country in rushing offense. Liberty also ranked No. 15 nationally in total of- fense (482.7 yards per game) and No. 11 in total defense (317.7 yards per game). The Flames were one of three teams in the country to rank in the top 20 in both total offense and total defense in 2020, joining Clemson and BYU. Spearheading Liberty’s outstand- ing offense in 2020 was former Auburn quarterback Malik Willis, who burst into the spotlight leading the nation in rushing yards (944) and touchdowns (14) by a FBS quarterback. Willis earned All-America honors, was named to the Davey O’Brien Award Quarterback Class of 2020 and was on the 2020 Maxwell Award watch list. The Flames posted an eight-win sea- son in 2021 after facing eight bowl-eli- gible teams during that campaign. Lib- erty’s defense finished the 2021 season ranked No. 7 nationally in passing yards allowed, No. 11 in total defense and No. 24 in scoring defense. Offensively, Lib- erty finished 2021 ranked No. 25 in the country in scoring offense and No. 8 in passing yards per completion. Leading the charge for the Flames in 2021 once again was Willis, who was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Na- tional Quarterback Award and the Max- well Award and a top 10 candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Willis was a third-round draft pick of the Ten- nessee Titans in the 2022 NFL Draft. In 2022, Liberty finished the regu- lar season 8-4 with wins over Arkansas and BYU; three of the four losses came by a combined five points. The Flames earned a berth in the Boca Raton Bowl. While head coach at Ole Miss, Freeze took the Rebels to bowl games in three of his five seasons, including wins in the 2013 Music City and the 2016 Sugar bowls. Freeze’s time in Oxford was highlight- ed by a 10-3 campaign in 2015, the pro- gram’s first 10-win season since 2003. The Rebels won their first four games of the 2015 season, including a 43-37 road victory over No. 2 Alabama, Ole Miss’ first win in Tuscaloosa since 1988. The Rebels were ranked as high as No. 3 in the national polls in both 2014 and 2015 and finished in the national Top 10 for the first time since 1969 after the Sugar Bowl win. Ole Miss was ranked in the top 25 for 45 weeks over Freeze’s five-year tenure, including a string of 27 straight weeks in the polls for the first time since 1957-62. Freeze collected four nationally ranked recruiting classes at Ole Miss. In 2013 and 2016, his recruiting classes ranked in the top five nationally, the best in program history. Freeze and his staff developed 20 players who earned all-SEC honors, in- cluding All-Americans Cody Prewitt, Senquez Golson, Robert Nkemdiche, Laremy Tunsil, Evan Engram, Laquon Treadwell and Trae Elston. 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