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Auburn Tigers |
Alabama Crimson Tide © |
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Played November 26, 1977 at Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama |
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Teams' Belt Records
|
Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Auburn | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Alabama © | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Auburn |
7 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
21 |
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Alabama |
0 |
14 |
14 |
20 |
48 |
The 1977 Iron Bowl saw its first Belt match-up with the 5-5 Auburn Tigers coached by Doug Barfield traveling to Birmingham to battle the 2nd ranked, 9-1 Alabama Crimson Tide coached by Bear Bryant. Having lost 4 straight to Alabama, Auburn hoped they could reverse the tread. Alabama's QB Jeff Rutledge threw for 2 touchdowns & RB Tony Nathan rushed for 2 touchdowns as the Crimson Tide retained The Belt with a 48-21 victory over the Tigers. Late in the 1st quarter with the game still scoreless, Auburn's RB Joe Cribbs took a handoff & scampered 87 yards for a touchdown giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead. Alabama responded with an 8-play, 70-yard drive with Rutledge throwing a 30-yard touchdown pass to WR Bruce Bolton to tie the game at 7-7 with 13:49 left in the half. Late in the 2nd quarter, the Crimson Tide put together another 8-play drive; this one covered 58 yards & was capped by All-SEC RB Johnny Davis’ 12-yard touchdown run giving Alabama a 14-7 halftime edge. The Crimson Tide dominated the 3rd quarter with Nathan scoring his touchdowns from 1 & 2 yards to put Alabama in front 28-7 to start the 4th quarter. In the 1st half, Auburn’s touchdown had come on a 2-play drive with Cribbs long run. Now in the 4th quarter, the Tigers scored on another 2-play drive with QB Charlie Trotman throwing a 74-yard touchdown pass to WR Byron Franklin but Auburn still trailed 28-14 with 13:27 left to play. Alabama came back with a 7-play, 80-yard drive with RB Mitch Ferguson carrying in from 1 yard for the score. Auburn followed with a quick turnover which gave the ball back to the Crimson Tide at the Auburn 42-yard line. Rutledge took advantage of the error on the next play when he hit All-American TE Ozzie Newsome on a 42-yard touchdown pass giving the Crimson Tide a 41-14 lead. The teams traded touchdowns in the last 5 minutes with Alabama's QB Steadman Shealy scoring on a 15-yard touchdown run & Auburn's RB William Andrews scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run for the final points. Rutledge finished with 193 yards passing with 2 touchdowns as well as rushing for 102 yards, Davis rushed for 104 yards with his score, & Newsome had 4 catches for 119 yards with his touchdown. For the Tigers, Trotman threw for 135 yards with a touchdown but also an interception while Cribbs finished with 133 yards rushing with his score. Alabama finished the season 11-1; SEC Champions & ranked 2nd nationally while the Tigers finished 6-5, which included a forfeit from Mississippi State for NCAA violations. Auburn would play for The Belt again in 1983.
