The wackiest, never-know-what-will-happen rivalry Auburn fans should miss the most

If you polled 100 Auburn fans on the rivalry game they miss most being played annually, there might be a split opinion. Some might miss the good ol’ days of facing Tennessee. Others will bring up the massive matchups between the Tigers and Florida back in the 1990s and 2000s.

Heck, some older fans might still miss the Georgia Tech game.

For me, it’s easy. I miss the annual battle between Auburn and LSU, and not only due to the tailgating scene in Baton Rouge every two years that came with it. No, I dearly miss this game because, well, you never knew what would happen during it.

A measured earthquake. An out-of-control fire. A losing-coach-must-be-fired matchup in 2016 between Gus Malzahn and Les Miles that went Auburn’s way because LSU didn’t get the winning play off in time.

The phantom whistle. Jason Campbell finding Courtney Taylor, only for Auburn to miss the game-winning extra point, only for that to not matter because of a penalty on LSU. The 2006 matchup that might have been the most physical defensive battle I’ve ever witnessed.

Every Auburn-LSU battle seemingly has one strange storyline

Cam Newton somehow weaving and bobbing his way through the LSU defense, running past two future NFL stars in Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu in his Heisman Trophy moment.

Heck, even the arrival of Joe Burrow in 2018 when he led the Bayou Bengals down the field for the game-winning field goal in Jordan-Hare Stadium even comes to mind.

And let's not forget the 30-or-so seconds Bo Nix spent scrambling around the field in 2021 before finding an open receiver in the end zone, helping Auburn break a 22-year-old losing streak in Baton Rouge.

You never knew what would happen, but you were certain something wild, weird and wacky was about to take place when the two Tigers met.

Luckily, the two teams will meet in Jordan-Hare this season as Lane Kiffin brings LSU to the Plains to take on Alex Golesh’s first Auburn team. And Auburn returns to Baton Rouge in 2028, but it’s just not the same not knowing when the two programs will battle again.

It’s one of the misfortunes of the money grab that is conference expansion, a case of the SEC losing the meaning of Southeastern Conference by adding schools such as Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. It’s a part of where college athletics is heading, but at the same time, it ruins those annual rivalry games that everyone became accustomed to and looked forward to. 

So, with apologies to the Longhorns, Sooners and other new members, I want to see Auburn and LSU battle back and forth every single season. The script of each game could only be imagined by the wildest minds out there. 

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This article was originally published on flywareagle.com as The wackiest, never-know-what-will-happen rivalry Auburn fans should miss the most.