Florida fans have had plenty to laugh about over the years when it comes to national-title debates, especially with the lingering question of whether the Gators should ever claim 1984. Florida finished 9-1-1, won the SEC title, and was later stripped of the crown, but the season still had the Gators at No. 3 in the AP Poll.
At the same time, The New York Times computer rankings and Sporting News had Florida at No. 1.
The Gators have taken the cautious route. Rather than reach for every possible banner, Florida has only recognized the three seasons when it finished No. 1 in the AP Poll: 1996, 2006 and 2008.
That’s part of why Auburn’s recent chatter about having nine national titles has drawn so much eye-rolling. On closer inspection, several of those claims look a lot like a school reaching for trophies it didn’t actually earn.
Auburn’s list starts in 1910, when the Tigers went 6-1 but lost 9-0 to Texas. Harvard and Pittsburgh are considered the real national champions from that season, yet Auburn claims a title because it was No. 1 in the Billingsley Report, a formula created in the 1960s. The twist is that the same formula later became part of the BCS, and after it was revised, Michigan and Harvard ended up at No. 1 for 1910 instead of Auburn.
The 1913 team at least went unbeaten at 8-0, but Harvard and Chicago were the champions at the time. Auburn’s claim there is tied to the same Billingsley Report logic, though that original formula did not put Auburn on top. Only after the revised version came out did Auburn get bumped to No. 1 for 1913.
Then there’s 1914, when Auburn finished 8-0-1 and somehow tied Georgia 0-0. Army, Illinois and Texas are regarded as the champions from that year, and the Billingsley Report still didn’t have Auburn in first.
Auburn instead leaned on James Howell’s formula, the only one among 23 that placed the Tigers at No. 1.
One title on Auburn’s list is straightforward: 1957. That one stands. Auburn went 10-0 under Ralph Jordan and was No. 1 in the AP Poll.
The 1958 claim is where things get slippery again. Auburn was 9-0-1, tied Georgia Tech 7-7, and finished No. 4 in the AP Poll.
LSU sat at No. 1 in the Billingsley Report, so Auburn went shopping elsewhere and used the Montgomery Full Season Championship rankings to claim the title. The source also notes Auburn was on literal probation that season.
Auburn has stronger footing with 1983. The Tigers were 11-1, with their only loss coming against Texas, and finished No. 3 in the AP Poll. Miami moved ahead after beating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, but Auburn did receive No. 1 votes from multiple publications.
The 1993 season adds another wrinkle. Auburn went 11-0, but the Tigers were on probation after a scandal that led Pat Dye to step down. Auburn finished No. 4 in the AP Poll that year.
And in 2004, Auburn had a perfect 13-0 record, but the BCS picture left the Tigers in a crowded mess with USC and Oklahoma. USC hammered Oklahoma in the BCS title game, while Auburn edged then-No.
9 Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Instead of treating it as a strong season that fell short of the actual championship, Auburn claimed the title anyway, in the same spirit as UCF.
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