#9 Auburn beat #6 Alabama 10-8 at Legion Field, the first Auburn win in the series since 1958 and the end of a four-game Alabama run.
Three scores
Woody Woodall kicked a 32-yard field goal for Auburn in the first quarter, and the sides went in at half-time with that as the only score. In the third quarter Auburn’s reserve quarterback Mailon Kent threw eight yards to Tucker Frederickson for a touchdown, and Benny Nelson answered almost immediately with an 80-yard touchdown run, Alabama converting the two-point attempt to make it 10-8. Nothing was scored in the fourth quarter.
Alabama’s entire afternoon, in other words, was one run. Auburn had lost their starting quarterback Jimmy Sidle to a rib injury early on; Sidle had led the nation in rushing that season with 1,006 yards, and Kent came off the bench to throw the touchdown that decided it.
The suspension that came afterwards
Joe Namath started at quarterback for Alabama in this game and played in it. He was suspended the following week, before the 14 December fixture at Miami, for a training-rule violation, and he missed both that game and the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss on 1 January. Steve Sloan started in his place for both.
The two events are frequently run together, and the suspension is often attached to the Auburn defeat. It came after it, and it had nothing to do with it.
The seasons
Alabama finished 9-2 and eighth in the final Associated Press poll, beating Ole Miss 12-7 in the Sugar Bowl on four Tim Davis field goals and no touchdowns. Auburn finished 9-2 and fifth, losing the Orange Bowl to Nebraska 13-7.