Alabama beat Auburn 34-18 at Legion Field on 29 November 1980, in front of 78,549. It was their eighth consecutive win in the series and, for Auburn, the end of a tenure.
Doug Barfield’s last game
Barfield had taken over from Shug Jordan in 1976 and coached Auburn for five seasons. He lost the Iron Bowl in all five. Auburn came into this one 5-5 and winless in conference play at 0-6, finished 5-6, and Barfield was dismissed. Pat Dye arrived from Wyoming for 1981, and the direction of the rivalry changed within two years.
Alabama in the middle of their run
Alabama were a year removed from an undefeated national championship and would finish the regular season 9-2 before beating Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. The wishbone did what it had been doing to Auburn since 1973: held the ball, moved it on the ground, and gave the opposition defence no reason to expect anything else.
Where the series stood
Alabama had now won eight in a row, scoring 38, 48, 34 and 34 in the four most recent. Auburn had not beaten them since the two blocked punts of 1972. One more Alabama win followed in 1981, and then the streak stopped.