1996 Iron Bowl

1996-11-23

Legion Field, Birmingham, AL

ALABAMA

Ranked #15

24

WINNER

VS

AUBURN

23

Game Summary

The 1996 Iron Bowl was an emotional rollercoaster played at Legion Field. It was the final Iron Bowl for beloved Alabama coach Gene Stallings, who had announced his retirement. His team sent him out a winner with a breathless 24-23 victory. Alabama dominated early, building a 17-0 lead that seemed safe. However, Auburn, led by quarterback Dameyune Craig, mounted a furious comeback. They scored 23 unanswered points to take a 23-17 lead late in the fourth quarter. The Legion Field crowd was stunned. With the season on the line, Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens engineered a masterclass drive. He marched the Tide down the field and found Dennis Riddle for a short touchdown pass with just seconds remaining. The extra point gave Alabama the 24-23 lead.

Series Snapshot

#61

Meeting of 90

35-25-1

Series after game

5-2-0

Record in the 1990s through this game

#84

Widest-margin rank

Before this meeting, the archive record stood at Alabama 34, Auburn 25, with 1 tie. The 1996 result moved it to Alabama 35, Auburn 25, with 1 tie.

This was the 7th listed Iron Bowl of the 1990s. Through this game, Alabama had 5 wins, Auburn had 2, and the decade included 0 ties.

The teams combined for 47 points, ranking #26 in total scoring among the 90 meetings in the current archive, with 3 games sharing that total. The 1-point margin ranks #84 by size, shared by 6 games.

This archive page combines verified game data with available rivalry context for the modern series record. In the surrounding chronology, the previous listed meeting was 1995 and the next was 1997.

Decisive Moment

Freddie Kitchens' touchdown pass to Dennis Riddle with 36 seconds left capped a game-winning drive.

Key Players

Freddie Kitchens (Alabama)

Dennis Riddle (Alabama)

Dameyune Craig (Auburn) ↗

Kevin Jackson (Alabama)

📜

Historical Deep Dive

The 1996 Iron Bowl was an emotional rollercoaster played at Legion Field. It was the final Iron Bowl for beloved Alabama coach Gene Stallings, who had announced his retirement. His team sent him out a winner with a breathless 24-23 victory.

From Blowout to Nail-Biter

Alabama dominated early, building a 17-0 lead that seemed safe. However, Auburn, led by quarterback Dameyune Craig, mounted a furious comeback. They scored 23 unanswered points to take a 23-17 lead late in the fourth quarter. The Legion Field crowd was stunned.

The Final Drive

With the season on the line, Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens engineered a masterclass drive. He marched the Tide down the field and found Dennis Riddle for a short touchdown pass with just seconds remaining. The extra point gave Alabama the 24-23 lead. Auburn’s defense, which had played valiantly, couldn’t get the final stop. The win was a fitting tribute to Stallings, cementing his legacy with one last triumph over his rival.