College Football

Auburn's BCS run still one of college football's greatest one-year turnarounds ever

The Tigers entered the season as 200/1 longshots to win the BCS Championship after going 3-9 the year before. That they fell just short of pulling it off doesn't diminish their astounding achievement.

By Steven Muma@akulawolf Jan 8, 2014, 12:16pm EST

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Auburn quadrupled its 3-9 win total from a year ago and won the SEC after going winless in conference. And if that sounds incredibly rare, that's because it is. Had the Tigers held on against Florida State in the BCS Championship, they would have owned the greatest worst-to-first run by a national champion in a long, long time -- maybe ever, considering the context.

We have to go way back a half-century to find teams who bounced back from that far down.

Head coach Gus Malzahn called it "the biggest turnaround in college football history" even before the game against FSU. But running back Tre Mason said, "the biggest turnaround would be winning that crystal ball. We owed [Auburn fans] that because of the season last year," during an emotional postgame.

No matter how disappointed Mason felt after falling short, Auburn's run was still historic.

Since the creation of the BCS, no national champion has had a losing record the year prior to winning. We have to go way back a half-century to find a few teams who did bounce back from that far down to win a championship.

Only counting Associated Press, Coaches, and UPI champions, here are the last 60-plus years of champs, ranked by fewest wins the previous year:

Championship year		Championship year record	Previous year record
1960	Minnesota	8-2	2-7
2013	Auburn	12-2, no championship	3-9
1962	USC	11-0	4-5-1
1965	Michigan State	10-1	4-5
1958	LSU	11-0	5-5
1981	Clemson	12-0	6-5
1980	Georgia	12-0	6-5
1972	USC	12-0	6-4-1
1968	Ohio State	10-0	6-3
1957	Ohio State	9-1	6-3
1954	Ohio State	10-0	6-3
2002	Ohio State	14-0	7-5
2000	Oklahoma	13-0	7-5
1990	Georgia Tech	11-0-1	7-4
1983	Miami	11-1	7-4
1967	USC	10-1	7-4
1957	Auburn	10-0	7-3
1966	Notre Dame	9-0-1	7-2-1
1953	Maryland	10-1	7-2
2010	Auburn	14-0	8-5
2003	LSU	13-1	8-5
1997	Michigan	12-0	8-4
1988	Notre Dame	12-0	8-4
1978	USC	12-1	8-4
1976	Pitt	12-0	8-4
1973	Notre Dame	11-0	8-3
1959	Syracuse	11-0	8-2
1954	UCLA	9-0	8-2
1961	Alabama	11-0	8-1-2
2008	Florida	13-1	9-4
2006	Florida	13-1	9-3
1977	Notre Dame	11-1	9-3
1974	USC	10-1-1	9-2-1
1985	Oklahoma	11-1	9-2
1970	Nebraska	11-0-1	9-2
1964	Alabama	10-1	9-2
1969	Texas	11-0	9-1-1
1963	Texas	11-0	9-1-1
1952	Michigan State	9-0	9-0
2011	Alabama	11-1	10-3
1991	Washington	12-0	10-2
1991	Miami	12-0	10-2
1982	Penn State	11-1	10-2
1973	Alabama	11-1	10-2
1965	Alabama	9-1-1	10-1
1974	Oklahoma	11-0	10-0-1
1955	Oklahoma	11-0	10-0
2007	LSU	12-2	11-2
2003	USC	12-1	11-2
1999	Florida State	12-0	11-2
1998	Tennessee	13-0	11-2
1997	Nebraska	13-0	11-2
2012	Alabama	13-1	11-1
2005	Texas	13-0	11-1
2001	Miami	12-0	11-1
1994	Nebraska	13-0	11-1
1993	Florida State	12-1	11-1
1992	Alabama	13-0	11-1
1990	Colorado	11-1	11-1
1989	Miami	11-1	11-1
1987	Miami	12-0	11-1
1986	Penn State	12-0	11-1
1984	BYU	13-0	11-1
1979	Alabama	12-0	11-1
1978	Alabama	11-1	11-1
1951	Tennessee	10-1	11-1
1971	Nebraska	13-0	11-0-1
1975	Oklahoma	11-1	11-0
1970	Texas	10-1	11-0
1956	Oklahoma	10-0	11-0
1950	Oklahoma	10-1	11-0
2009	Alabama	14-0	12-2
2013	Florida State	14-0	12-2
2004	USC	13-0	12-1
1996	Florida	12-1	12-1
1995	Nebraska	12-0	13-0

Since 1950, only three times has a school had a losing record in the season prior to its championship run. In 1965, Michigan State split the title with Alabama; the Spartans were 10-1 that year following a 4-5 campaign in 1964. In 1962, USC went 11-0 after a meager 4-5-1 record in '61.

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Chris Fuhrmeister

Auburn is going to be very good again next year. The Tigers won't surprise anybody this time around, and that defense loses talent, but Gus Malzahn's offense is going to be absolutely loaded.

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And the turnaround is complete

But the only flip from ignominy to glory that really compares to Auburn's is Minnesota's, which earned national title votes from the AP and UPI in 1960 with an 8-2 record. In 1959, the Gophers were just 2-7. That actually gives Minnesota a lower year-before-The-Year winning percentage than the Tigers, and it was surprising to find that any team could top Auburn in that regard.

It might not be the greatest turnaround in college football history, but it's the best in decades. The Tigers ultimately came up a play or two short of a title, but Monday night certainly didn't change the improbability that was Auburn in 2013. The Tigers didn't need to win to earn a place in history, a fact that's underscored by all of the records in the table above.