AUBURN, Ala. – Sixteen seasons later, Jason Campbell vividly remembers Auburn's plan for the 2004 SEC Championship Game.
"I remember a lot of games, especially big games," said Campbell, the SEC's Player of the Year in 2004. "I remember a lot of intense games, big-moment games."
Auburn defeated Tennessee 38-28 on Dec. 4, 2004, at the Georgia Dome. Campbell completed 27 of 35 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns, adding 57 rushing yards to earn MVP honors. Two months earlier, the Tigers had defeated the Volunteers 34-10 at Neyland Stadium.
"Coming off the first game, we put it in the air a good bit in the first half," Campbell said. "We attacked their defense really well. The second half, we called the dogs off and ran the ball a lot because we were already in control of the game. We had a lot of stuff planned for that game in Knoxville that night that we didn't call."
Gallery: (12-04-2004) Auburn 38, Tennessee 28
Having so many leftovers from the first matchup made game planning easy for offensive coordinator Al Borges in the rematch, Campbell said.
"We just went back to the original game plan and practiced things we didn't call in the first game that was really good stuff," he said.
"I think we caught them off guard in the SEC Championship Game because they came out expecting us to do some of the same things we did the first game, and we hit them with some of the stuff we had packaged that we didn't get to."
Some of that stuff included targeting Courtney Taylor, who made six catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
"We liked the Courtney Taylor matchup," Campbell said, recalling that Auburn took advantage of Tennessee's man coverage in the first matchup. "We figured they would change up and go zone. We figured we could attack their zone; we felt like we could lose their corners in space.
"That's why we opened the game with an out-an-up to Courtney Taylor. We were able to open the game with a huge play."
The Tigers would go on to defeat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl to finish an undefeated (13-0) season. Four months later, Campbell joined Ronnie Brown, Carnell Williams and Carlos Rogers to give Auburn four first-round selections in the 2005 NFL Draft.
"The unselfishness of our football team," said Campbell, describing the key to Auburn's 2004 success. "We had two running backs who were high draft picks and didn't complain about who was getting more carries or touches.
"Some games we came out and threw it a lot, we had really good receivers who could go get the ball. Some games we came out and ran it more. You're able to accomplish a lot when you have unselfish players."
With a versatile offense, Auburn attacked opponents based on defensive vulnerabilities. No one, says Campbell, whined when a teammate played a larger role.
"If we would have had any one person on offense who would have been selfish, a receiver who raised a lot of sand, if Ronnie or Cadillac would have raised sand about touches, we wouldn't have been able to be as successful as we were. Or If I would have raised sand about not getting to throw the ball as much, it would have been hard."
Campbell credits stability on Auburn's coaching staff after a rocky 2003 season for setting the stage for 2004's run. Co-offensive coordinators Hugh Nall and Steve Ensminger remained in their positional roles coaching offensive line and tight ends, respectively, while head coach Tommy Tuberville brought in Borges to take over play calling.
"All our staff was intact," Campbell said. "Nobody changed. That was a key for us. That's why we were able to be so successful because everyone knew each other."
That key unlocked the door to an SEC championship and a perfect season that left an indelible mark in Auburn football lore.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer