'An ending for the ages': Punt Bama Punt, 50 years later

AUBURN, Ala. – If ESPN’s win probability and the internet had existed 50 years ago, it likely would have given Alabama a 99 percent chance of winning the 1972 Iron Bowl as the fourth quarter transpired.

After all, No. 2 Alabama led Auburn 16-3, and time was running out.

“We had to score,” said Bill Newton, who became an Iron Bowl legend on Dec. 2, 1972. “It was kind of like the Hail Mary pass, we’ve got to block a punt. Fortuitous as I was, it happened.”

Trailing 16-0 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Auburn kicked a field goal, then forced an Alabama punt.

“Our defense was astonishing that year,” Newton said. “We had practiced all year on making things happen, creating situations to turn the ball over.”

Newton made things happen all right, rushing up the middle and blocking Alabama’s punt, which David Langner fielded in stride and returned 25 yards for a touchdown that trimmed the Crimson Tide’s lead to 16-10.

After another defensive stop, Newton and Langner delivered an instant replay, this time tying the game at 16-16 with Gardner Jett’s extra point putting Auburn ahead 17-16. Langner then intercepted Alabama’s pass to seal the victory.  

“I can’t take credit for everything,” Newton said. “It was a team effort. We had 11 guys out there and all those players who were behind us. The 1972 game has been renowned in Auburn history and I’m really proud to having taken part of it.”

Newton did more than block two Alabama punts, he also made 23 tackles, the culmination of a rigorous training regimen that began weeks after Pat Sullivan became Auburn’s first Heisman Trophy winner the previous season.

“I think the coaches made us work,” Newton said. “When we came through our winter workout program after Sullivan and Beasley left, the coaches were bound and determined to make men out of us.

“There was nobody given any leeway, even the quarterbacks,” Newton said. “It bonded our group. We fought together against others and against ourselves.”

The flash of Sullivan-to-Beasley was gone. Auburn attempted to compensate for their absence by less flashy means: kicking, defense, discipline and special teams. Oh-so-special teams.

“We didn’t make mistakes,” said Terry Henley, the Tigers All-SEC running back. “We led the nation in fewest turnovers, we were the least penalized team in the country, we had the No. 1 punter in the country.”

Henley, who led the SEC with 843 rushing yards and scored a team-high 11 touchdowns, says the Auburn offense deserves part of the credit for AU’s stellar defense.

“’We kept the clock running to give y’all a short clock,’” Henley said. “We were all playing together and on one page. You win a lot of football games by not making mistakes.”

More than 50 team members, the Amazin’s as they came to be known, returned to Jordan-Hare Stadium when Auburn hosted Arkansas in late October to celebrate their 50-year reunion.

“What I would give to step in a huddle with each of them,” Henley said on Pat Dye Field. “It would be a dream come true.”

A half century later, the Amazin’s winning formula still applies.

“Never give up,” Henley said. “Play 60 minutes, and don’t make a mistake.”

Punt Bama Punt instantly became part of Iron Bowl lore.

“It was a miracle that was not supposed to happen,” former Auburn athletics director and sports information director David Housel. “Kind of like the Kick Six, it wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did. In this case you had two unbelievable back-to-back punts blocked for touchdowns.

“There’s no way that could have happened but it did. If you look at the stats and read the play-by-play, Auburn was outmanned in every way. There’s no way Auburn could have won that game, but they did, making these two unbelievable plays. It was a terrible game but an ending for the ages.”

Leading up to the game, a matchup of top 10 teams, Auburn’s confidence stood out, recalls Housel.

“People on campus had gotten caught up with this football team and its refusal to lose. I don’t know that it was confident as much as it was hopeful. I think a lot of Auburn people went up there with the attitude, ‘We can do this.’”

Housel was on the Legion Field sideline for the second blocked punt, with Auburn trailing 16-10.

“When Alabama lined up to punt, everybody knew they were going to get it,” Housel said.  “There was no doubt. That was an unusual feeling.”

Suddenly, a 16-3 deficit had become a 17-16 Auburn lead.

“Words are not adequate to describe how that felt,” Housel said. “You still had a lot of football to be played. You’ve got to give our defense a lot of credit for holding on to that one-point lead.”

The Amazin’s had far exceeded expectations, winning the Gator Bowl to finish with a 10-1 record and a No. 5 ranking.

During preseason camp on the SEC Skywriters tour, Associated Press editor Ed Shearer summarized Auburn’s prospects.

“He wrote, ‘The biggest change in the Southeastern Conference power structure this year will be the demise of Auburn,’” said Housel, who then summarized the amazing ending of an amazing season by quoting another anonymous writer of yesteryear. “’That team believed in themselves, their destiny they knew, and they had the stuff to make their dreams come true.’”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer