# 2001 Auburn Tigers football team

The 2001 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. They posted a 7–5 record, including a record of 5–3 in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers finished the season tied for first place in the SEC West Division, but did not qualify for the SEC Championship Game because of tie-breakers.
Auburn's season was highlighted by a 23–20 victory over #1-ranked Florida on October 13. On November 10, the Tigers beat rival Georgia, 24–17, led by running back Carnell Williams, who carried the ball 41 times and made several receptions, one on a long screen pass to set up his game-winning touchdown run. Auburn was scheduled to play LSU on September 15, but as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the game was postponed until December 1. This was the first time that Auburn did not end its regular season schedule against arch rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl since the series was resumed in 1948 after a 41-year hiatus.
While Auburn was unranked at the end of the season in both major polls, several BCS computer rating systems such as Massey (#23), Sagarin (#24) and The Seattle Times (#24) included the Tigers in their final top 25 rankings.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 1:30 pm | Ball State* | | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama | PPV | W 30–0 | 82,376 |
| September 8 | 2:30 pm | Ole Miss | | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama (rivalry) | JPS | W 27–21 | 86,063 |
| September 22 | 6:45 pm | at Syracuse* | | Carrier DomeSyracuse, New York | ESPN | L 14–31 | 43,403 |
| September 29 | 6:00 pm | at Vanderbilt | | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, Tennessee | PPV | W 24–21 | 39,366 |
| October 6 | 6:00 pm | Mississippi State | | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama | ESPN2 | W 16–14 | 86,063 |
| October 13 | 6:45 pm | No. 1 Florida | | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama (rivalry) | ESPN | W 23–20 | 86,063 |
| October 20 | 1:00 pm | Louisiana Tech* | No. 20 | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama | PPV | W 48–41 $^{OT}$ | 86,063 |
| October 27 | 11:30 am | at Arkansas | No. 17 | Donald W. Reynolds Razorback StadiumFayetteville, Arkansas | JPS | L 17–42 | 67,213 |
| November 10 | 2:30 pm | at No. 19 Georgia | No. 24 | Sanford StadiumAthens, Georgia (Deep South's Oldest Rivalry) | CBS | W 24–17 | 86,520 |
| November 17 | 2:30 pm | Alabama | No. 17 | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama (Iron Bowl) | CBS | L 7–31 | 86,063 |
| December 1 | 6:45 pm | at No. 22 LSU | No. 25 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, Louisiana (Tiger Bowl) | ESPN | L 14–27 | 92,141 |
| December 31 | 7:30 pm | vs. North Carolina* | | Georgia DomeAtlanta (Peach Bowl) | ESPN | L 10–16 | 71,827 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| • Auburn | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 23 |
* Almost seven years earlier, Auburn had defeated #1 Florida and snapped their home win streak.

### Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Auburn | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| Georgia | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
* AUB: Cadillac Williams 41 Rush, 167 Yds