Auburn – LSU football rivalry The Auburn – LSU football rivalry , also called The Tiger Bowl , is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Auburn Tigers football team of Auburn University and LSU Tigers football team of Louisiana State University . Both universities have been members of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) since December 1932 , but the rivalry dates back to the first meeting of their football teams in 1901 . The two teams did not play each other between 1943 and 1968 , and then only occasionally until 1992 . The SEC instituted divisional play in 1992 , and the Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers have met annually on the football field every year since . Between 2000 and 2005 , Auburn or LSU won or tied for the SEC Western Division championship every season . In 2002 , the Arkansas Razorbacks won a three - way tie ; in 2003 , Ole Miss Rebels tied LSU for the title , but the Tigers won the right to represent the division in the SEC Championship Game by virtue of a head - to - head victory tie - breaker . The 2006 season marked the first time since 1999 that neither team won or shared the title , as the Arkansas Razorbacks won the division championship out - right . LSU won the SEC Western Division outright in 2007 . Game results . " Auburn victories are colored ██ navy blue . LSU victories are colored ██ purple . Ties are white . " Series record source : College Football Data Warehouse . Notable games . In recent history , the Auburn - LSU game has decided the SEC West champion . The rivalry has displayed historically classic contests . 1988 . In 1988 , # 4 ranked Auburn traveled to Tiger Stadium with one of its best teams in years , and national championship aspirations . The 4 - 0 AU Tigers entered the game outscoring its opponents 161 - 44 , but were held to just two field goals . However , their outstanding defense kept the 2 - 2 Bayou Bengals ( who had beaten Tennessee and Texas A & M before losing to OSU and Florida ) scoreless through 58 minutes . However , with 1 : 47 to play , QB Tommy Hodson found RB Eddie Fuller open on a crossing pattern for a touchdown on fourth and goal . Ironically , it was the same play Fuller had caught on 1st and goal , only to step out of the back of the end zone . The crowd eruption was so intense that it registered as an earthquake on the seismograph located in LSU ’ s Howe - Russell Geoscience Complex . Both Hodson and Fuller later said it was the most physical game of their college careers ( http : / / www . lsu . edu / highlights / 033 / football . html ) . College Football News ranks this game as the 17th best finish in the history of college football ( http : / / cfn . scout . com / 2 / 656730 . html ) . Auburn would have likely played Notre Dame for the National Championship had they beaten LSU , as AU finished the season with six consecutive wins , giving up only 31 points in the process . Auburn and LSU tied for the SEC crown that year . AU ended the season losing to FSU in the Sugar Bowl , 13 - 7 . LSU lost to Syracuse in the Hall of Fame Bowl , 23 - 10 . 1994 . Auburn was on a 14 - game winning streak and ranked # 11 in nation under coach Terry Bowden when LSU traveled to Auburn in 1994 , but it was the Bengal Tigers who led 23 - 9 entering the fourth quarter . LSU quarterback Jamie Howard threw five fourth quarter interceptions - three returned for touchdowns - as Auburn extended their winning streak to 15 games with a 30 - 26 win . Auburn , with star running back Stephen Davis , was held to a mere 165 total yards , and Howard received death threats after the loss . 1995 . LSU donned its white jerseys for a home game for the first time in 15 years , inspiring the Bengal Tigers , behind the play of QB Jamie Howard , to a 12 - 6 victory over fifth - ranked Auburn . LSU cornerback Troy Twillie intercepted a Patrick Nix pass in the end zone on the final play of the game . This game is also referred to by Auburn fans as the Whistle Game , because Nix was sacked for a safety when he stopped play after a fan in the stands blew a whistle . However , the Sporting News reported that the LSU crowd " was so loud that Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix , standing in his end zone , thought he heard a whistle and mistakenly thought the play was dead . He was sacked for a safety . " Which in turn cost Auburn the game and a chance to play in the SEC Championship game . 1996 . LSU defeated Auburn 19 - 15 in 1996 while the old Auburn Sports Arena , affectionately called " the Barn " , burned to the ground across the street from Jordan - Hare Stadium . After scoring a touchdown , Auburn trailed 17 - 15 and attempted the two - point conversion . LSU intercepted the pass and returned it for a 19 - 15 win . The fire began when a tailgater placed a barbecue grill too close to the building . Scenes of the fire were captured by ESPN during the national broadcast as flames were seen as high as the Jordan - Hare east upper - deck . The game was never delayed , and the Auburn public address announcer continually advised fans not to worry : " the stadium [ was ] not on fire ; the flames [ were ] outside the stadium . " Because of the fire and the thrilling finish , the game became known as the " Barn Burner " . 1999 . On coach Tommy Tuberville ' s birthday , Auburn handed LSU a crushing 41 - 7 loss during a rare day game in Baton Rouge . In celebration , Auburn players and coaches smoked cigar s on the field at Tiger Stadium , much to the chagrin of LSU players and fans . This is cited among LSU faithful as the day the rivalry officially began , and it was used as motivation in 2001 when LSU defeated Auburn 27 - 14 on the way to their first SEC Championship since splitting it in 1988 . Auburn would finish Tuberville ' s first season at 5 - 6 , while LSU ended the season 3 - 8 and with the resignation of coach Gerry DiNardo , who left before the third win of the season . Auburn has not won in Baton Rouge since , losing every game by an average margin of 17 points . 2001 . Originally scheduled for September 15 , the game was moved to December 1 because of the 9 / 11 attacks . The rescheduling resulted in an SEC mini - playoff , as the winner of this game would be the West champion while the winner of the Florida - Tennessee game the same night would take the East . The game was marked by bad blood from the 1999 cigar incident . Auburn added further fuel by stomping on LSU ' s midfield logo during pregame warmups . The action drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty , allowing LSU to kick off from the 50 . LSU successfully ran a surprise onside kick which , along with a hit by Michael Clayton on Auburn returner Roderick Hood a few minutes later , set the tone for the game resulting in a 27 - 14 LSU victory . In addition , Auburn Kicker Damon Duval got into an altercation with LSU marching band members Mark Aycock and Joey LaHatte during their halftime performance . It was believed that the Auburn special teams units prematurely started post - half time warmup while the LSU Band was still performing its halftime show . After this incident Duval did not make another field goal that night . Tommy Tuberville later sent a letter to the band leader Frank Wickes apologizing for Duval ' s actions . 2004 . Defending national champion and fourth ranked LSU visited Auburn just days after Hurricane Ivan . The Bengal Tigers took a 9 - 3 lead but couldn ' t convert the extra point . Auburn tied the game with 1 : 14 to play when Jason Campbell threw a 16 - yard TD pass to Courtney Taylor . Entering the game , Auburn had successfully converted on 190 consecutive points after touchdown ; however AU kicker John Vaughn missed the extra point . A personal foul penalty was called on Ronnie Prude for violating a new rule restricting jumping on a field goal attempt , and Vaughn connected on the second chance . Auburn would go on to win the SEC Championship , finish 13 - 0 and No . 2 in the final AP poll . 2005 . The hero of the 2004 game , John Vaughn quickly became the goat in Baton Rouge , as the normally reliable kicker missed five field goals - his final kick bouncing off the right upright in overtime . However , credit should be given to the LSU defense which never allowed Auburn to get into Vaughns comfort range . All of the attempted kicks were over 35 yards and 3 of the kicks would have been career long kicks for Vaughn . Auburn and LSU tied for the SEC West championship , but the win allowed LSU to play in the SEC Championship Game . Auburn tailback Kenny Irons , caught by ESPN cameras prior to the game guaranteeing a 200 - yard game , provided a 218 - yard performance and cemented himself as the starter for the remainder of the season . 2006 . The two Tigers met in Auburn , Alabama with their highest head - to - head ranking ever , and played what several athletes on both teams considered their most physical game of the season . Both teams were early season national title contenders . At the end of the first half , LSU managed a last second field goal to take a 3 - 0 halftime lead . Auburn took the lead with a third quarter touchdown , and had two fourth quarter stops to win 7 - 3 in the lowest scoring game since an LSU 6 - 0 victory in 1935 . In the final moments , playing with no time outs left , JaMarcus Russell threw short of the end - zone to Craig Davis and Brock delivered a hit on the four yard - line to seal the Auburn victory . Questionable calls led LSU to file an SEC complaint against the officiating crew . The media focused primarily upon an interference call being waved off during LSU ' s next - to - last drive as the ball was ruled to be uncatchable , but the complaint addressed several calls and the crew ' s officiating consistency . The SEC supported the officiating crew . The victory helped Auburn climb from No . 3 to No . 2 The AP Top 25 poll , while LSU fell to No . 10 . 2007 . Demetrius Byrd made a last - second catch in the end zone to win it for LSU , 30 - 24 . Down one point and driving late in the game , LSU was in field goal range with the clock running and a single time out remaining . However , in one of the most discussed play calls of the 2007 season Les Miles decided to try a long pass to the end zone before a possible FG attempt . Afterwards , Miles stated there was enough time for a 41 yard FG had the pass been incomplete , and the game clock proved him correct , although conventional wisdom argued the safer bet was to advance the ball a few yards , use the time out , and try the field goal . LSU would go on to win the SEC and BCS National Championship 2008 . The next game between these two teams was played at Jordan Hare in Auburn , and the " College Gameday " crew that set up there only increased the heated rivalry . LSU got up 3 - 0 early with a field goal until Ben Tate ran for a touchdown to give Auburn a 7 – 3 lead . Quarterback Jarrett Lee threw an interception to Gabe Mckinzee on his first pass of the game which was subsequently returned for a touchdown , giving Auburn a 14 - 3 lead at halftime . In the second half , LSU quarterback Andrew Hatch was knocked out of the game with an injury , causing Jarrett Lee to spark his season with a 55 - yard touchdown pass to Chris Michell , narrowing it to a four - point lead for Auburn . Later , Lee handed off to running back Keiland Williams who tossed a touchdown to Demetrius Byrd , giving LSU a 17 - 14 lead . LSU would later kick a field goal and go up 20 - 14 . Auburn fought back and Chris Todd threw a TD pass to Robert Dunn that put Auburn up 21 - 20 . With 1 : 03 left in the game , Jarrett Lee threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Lafell from 18 yards out to seal the game - giving LSU a 26 - 21 victory and their first victory at Jordan Hare in 10 years . 2010 . In 2010 , the game was played at Jordan - Hare Stadium in Auburn . Both teams were undefeated and ranked in the top 10 : Auburn was 4th in the nation , and LSU 6th . Auburn quarterback Cam Newton excelled on the ground . He ran for a career high 217 yards with 2 TD . Auburn totaled 440 yards rushing , which was the most ever achieved by the team against an SEC defense . The game was tied 17 - 17 late in the fourth quarter , when Auburn tailback Onterio McCalebb ran 70 yards for the go - ahead score with 5 : 05 left . Auburn won the game 24 - 17 . Auburn finished the regular season with a 12 - 0 record , and won the SEC championship by defeating South Carolina 56 - 17 . Auburn went on to win the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game against Oregon in Glendale , AZ on January 10 , 2011 . Miscellaneous . From 2000 to 2007 , the home team won eight straight games . ( Immediately before then , the visiting team had won four straight , from 1996 to 1999 . ) The 2006 game was the lowest scoring contest between the two schools since 1935 , when LSU defeated Auburn 6 - 0 in Baton Rouge . The winning squad pitched a shutout 11 of the first 13 games to start the series . Since then , neither team has been shutout . LSU leads the overall series 25 – 20 – 1 . LSU leads the series in games played in Baton Rouge and Montgomery , Alabama , with a 15 – 5 – 1 and 2 – 0 record , respectively . Auburn leads for games played at Jordan - Hare Stadium ( 10 – 6 ) , Birmingham , Alabama ( 3 – 2 ) , and Mobile , Alabama ( 2 – 0 ) . The rivalry between Auburn and LSU has developed only since the expansion of the SEC in 1992 . Prior to then , the two teams played each other irregularly . When the SEC expanded , Auburn and LSU were placed in the Western Division conference , along with Alabama , Ole Miss , Mississippi State and new conference member Arkansas . As part of the conference ’ s realignment , division members now play all five opponents within their division every season , thus beginning the annual match - ups between Auburn and LSU . While Auburn lost annual rivalries with Tennessee and later Florida due to the SEC ’ s expansion and realignment , the LSU game has quickly become a heated and highly anticipated rivalry for both teams . For Auburn , the intensity of the LSU rivalry is surpassed by only the Deep South ' s Oldest Rivalry with Georgia and the Iron Bowl rivalry with Alabama . Due to the 2001 terrorist attacks , the game was moved to December 1 . This marked the first time since 1947 - when the Alabama legislature forced a game between the two - that Auburn played a team after Alabama in the Iron Bowl during the regular season . For LSU , the game marked the first time since 1991 that the Tigers played a team other than Arkansas as the final game of the regular season . Prior to Arkansas joining the SEC , LSU traditionally closed its season against the in - state rival Tulane Green Wave . However , with the Florida - Tennessee game also having to move to that particular weekend due to the terrorist attacks , members of the news media joked that a silver lining on the break - up of the traditional season - finale rivalry games was that the SEC now had a rare , defacto semifinal playoff round to go with its conference championship game , because the winners of both the Auburn - LSU and Florida - Tennessee games would advance to the SEC ' s title game . LSU and Tennessee won that weekend . Since becoming permanent SEC opponents in 1992 , the majority of the series has been played in September . Only seven times have games been scheduled in October ( 2002 , 2003 , 2005 , 2007 , 2009 , 2010 , 2011 ) , with Auburn winning two ( 2002 , 2010 ) and LSU winning five ( 2003 , 2005 , 2007 , 2009 , 2011 ) . Generally speaking , games in Baton Rouge tend to be in October , while games in Auburn have been in September .