1999: Auburn 38 Georgia 21 - The 103rd Edition Of The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

Auburn and Georgia meet annually in what is known as 'the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry' in the sport of college football. Of Auburn's major rivals whose games were once played at neutral sites, Georgia is the ONLY school to come to Auburn without argument.

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The annual battle between Auburn and Georgia is one of the most storied in all of collegiate athletics as the deep south's oldest rivalry. The teams will meet today at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the 108th time.

Back in 1999, the teams met at Georgia Sanford Stadium, and it was a game Auburn fans will surely remember. Junior quarterback Ben Leard led his then 4-5 Tigers and first-year Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville 187 miles to Athens, Ga., where they faced a 6-2 Georgia team, ranked 14th in the nation, before an ESPN2 audience.

"It was a big game for me because I grew up a Georgia fan," Leard said. "Going into the game, I was cautious because I had a shoulder injury earlier in the season and had missed the prior week of practice due to a concussion. I wasn't really sure if the team doctors were going to let me play in that game.

I am really and truly glad they did let me play. My entire family was going to be at the game along with an excess of about 100 people from my home-town."

Leard, from nearby Hartwell, Ga., had a career day as he established three passing records against the Bulldogs, leading the unranked Tigers to a convincing 38-21 victory over its rival.

Auburn dominated from the start both offensively and defensively.

Receiving the opening kick-off, Auburn moved down the field efficiently on its first drive and scored when Clifton Robinson caught a 4-yard pass from Leard, capping the 14-play drive.

During Georgia's first series, quarterback Quincy Carter fumbled the football in the process of being sacked, and Auburn's Quinton Reese recovered it on the Bulldogs' 30-yard line, placing the Tigers within Striking distance again.

Auburn ended up scoring an impressive 38 unanswered points against the Bulldogs. The Tigers even held a 31-0 lead at halftime, seemingly locking the game up early.

"I made up my mind we were going to come in here and win the game," Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville told the Montgomery Advertiser after the game. "We weren't going to kick a lot of field goals%u2026"

Georgia did score 21 second-half points, but it wasn't enough to overcome Auburn's hot start and prolific offensive day.

"You can't say enough about this team - this is the best game we've played all year, by far, Tuberville said. "Ben (Leard) being back - what a tremendous job. We've made a lot of progress but still have a ways to go %u2026 we have some unfinished next week."

Final result? Auburn won by 17, starting a three-game winning streak over the Bulldogs. The victory also gave Auburn its fifth win of the season and second in Southeastern Conference play.

"It was an exciting game for any player involved because of the tradition," linebacker Haven Fields said. "We went in there and just played really well. It was a great feeling to defeat a team that was supposed to do such great things that year."

During this "battle between the hedges," Leard set several records. He had a career-high four touchdown passes to tie an Auburn single-game record.

Also his 416 passing yards enabled him to pass the previous single-game school record of 394 yards, held by Dameyune Craig.

Furthermore, Leard set a new school record for consecutive pass attempts in a season without an interception. He had 90 pass attempts without an interception.

"For some reason that night, everything came together for us as a football team," Leard said. "One of the compliments I have received in the weeks since the (2004) Tennessee game this season is that was the best people have seen Auburn play since our game against Georgia in 1999."

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