And here he is now, running for his life.

Fob James, 23, is just inside the hashmark at his own 19 yard line. This is against Alabama on an abyssmal day. The Tigers would finish their season with a 21-0 loss, going 0-7 in the conference on the season.

James would have a respectable game, running for 66 yards on 11 touches. He got 42 of those on one carry, so the Orange Bowl bound Tide had everybody locked down for the most part.

James would become one of those All-Americans and he played professional football, but his biggest successes came off the gridiron. He served in the Corps of Engineers before becoming a successful businessman and, ultimately, a two-time governor. His second term, incidentally, coincides with my time at Auburn. For a few different reasons his reputation on the Plains as governor did not often equal his reputation as an Auburn man.

This was the 17th game since the renewal of the series. Since then things had been even, eight victories a side, with one draw added in. After this Auburn would pick up five wins in a row and then the rout was on. Alabama wouldn't lose to Auburn in consecutive games until the 1980s. We're getting close, but still trying to even the record.

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