The unranked Auburn Tigers wore orange jerseys for the first time in a quarter of a century in 1978. It was for one game, a 22-22 tie with No. 8 Georgia. Barfield’s Boys were back at it in 1979 in a 6-0 homecoming win over Mississippi State (attended by Ambassador George H.W. Bush).
Come for the history, stay for the soundtrack.
Tack on the two orange jersey games in 1980, and we’re looking at an orange-clad 2-1-1. As far as win-loss records for uniform gimmicks go, hey — not too shabby.
Oh, and here’s Barfield talking about the orange jersey mystique with Phil Snow.
“Well, there’s nothing magical about the orange jerseys, Phil. A lot of people ask me about that. I told our players the jerseys wouldn’t win the game, the people in them would. But they wanted to wear them, and we thought it was a good opportunity.”
Footage via the fabulous Auburn Football Videos. You can watch the entire 1978 highlights reel here, and all of 1979’s here.
from The War Eagle Reader https://www.thewareaglereader.com/2022/09/five-minutes-of-auburn-orange-jersey-highlights-from-1978-and-1979/
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