The 1914 Auburn Tigers football team represented

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

(then called the Alabama Polytechnic Institute) in the 1914 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was the Tigers' 23rd overall season and they competed as a member of the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

(SIAA). The team was led by head coach

Mike Donahue Michael Joseph "Iron Mike" Donahue (June 14, 1876 – December 11, 1960) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, soccer, and golf, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head fo ...

, in his 10th year, and played their home games at

Drake Field Drake Field is a public airport three miles south of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, in Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, Arkansas. It is also known as Fayetteville Executive Airport and was formerly Fayetteville Municipal Ai ...

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...

. They finished as SIAA Champions with a record of eight wins, zero losses and one tie (8–0–1 overall, 4–0–1 in the SIAA) and outscored opponents 193–0. Auburn's strong defense, which held opponents scoreless all season, helped the team garner a retroactive national title by James Howell's computer rating system. Auburn University does not claim or otherwise acknowledge this title.

Before the season

Auburn returned another powerful team minus

Kirk Newell James Kirk "Runt" Newell (November 4, 1890 – January 15, 1967) was an American football and baseball player for the Auburn Tigers of Auburn University. He lettered four years in both, as well as once in each of basketball, track, and soccer. ...

. "Bull" Kearley was shifted from halfback to end to add speed to the defensive line.

Schedule

Season summary

Marion Military Institute

The season opened with a 28–0 win over the Marion Military Institute.

at Florida

*Sources: In

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Auburn defeated the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

20–0. Auburn's team was nearly as strong as the season before and claims another SIAA title. In contrast to the prior season, the 20–0 loss was seen as a moral victory and sign of progress for the Gators.McEwen, ''The Gators'', p. 58. However, the Florida also lost its captain. John Sutton left the game feeling poorly, and further examination revealed a weak heart. Auburn's backfield performed well, and Florida gave way by the second half. Bedie Bidez made two touchdowns.

Clemson

Auburn beat the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) s ...

28–0.

West Alabama A. C.

Against West Alabama Athletic Club came the season's biggest win, 60–0.

Mississippi A&M

Despite several fumbles, Auburn beat the Mississippi Aggies 19–0. One touchdown came on a delayed pass of 35 yards. The starting lineup was Steed (left end), Culpepper (left tackle), Sample (left guard), Pitts (center), Taylor (right guard), Louiselle (right tackle), Robinson (right end), Arnold (quarterback), Hairston (left halfback), Hart (right halfback), Harris (fullback).

Georgia Tech

Sources: Auburn defeated

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

team 14–0. Tech would not lose to a southern team for 5 years after this. Auburn scored first in the second quarter, Prendergast carrying the ball over. Red Hart had a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth for the other score. The starting lineup was Kearley (left end), Steed (left tacle), Taylor (left guard), Pitts (center), Thigpen (right guard), Louiselle (right tackle), Robinson (end), Hairston (quarterback), Prendergast (left halfback), Hart (right halfback), Harris (fullback).

Vanderbilt

Sources: In dreary weather, Auburn beat the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

6–0. In less than eight minutes of play,

Red Harris Frank A. "Red" Harris was a college football and baseball player and coach. Auburn Harris was a prominent football and baseball player. One account reads:"In the athletic history of Auburn, there never has been a single man who has ever exceeded ...

made the decisive touchdown. The starting lineup was Kearley (left end), Steed (left tacle), Taylor (left guard), Pitts (center), Thigpen (right guard), Louiselle (right tackle), Robinson (end), Hairston (quarterback), Prendergast (left halfback), Hart (right halfback), Harris (fullback).

Georgia

All-American

David Paddock David Fleming Paddock (June 9, 1892 – May 23, 1962) was a college football player. Early years David Paddock was born on June 9, 1892 in Selma, Alabama to Smith Aaron Paddock and Jennie Fleming Cain. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Paddoc ...

and the Georgia Bulldogs held the Tigers to a scoreless tie. Auburn fumbled often in their own territory, then stood "like Petain at Verdun."

Carlisle

In final game of the season, Auburn defeated the

Carlisle Indians The Carlisle Indians football team represented the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in college football, intercollegiate football competition. The program was active from 1893 until 1917, when it was discontinued. During the program's 25 years, th ...

led by

Pete Calac Pedro "Pete" Calac (May 13, 1892 – January 30, 1968) was a professional football player who played in the Ohio League and during the early years of the National Football League. Over the course of his 10-year career he played for the Canton Bull ...

and coached by

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

. It was the first intersectional game in Atlanta.

Postseason

Auburn claimed a share of an SIAA title.

References

Additional sources

* {{SIAA football champions

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

Auburn Tigers football seasons College football undefeated seasons

Auburn Tigers football The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division ...