On October 9, 1993, Auburn beat Mississippi State 31-17, but not without some controversy over how the footballs were inflated.
Tom Brady comes back from suspension this week stemming from the well-known “deflate-gate” in the January 2015 AFC Championship Game. MSU and Auburn had their own version of this back in ’93.
Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill complained to the Southeastern Conference that improperly inflated balls had been used in the game. But several newspapers in Alabama reported that Sherrill’s complaints also included accusations that Auburn punter Terry Daniel, who punted twice in the game for a 56.5 per punt average, had used a ball inflated with helium.
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Sherrill denied accusing Auburn of inflating balls with helium, but did acknowledge he had complained to the officials about improperly inflated balls. “The only thing I asked the officials to check is that the balls were not legally inflated”, Sherrill said. “The facts are the balls were not legal balls. The facts are the balls were taken out of the game. The officials made Auburn use our balls until they had legal balls to put in the game.”
An under-inflated football is easier to grip and catch than one inflated to specifications. And since teams provide their own balls for their offense to use, an under-inflated football could benefit the offense of the team using it, while the opponent’s offense using a properly inflated football would not have those advantages.
The Southeastern Conference ultimately took no action on the matter in the Mississippi State vs. Auburn case and the issue was largely forgotten.
Here what Terry Bowden had to say at his press conference….