Menu

Alabama football history

The Near-Miss Of 1973 Alabama Football

, , , , ,

Bear Bryant had arrived in Tuscaloosa back in 1958. In his first eight seasons, he finished #1 in the AP poll three different times and had an unbeaten, but uncrowned team in 1966. He hadn’t been back on top since, but the 1973 Alabama football team came into the season with some momentum. They had won two straight SEC titles and finished in the national Top 10 each of the previous two years. This ’73 edition of the Tide would match those feats…and come oh-so-close to winning it all.

The primary quarterback was Gary Rutledge, but Richard Todd—a future NFL starter with the Jets—would get considerable playing time behind center. Both quarterbacks were efficient, completing over half of their passes and Rutledge averaged nearly 16 yards per attempt.

Wilbur Jackson was an all-conference running back, who went for 750 yards at an astonishing 7.9 yards a carry. Todd’s 560 rush yards were second-most on the team. Other backs in a balanced running game included Randy Billingsley, Ellis Beck and Calvin Culliver.

The emphasis on running the ball that was characteristic of both Alabama and the era they played in can be seen in the stats of receiver Wayne Wheeler. He caught 19 passes for the entire season, but made honorable mention All-American. Wheeler’s 27.9 yards-per-catch underscores that when teams did throw the football, they really let it fly.

Bryant’s offensive line was keyed by two excellent tackles. Buddy Brown was the one player in the lineup to get first-team All-American honors. Steve Sprayberry on the other side was an All-SEC blocker. Alabama’s offense ranked third in the nation in points scored.

The defense was almost as good. Woodrow Lowe, an honorable mention All-American at linebacker with an NFL future, led the way. Players like defensive end Mike DuBose, defensive tackle Mike Raines, and secondary leaders Mike Washington and David McMackin got all-conference recognition. If Bryant needed to control field position, he did it with the SEC’s best punter, Greg Gant. The Tide defense ranked fifth in the nation in points allowed.

Alabama was ranked #6 in the preseason polls and tuned up with a 66-0 thrashing of a bad Cal team at home. The Tide then had back-to-back road games within the SEC. They knocked off mediocre teams in Kentucky, 28-14 and Vanderbilt, 44-zip. By the end of September, Alabama was up to #3 in the polls.

The first test of real note came on October 6 when Georgia came to town. The Dawgs held a 14-13 lead with a little over eight minutes to play. Then Alabama missed a 30-yard field goal. They were in trouble. But they got the ball back and quickly drove 59 yards in three plays, scoring the go-ahead TD with 2:22 to play. A lockup touchdown with 34 seconds to play gave ‘Bama their second 28-14 win of the season.

A week later, they were in Florida, facing another team that was in the “pretty good, not great” category. The result was a 35-14 win for the Tide. The ensuing polls had Alabama up to #2.

But there was no rest in the SEC schedule. Tennessee, ranked #10, came to town for a high-profile showdown. On the first play of the game, Rutledge dropped back and hit Wheeler with an 80-yard touchdown strike. It set up what would be a back-and-forth game that went to the fourth quarter tied 21-all.

Then Alabama blew it open. Rob Carey took a punt 62 yards to the house and gave the Tide the lead. Jackson ripped off an 80-yard touchdown run. Paul Spivey’s short TD run completed the outburst. With over 500 yards of total offense, Alabama won 42-21.

The schedule lightened over the next four weeks. Alabama didn’t play well against lowly Virginia Tech, but won 17-6. They shut out mediocre Mississippi State on the road, 35-0. The Tide got a week off, then hosted another average team in Miami. The Hurricanes were one of four teams that finished one game below .500. Alabama’s 43-13 win meant they had deprived all four (including Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State) of a winning season.

Alabama was still #2 in the polls and the biggest game of the season had arrived. They would travel to LSU, ranked #7, on the Thursday prior to Thanksgiving. The stakes were the SEC title, a Sugar Bowl date with Notre Dame and keeping alive the hopes of a national championship. On top of all this, the Tide was aiming for the 500th win in the history of the program.

Rutledge came through. In the second quarter, he took off on a 19-yard touchdown run. He hit George Pugh on a 49-yard touchdown pass. And the quarterback unloaded to his big-play target Wheeler on a 77-yard scoring strike. Alabama won 21-7.

Ohio State was ranked #1 and the Big Ten champion was bound to the Rose Bowl against the Pac-10 champ. Alabama had no way of surpassing the Buckeyes without getting some help. Two days after the LSU win, the Tide got what they needed—Ohio State played Michigan to a 10-10 tie. The Buckeyes still went to the Rose Bowl, but Alabama was now #1.

What’s more, Notre Dame was #3. Even though Oklahoma sat in between at #2, the Sooners were on probation and not going to a bowl game. It was apparent that the Alabama-Notre Dame was a winner-take-all national title fight.

The Sugar Bowl went down on New Year’s Eve in Tulane Stadium (this game didn’t shift to the Superdome until 1975). And it would be one of the great college football games ever played.

Alabama trailed 14-7 before scoring ten straight points and nudging out to a 17-14 lead. Trailing 21-17 in the fourth quarter, Bryant dialed up a trick play. Richard Todd handed off to Mike Stock. Todd snuck out of the backfield, Stock ran the other way, then threw the pass back across the field to Todd for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The Tide had the lead…but the extra point was missed. The lead was 23-21.

Notre Dame drove and got a go-ahead field goal. An Alabama drive stalled, but the Tide pinned the Irish right up against the goal line. In the final minute, Notre Dame faced a 3rd-and-long from their own 2-yard line.

Everything seemed set up for the Tide. If the Irish even attempted a pass, they risked a safety that would all but win the game for Alabama. Again, this was an era were passing was not nearly as efficient. Bryant was convinced he would get a good shot at a field goal.

Instead, Notre Dame quarterback Tom Clement threw deep. And he found his man down the left sideline. The first down effectively ended the game. Alabama lost 24-23.

The coaches’ poll was still doing their last vote at the end of the regular season, so the Tide would be recognized as UPI champions, even though the more credible AP writers vote that included the bowl games went for Notre Dame.

It was a crushing end to a fantastic season. 1974 would be more of the same. Alabama played Notre Dame in a bowl game with the national title on the line (for the Tide in this case, not the Irish) and lost a nailbiter. In 1977, Alabama finished #2 in the nation in a debated vote…behind Notre Dame. All of this is on top of the fact that Alabama’s 1966 undefeated team had finished behind Notre Dame in the polls. Suffice it to say, the Tide were more than a little frustrated.

But the Bear would get his final breakthroughs. Alabama won a share of the national title in 1978 and they won both polls in 1979. Avenging Notre Dame would have to wait until the modern era with Nick Saban—the Tide crushed the Irish for the 2012 national championship and again in a 2020 playoff semifinal.

1989 Alabama Football: Sugar With A Sour Taste

, , , , ,

The 1980s were a dry stretch for the powerful Alabama football program. After closing the previous decade with national championships in 1978 and 1979, the Crimson Tide hadn’t reached a major bowl game since 1981. Bear Bryant retired the following year and Ray Perkins couldn’t keep the Tide in the national elite. Bill Curry got became head coach in 1987. A controversial hire, his first two years were rough. The 1989 Alabama football team stepped up and returned to the New Year’s stage, but a sour end to the season still spelled the end of another era.

READ ABOUT THE LOU HOLTZ ERA AT NOTRE DAME

Alabama was a balanced team. Their best player was All-American linebacker Keith McCants and all-conference performers dotted the lineup. Siran Stacy was a versatile running back. Stacy rushed for over 1,000 yards and caught 36 passes out of the backfield. His pass receptions went for over ten yards a pop, indicating bigger plays than the usual dump-offs that running backs caught.

Gary Hollinsworth was the All-SEC quarterback, with 60.5% completion rate and 7.0 yards-per-attempt. His TD-INT ratio was 14/16. While that wasn’t unheard of for this era, it was higher than the norm. And even allowing the SEC was not known for its quarterback play, Hollingsworth was a curious choice for all-conference. He relied on his backs—Kevin Turner, along with Stacy—and his tight end, Lamonde Russell to keep the passing game moving.

Defensively, the Tide had a couple ballhawks in the secondary with John Mangum and Efrum Thomas each picking off five passes and  making all-conference. In the trenches, Willie Wyatt on defense, along with Terrell Chatman and Roger Schultz on offense were honored by SEC voters.

So ‘Bama had good talent, but not great—especially when measured by the Bryant era which was still in the fairly recent rearview mirror and by the Saban era that we now have as another measuring stick. The #16 national ranking they had to start the season seemed about right.

The Tide blew out lowly Memphis to start the season and then ground out a 15-3 win over a respectable Kentucky team. An uninspiring 20-14 escape at woeful Vanderbilt was followed by a trip to Ole Miss. This would be a pretty good Rebel team, one that would go 7-4 and earn a bowl trip. The Alabama offense opened up and blew them out, 62-27.

Alabama came home and had another uninspired win, 24-17 over UL-Lafayette. But uninspired wins were still wins, and at 5-0, the Crimson Tide had nudged up to #10 in the polls in time for a visit from Tennessee. The Vols were undefeated and ranked sixth in the country. They were the favorites to win the SEC and the Sugar Bowl bid that went with it. Instead, the Alabama offense put on a show.

Stacy did everything. He ran for 125 yards. He caught nine balls for 125 yards. One of those catches was a 75-yard touchdown pass. He ran for three more scores. Hollingsworth played his best game of the year, going 32/46 for 379 yards. By the third quarter, the Crimson Tide led 33-14 and they ended up winning 47-30.

There was no time to celebrate because a big non-conference date at Penn State was up next. The Nittany Lions had won two national championships in the 1980s and while ’89 wasn’t one of their great teams, it was still a pretty good one that came in ranked #14.

In a tough game on a sunny afternoon at State College, Stacy ran for 106 yards. Hollingsworth had his struggles and threw four interceptions. The costliest one came when Alabama led 17-16 with a little over five minutes to go and was driving for insurance. Penn State took over on their own 30 and drove to the threshold of the goal line. There was time for one more play. They sent on the field goal team. Curry sent on 6’7” Thomas Rayman for the play titled “Desperation Block.”

Rayman got up and did his job, blocking the field goal clean. Alabama had a great escape. They were headed into November ranked #5, undefeated and in serious position to talk about a national championship.

A 23-10 win over mediocre Mississippi State nudged them to #4. A 37-14 win over Southern Miss pushed the Tide’s record to 10-0 on November 18. They were off the following week while seventh-ranked Miami knocked off #1 Notre Dame. The results shook up the polls and was the break Alabama needed.

Colorado was the new #1 and in this era when bowl games were often locked up just before the final games of the season, the Buffs were in line to play Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. The Irish loss meant that game would not be winner-take-all for the national championship.

And the Tide were sitting pretty at #2. They simply needed to win out and hope Notre Dame could beat Colorado in the Orange Bowl (which the Irish were favored to do).

But “simply win out” wasn’t really that simple. There was still the fabled Iron Bowl game at Auburn. The Tigers, along with Tennessee, were a game back of Alabama in the conference race. While the Sugar Bowl had already committed to Alabama, an Auburn win would create tri-championship in the SEC. What’s more, the rivalry stakes in the Iron Bowl were even higher—1989 was the first time that Auburn would get to host this game on their own campus, at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Alabama did not play well. They fell behind 27-10 in the third quarter. A rally to pull to within 27-20 gave them a chance, but Auburn calmly drove for a lockup field goal in the final minute and it ended 30-20.

The polls dropped Alabama to #7 going into their Sugar Bowl date with the new #2, Miami. The Hurricanes were now the ones in position to benefit from a potential Notre Dame win over Colorado.

Miami and Notre Dame were head-and-shoulders above the rest of the country and it showed on New Year’s Night. Alabama played from behind the entire evening. They fell behind 20-10 before a touchdown pass to Russell just before the half made it a game at 20-17. They fell behind 33-17 before a touchdown and two-point conversion with just less than three minutes to play gave some hope at 33-25. But the ensuing onside kick was recovered by Miami and the season ended. The ‘Canes claimed the national championship when Notre Dame beat Colorado.

Alabama finished the season ranked #9. A Top 10 finish and the program’s first major bowl appearance in eight years seemed like a breakthrough. The school didn’t see it that way. Curry’s contract was up for renewal and he was offered very unfavorable terms. Seeing the writing on the wall, Curry opted to leave and take the Kentucky job.

Curry never fit in at Alabama, where he lacked ties to Bryant and lacked a winning resume, having gone 31-43-4 at Georgia Tech prior and the seven ensuing years saw him post a 26-52 record in Lexington. He was, by the accounts of all he knew him, an honorable man. But this was a curious hire and the relationship was tenous from the outset.

Alabama hired Gene Stallings, a man with ties to the Bryant era. Three years later, the Tide had another national championship.

1981 Alabama Football: A Championship Drive Misses & An Era Ends

, , , , , ,

1981 Alabama football wasn’t the same loaded team that won back-to-back national titles in 1978-79. They had slipped a bit in 1980, though they still went to the Cotton Bowl and crushed Baylor. The offense lacked explosiveness. Starting quarterback Walter Lewis only threw 66 passes and the Tide relied on a rushing attack where five different backs, along with Lewis ran for between 300-400 yards on the season.

READ GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS

Defensively, the Tide had two players that got All-American recognition, defensive back Tommy Wilcox and linebacker Tom Boyd. And the respect the legendary head coach Bear Bryant commanded still had Alabama ranked fourth to start the season, even as SEC rival and defending national champion Georgia—with much more talent in the cupboard—was ranked tenth.

Alabama opened the season at LSU, though the Tigers weren’t very good at this time and the result was an easy 24-7 win. It moved the Tide to #2. No one could have expected what happened next. Georgia Tech was a terrible team in 1981 and they won only one game. That game was their September 12 visit to Alabama, a 24-21 shocker that shook up the polls (top-ranked Michigan lost the same day). The Tide were down to #10.

Pedestrian victories over bad teams in Kentucky and Vanderbilt followed, and a 38-7 blowout of Ole Miss, another shaky team, lifted ‘Bama to #7. But their second visit outside the SEC went almost as bad as the first. Alabama played Southern Miss, a team that would finish the year with a losing record, to a 13-13 tie and plummeted back to #15.

A game with Tennessee, a pretty good team that would make a bowl game at a time when such was a bigger accomplishment than it is today, now loomed even bigger. Alabama got back on track with a 38-19 win.

Normally, a non-conference home win over Rutgers wouldn’t mean much, but given the way non-conference games had gone for ‘Bama, this 31-7 victory surely brought relief. It also got them back into the Top 10.

Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi State were all unbeaten in conference play on October 31, and the Tide would host seventh-ranked Mississippi State. One year earlier, MSU, coached by former Bryant assistant Emory Bellard, had upset the Tide. And this game would be another tough battle.

Tough should not be equated with well-played and there were a combined 13 turnovers. Alabama clung to a 13-10 lead when Bulldog quarterback John Bond suddenly rifled three straight completions for a combined 69 yards and put Mississippi State on the Alabama 9-yard line in the closing seconds. Bond stepped back one more time. This time Wilcox was waiting and his interception at the one-yard line preserved the win.

After a week off, Alabama traveled to face fifth-ranked Penn State, who was still in the national championship picture. History was also in the making. All season long, Bryant’s pursuit of the career victories record held by Amos Alonzo Stagg had been on the front-burner of media coverage. The old head coach was only two wins away…and there were only two games left in the regular season.

The Tide did their coach proud, defeating the Lions with surprising ease, 31-16. The respect Bryant commanded was made apparent when he left the field and Penn State fans crowded around the tunnel to give him an ovation as he left.

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving that Alabama hosted Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The Tide was playing for at least a share of the SEC title with Georgia. The Tigers were 5-5 and playing for a winning season. To say nothing of the rivalry stakes. But the nation was watching to see if Bear would break the record, and he did with a 28-17 win.

Alabama and Georgia were both unbeaten in league play, and the Tide had to play one more conference game (7-0 vs 6-0), but with winning percentage being tied and the Bulldogs ranked #2, while the Tide were #3, it was Georgia chosen for the Sugar Bowl. Alabama still got another Cotton Bowl bid and were hoping for the right confluence of circumstances to win a national championship.

The circumstances were this—‘Bama had to take care of its business against Texas and then hope for Georgia to lose to Pitt and #1 Clemson to lose to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Those games would take place in prime-time, while the Cotton Bowl was in the early time slot. So the hope for the Tide was to get a win and then sit back and hope for chaos at night.

Texas had finished 9-1-1, but also needed the probation of SMU—the actual regular season champion of the old Southwest Conference—to punch its ticket to Dallas. And for three quarters, Alabama looked the part of a team that had a lot on the line, and Texas looked the part of a team that needed the probation of a rival to be here.

The Tide were moving it up and down the field, but couldn’t put the game away. Alan Gray, who shared quarterback time with Lewis killed one drive with a fumble on the Longhorn 15-yard line. Consequently, the score was only 10-0 when the fourth quarter began.

Texas was built on running the ball and playing defense and you would think a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter was secure. But this Longhorn team had already rallied from behind in two of their biggest regular season games. And in the postgame words of Bryant, they “whipped” the Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter of this Cotton Bowl.

A backup quarterback, Robert Brewer, threw for over 200 yards against the ‘Bama defense. He cut the lead to 10-7 and then led a drive to the Alabama 30-yard line. Brewer took off on a quarterback draw for a touchdown. The Tide trailed 14-10.  

Alabama still rallied, starting the final drive with a big kickoff return.  But the season ended with an interception on the one-yard line to preserve the win. After a voluntary safety by Texas, the final was 14-12.

The loss didn’t cost the Tide a national title—while Georgia lost that night, Clemson won and took home an undisputed championship. But it was the end of an era. It was the final time Bear Bryant would coach a team in a major bowl game. The aging Bear only had one more year left in him. He retired following a tough 1982 season and passed away shortly after.

1980 Alabama Football: Bear Bryant’s Last Major Bowl Win

, , , , ,

Alabama was coming off national championship seasons in both 1978 and 1979, as the coaching career of the legendary Bear Bryant neared its end. The 1980 Alabama football team didn’t make it a three-peat, but they made a run at it and their ultimate Cotton Bowl victory would be Bryant’s last victory in a major bowl game.

READ GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS

The Crimson Tide had the #1 defense in the country and it was through a cohesive team effort. Defensive end E.J. Junior was the only consensus All-American, though linebacker Tom Boyd got honorable mention and defensive back Jeremiah Castille went on to an NFL career whose biggest moment came when he recovered a fumble that preserved the 1987 AFC Championship Game for the Denver Broncos.

Offensively, the Tide took a step back from their attacks of the previous two seasons. The same balanced rushing attack existed, but at a little less prolific level. Billy Jackson and Major Ogilvie got the bulk of the carries and quarterback Don Jacobs was a runner, not a passer. Jacobs only attempted 76 passes all season.

Alabama was ranked #2 to start the season, behind only Ohio State. The Tide opened with a 26-3 win over lowly Georgia Tech and then crushed woeful Ole Miss 59-35, an uncharacteristic high-scoring game. An unimpressive win by Ohio State the same day nudged the Crimson Tide to the top of the polls, as they gunned for a third straight national title.

Two more shutouts of bad teams followed, the victories over Kentucky and Vanderbilt coming by a combined 86-0. A tough escape at seven-win Rutgers, 17-13 was next and the defense spun yet another shutout at Tennessee, beating the mediocre Vols 27-0.

October 25 saw an unbeaten Southern Miss team come to Tuscaloosa. The Golden Eagles were coached by Bobby Collins, who would go on to take SMU to an undefeated season two years later and be the head coach when that program got the death penalty shortly after that. Southern Miss also had Sammy Winder, who in the NFL would be Castille’s teammate in Denver and score the winning touchdown in the playoff game that Castille ultimately preserved.

Southern Miss was coming off a rout of a good SEC opponent in Mississippi State and hoped that could translate against the #1 team in the country. It didn’t—the Tide won 42-7. Up next was Alabama’s own game with Mississippi State and the result against the common opponent should have made a Tide victory a foregone conclusion.

Sports is never that simple though and Alabama-Mississippi State was a defensive war. The Bulldogs were coached by Emory Bellard, who had taught Bear Bryant the wishbone offense and Mississippi State held a 6-3 lead on their homefield when Alabama drove inside the red zone in the final minute.

A tie wouldn’t do Alabama any good—not with Georgia undefeated and not on the ‘Bama schedule. A tie would be as good as a loss, both in the SEC and nationally. Alabama reached the 4-yard line, but with no timeouts, they had to rush to the line for one last snap. Jacobs took it and tried to run the option right. He was met and a fumble was forced. Mississippi State recovered.

There was one last burst of interest when Mississippi State fumbled the snap on the play to kill the remaining clock and a furious pile-up, reminiscent of a scene in the Tom Cruise movie All The Right Moves, ensued. But State recovered and Alabama slipped to #6 in the polls.

After dispatching seven-win LSU by a 28-7 count, Alabama prepared for the arrival of Notre Dame, who had only an inexplicable tie against Georgia Tech darkening their resume. The game summarized the Alabama season—the defense was great and the only Notre Dame points came after a ‘Bama fumble inside their own 5-yard line. But the offense did literally nothing and the 7-0 defeat eliminated any faint hopes of a national championship.

Alabama still closed the year strong with a 34-18 win over Auburn. The Tide got a bid to the Cotton Bowl to play Baylor, 10-1 and the champion of the old Southwest Conference.  

‘Bama led 6-0, when Baylor missed its best chance to turn momentum. They had gotten a 50-yard pass interference penalty and were on the Tide 8-yard line. The Bears fumbled it away. Jacobs immediately responded with a deep post pass to Jesse Bendross that set up an Alabama touchdown.

The great defense took over from there, and Baylor turnovers kept setting up ‘Bama points. The Tide did allow the Bears to get on the board, but it was the Alabama offense that gave up the points—a safety. The final score was 30-2.

Bryant only had two more years left in his career. He would make it back to another major bowl, reaching this same venue and losing to Texas in 1981. The 1980 season might not have been what Alabama wanted at the beginning, but their January 1 victory gives them a special place in the lore of this proud program.

1979 Alabama Football: A Repeat Title Drive

, , , , ,

Alabama had split the national title with USC in 1978. The Crimson Tide were ranked #2 to start the new season, so they would open needing at least a little bit of help—it was their old nemesis out west in USC that was ranked #1. The bowl structure of the time meant that the SEC champ was locked in to the Sugar Bowl, while the Pac-10 champ was contractually bound for the Rose Bowl. The 1979 Alabama football team got just the tiniest fraction of help, but it was all they needed to barge down the door and win an outright national championship this time around.

READ GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS

Tide head coach Bear Bryant changed out a lot of the spots at the skill position. Steadman Shealy took most of the snaps at quarterback and though he only threw 81 passes all season, Shealy was the team’s leading rusher with 791 yards.

The running backs were a cadre of Steve Whitman, Major Ogilvie, Don Jacobs, John Hill and Billy Jackson, whom Bryant kept moving in and out and constantly attacking defenses with a fresh back behind an offensive line led by All-American guard Jim Bunch.

The top receiver was Keith Pugh, and in this offensive system, his 25 catches for 433 yards seemed to make him look like an early version of Jerry Rice.

Defensively, Alabama only had one All-American, corner Don McNeal. But the whole was much greater than the sum of the parts—the Tide gave up just 5.6 points per game, the best in the land.

The title quest started at mediocre Georgia Tech with a 30-5 win. Alabama then hosted Baylor, a program that was started to move upward—in fact these teams would meet the following season in the Cotton Bowl. The Tide smacked down the Bears 45-zip, then crushed lowly Vanderbilt 66- and shutout overmatched Wichita State.

Florida was a hapless foe that would not win a game, even with future NFL wide receiver and TV analyst Cris Collingsworth in the lineup. ‘Bama beat the Gators 40-0.

That same day, USC blew a three-touchdown lead and tied Stanford 21-21.The Crimson Tide were now atop the polls.

One week later, 18th-ranked Tennessee provided a test. Alabama, playing at home, fell behind 14-0 early and trailed 17-7 at the half. Shealy then did something rare and made a big play with his arm, throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass. Ogilvie got rolling, going for 109 yards on the day and scoring two second half-touchdowns. Alabama took over in the second half and won 27-17.

Easy victories over losing teams in Mississippi State and Virginia Tech followed.  A trip to LSU was nearly fatal—the Tide mustered only a field goal worth of offense. Fortunately, their elite defense saved them, as they pulled off a 3-0 shutout over a team with future Super Bowl-starting quarterback David Woodley.

The defense spun another shutout against 5-6 Miami, and the offense picked up the pace in a 30-0 rout. One more opponent remained and it was archrival Auburn, ranked #14. The Tigers had the SEC Player of the Year, Joe Cribbs in the backfield. Cribbs and his backfield mate James Brooks would each go on to productive NFL careers and they gave Alabama everything the Tide could handle.

Auburn kicked an early field goal, but when Alabama scored two second-quarter touchdowns it looked like business as usual. But with Cribbs running for 93 yards, Auburn came back and took an 18-17 lead in the fourth quarter.

Alabama was getting a big game from Whitman, who carried 14 times for 107 yards, and Shealy, who rushed for 99. The quarterback capped off a drive with an eight-yard touchdown run and the Tide took a 25-18 lead. Auburn came right back, driving to the ‘Bama 24 before the Tide defense finally held.

The undefeated season and national title shot was preserved, but the AP poll moved Alabama down to #2. The Tide still controlled the UPI poll, but now they were again set to share honors with unbeaten Ohio State, bound for the Rose Bowl. In an ironic twist, ‘Bama needed a little help from USC, who would play the Buckeyes.

First things first. There was the not-so-small matter of playing sixth-ranked Arkansas, coached by Lou Holtz. The New Year’s Day bowl schedule at the time had the Sugar Bowl kicking off in the early time slot, to be followed by the Rose at its usual midafternoon time. The Tide would have a chance to make a first impression on the voters.

And they were ready. Even though McNeal fumbled the opening kickoff away, the defense stiffened and the Hogs got only a field goal. ‘Bama controlled the rest of the game behind the outstanding running of Major Oglivie. He scored on runs of 22 & 1, and also had a 50-yard punt return to set up a field goal shortly before the half, as the Tide led 17-3.

Arkansas briefly made it interesting in the third quarter, taking the second half kickoff and driving 80 yards to cut the lead to 17-9. But Alabama sealed the deal with a life-sucking 98-yard drive on nine plays that made the final 24-9. 

There was little doubt the Tide were in for at least a share of the title. Now they had to await the results from Pasadena. Once again, they got the smallest amount of help possible—Ohio State led 16-10 in the fourth quarter, but USC’s Heisman-winning running back Charles White ripped off two long runs that set up the winning touchdown in a 17-16 final.

The national championship belong exclusively to Alabama. It was the last title for the Bear in his extraordinary career.

1991 Alabama Football: Gene Stallings Lays The Groundwork For Glory

, , , , ,

Alabama alum Gene Stallings returned to his school in 1990 as head coach, with a mandate to restore the glory days of Bear Bryant, whom Stallings had played for. The first season was iffy—even though the Crimson Tide got a Fiesta Bowl bid, they had lost four regular season games and then got crushed by Louisville in the bowl game itself. The 1991 Alabama football team made significant progress and set the stage for the program’s return to glory in 1992.

Stallings, like Bryant before him and Nick Saban after him, built his teams on defense. Defensive tackle Robert Stewart was second-team All-American in 1992. John Sullins was an all-conference linebacker. In the secondary, George Teague, a future NFL starter in Green Bay, intercepted six passes. Antonio Langham, who would be a first-round pick in the pros, picked off five more.

The defense carried a pedestrian offense. Siran Stacy was a good runner, gaining 967 yards and averaging nearly five a pop. David Palmer was a versatile back, who caught 17 passes for over 300 yards. But the problem can be underscored by pointing out that Palmer’s numbers made him the most productive receiver on the Alabama roster. Danny Woodson wasn’t necessarily a bad quarterback—63% completion rate at 8.7 yards-per-pass. But the passing game was used sparingly.

Alabama was ranked #22 to start the year and opened up by crushing an awful Temple team 41-3. It set the stage for a big prime-time visit to Gainesville. The Florida Gators had finished first in the SEC in 1990, even though probation cost them official recognition of the league title. Florida, along with Tennessee, was Alabama’s signature competition in the conference this season.

This game was a disaster for the Crimson Tide. They turned the ball over five times, played poorly on defense and lost 35-0. They fell out of the rankings. This was not what was envisioned when Stallings had come home.

‘Bama began to slowly put the pieces back together. The defense delivered them a 10-0 home win over a respectable Georgia team. Alabama rolled past Vanderbilt 48-17 and then dropped a combined 115 points in wins over UT-Chattanooga and Tulane. The Tide was back up to #14 in the polls and was ready to host Tennessee.

The offense was moving the ball in this game about as well as they had in Florida, but at least this time the Tide weren’t turning the ball over. They only trailed 6-3 as the defensive battle went to the third quarter. Then Woodson got hurt and Jay Barker came in.

Barker promptly led two straight touchdown drives and Langham followed with a Pick-6. This defense with an 18-point lead seemed insurmountable, but the Vols rallied with two touchdowns. Then Stacy fumbled at the Tennessee 43-yard line with a little over a minute left. A disaster loomed, but the defense tightened up and held on to the 24-19 win. The Tide vaulted to #7 in the national rankings.

The November schedule was marked with four games against teams that hovered around mediocrity—Alabama was better than all of them but if the offense decided to take a vacation, they could lose. They did their best to make it interesting, only scoring 53 points combined in the four games against Mississippi State, LSU, Memphis and the Iron Bowl grudge match with Auburn. But with the defense only giving up a combined 36, it was enough to win all four.

A major bowl bid didn’t come, even for a marquee program with a 10-1 record, but the Tide got an attractive matchup with Colorado in the Blockbuster Bowl (today it’s called the Camping World Bowl and you may also recognize it by names like the Champs Sports or Russell Athletic).

Colorado had played for the national title in 1989, won a share of it in 1990 and gone 8-2-1 this year. A victory in this game would be a big feather in the cap of the Stallings regime.

It was the best bowl matchup on the pre-January 1 undercard and the Tide won it in a most unlikely fashion—with an offensive outburst. In the second half, Barker led drives of 90, 75 & 71 yards, capping each with a touchdown pass. Palmer brought a punt back 52 yards to the house in the first half. Stacy rushed for 111 yards and the Crimson Tide won 30-25.

When the final polls came out, Alabama was ranked #5, back in the national elite. This year started a strong four-year run under Stallings. It was highlighted by the 1992 national championship and included an 11-0 regular season in 1994 before a loss in the SEC Championship Game. 1991 sent the message that ‘Bama was back .

1992 Alabama Football: The First National Championship Since The Bear

, , , , ,

The Alabama football program had been on relatively hard times since the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant retired after the 1982 season (he passed away months later). Ray Perkins and Bill Curry took their turns at replacing him. Perkins never made it to a major bowl game in four years. Curry tried for three more seasons that included a tri-SEC title in 1989 and Sugar Bowl appearance, but his lack of a tie to the Bryant era made him less than popular, to put it mildly. The next man up was Gene Stallings, who was a part of the Bryant Family.

Stallings got the Tide to the Fiesta Bowl in his first season, although at 7-4 that was a huge fluke of history. The state of Arizona had just rejected a holiday for Martin Luther King Jr, and teams were boycotting Arizona, leaving the Tide to get blasted by Louisville on New Year’s Day. A year later they made a solid step forward and went 10-1, capping the season with a bowl victory over Colorado.

The 1992 Alabama football team came into the season with a stacked defense. Ends John Copeland and Eric Curry would be All-American. They had elite players at corner and free safety, with Antonio Langham and George Teague respectively. The question would be whether an offense, which had to be carried by running back Derrick Lassic and had an anonymous sophomore named Jay Barker running the show, would be up to snuff.

Alabama rolled through September at 4-0, also on the strength of defense and special teams, although, they really didn’t have a hair of offense to show for it. The defense set up the only two touchdowns in a 25-8 win over Vanderbilt. The Tide needed a fake punt to escape Southern Miss 17-10.

The third game was an SEC battle against Arkansas. It was also the Hogs’ first game as a member of the conference, this being the year the SEC blazed new trails by becoming the first conference to expand to 12 teams and set up a postseason championship game in December. The Democratic nominee for president, Bill Clinton, was in attendance to watch his alma mater, but the support didn’t help the Hogs. ‘Bama flipped the switch for a conference game, got a 33-yard touchdown from Lassic on their first play from scrimmage and cruised to a 38-11 win.

Alabama was having a nice season, the defense was living up to expectations, but there was nothing to suggest this was a national championship unit, not with last year’s co-champs, Washington and Miami, both rolling along undefeated and in the top two spots in the polls.

The Tide kept their steady climb up the polls going through October. They began the month by again showing what they could do offensively, destroying South Carolina in a game where they scored 38 points before the Gamecocks could get a first down.

Alabama then won its stiffest test of the year to date, their Third Saturday in October rivalry against 13th-ranked Tennessee. ’Bama jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but missed chances to put the game away when freshman kicker Michael Proctor missed a couple field goals. Then, with a 17-3 lead and facing fourth-and-goal at the two, Stallings inexplicably attempted to go for it and Lassic was stuffed.

The margin still at two scores, Tennessee’s offense came back. The Vols’ quarterback, Heath Shuler, would finish second in the Heisman voting one year later and go on to be a top five pick by the Washington Redskins. His pro career in D.C. worked out much better in politics—he was elected to Congress in 2006 as a conservative Democrat—than it did in football, but right now he was the SEC’s top arm and ‘Bama gave him new life. He threw a touchdown pass to cut the lead to 17-10 and got the ball at midfield with under two minutes to go. Faced with its stiffest challenge of the season, ‘Bama responded with an interception that preserved the win.

Alabama went to LSU on November 7, and while that matchup doesn’t have the same resonance as it does today, with LSU a regular national contender, but the Bayou was still considered a miserable place to play a road game. Instead, the Tide defense made the home team’s life miserable. They held the Tigers to 22 yards rushing and won 31-11.

The news from the Pac-10 was even better. Top-ranked Washington had been upset by Arizona and Alabama moved up to #2 in the polls. With Miami free to play anywhere in a bowl game, it set up a Hurricanes-Tide national championship battle in the Sugar Bowl—if only ‘Bama could keep their end of the bargain, and they still had three challenging games ahead.

The first came at Mississippi State, ranked 16th coming into the game. Just as they’d done against Tennessee, the Tide struck quickly, with Barker hitting Lassic on a 23-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring and taking a 20-3 lead into the locker room.  The Bulldogs then dominated the third quarter. An interception set up a touchdown that was followed by a two-point conversion.

Alabama went three and out, and another touchdown followed. Now it was 20-18. The Tide offense again failed to muster any response and Mississippi State might have tacked on a third touchdown, but a key 15-yard penalty ended up forcing a field goal attempt. It was still good and the Tide were now down 21-20 and going nowhere offensively.

But as was often the case in 1992, the defense bailed them out. A forced fumble set up a field goal and a Teague interception set up a clinching touchdown in the 30-21 win. Two weeks later in the Iron Bowl Rivalry against Auburn, the defense was in top form. While Barker struggled, throwing a couple interceptions and there was no score at halftime, Langham brought an interception 61 yards to the house to trigger a 17-0 win. Alabama was through the regular season at 11-0 and in every previous regular season that would have been enough to punch their ticket to New Orleans. But the new era had begun, and the Tide had to win an SEC title game battle with Florida.

Alabama had homefield advantage in this game, as the first two years of the SEC Championship Game were played in Birmingham (Florida won a rematch here a year later). The Gators were coached by Steve Spurrier and won the conference title the previous two years (the 1990 crown was not officially recognized due to recruiting violations by the prior regime, but Florida had the best conference record). Spurrier’s creative passing game was led by Shane Matthews and presented a great showdown with the Alabama defense.

The Gators struck first with a first-possession touchdown, but Alabama answered immediately tie the game on a touchdown pass by Barker and then found the end zone two more times, the last on a touchdown pass to Palmer.

It was in the hands of the ‘Bama defense, but Matthews, who would throw for 287 yards, led Florida back and the game was tied 21-21 in the final five minutes and the Gators got the ball back deep in their own end. As the Alabama defense had so many times this year, they rose to the occasion. Matthews fired an out toward the right sideline. Langham stepped in front of it and before anyone knew what had hit them he was in the end zone for the touchdown that would prove to be the game-winner, 28-21. The Tide would get their national title shot in New Orleans on New Year’s Night.

Miami was a heavy favorite, with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Gino Torretta (one of the worst selections of my sports lifetime, beginning in roughly 1976, but that’s another story). The ‘Canes were coached by Dennis Erickson and while this particular version wasn’t as dominant as national championship teams from Coral Gables had been in 1987, ’89 and ‘91, they had played a much tougher schedule than Alabama and had shown an ability to survive in close games against Florida State, Arizona, Penn State and Syracuse, all of which came down to the final drive.

A combination of the ‘Canes aura against the lack of respect for Alabama’s offense led most of us to tune in the game thinking a Miami rout was at hand. We were only half right.

Alabama absolutely annihilated Miami in the trenches, to the tune of 267 rushing yards, over half of them by Lassic. The Tide led only 13-6 at half, thanks again to defensive production as a Sam Shade interception of Torretta set up the touchdown. But it should have been more. A Lassic score was nullified because he committed the heinous crime of spinning the ball in celebration in the end zone.

There would be more where that come from. While Torretta threw for 278 yards he was a gift that didn’t stop giving when it came to turnovers, throwing two more interceptions, both of which set up Tide touchdowns. The game had turned into a shocking 27-6 rout when the play that this game is remembered by happened.

On his own 12, Toretta completed a pass down the sideline to a streaking Lamar Thomas who looked headed to the house. Teague first ran him down and then stripped him and took the ball away. Though an offsides penalty nullified the turnover, Teague’s magnificent hustle play was seen as the symbol of this game. Alabama destroyed the top-ranked team in the country despite getting only two completed passes by Barker—the ‘Bama QB ended the night in a 2-2 tie on passes completed to his own players and the opposition players.

When you run the ball, dominate on defense and force turnovers though, a lot can be covered for. That was the story of tonight, it was the story of the entire 1992 Alabama football season and they had won their first national title of the post-Bryant era, with the second not coming until Nick Saban arrived and won three crowns in four years from 2009-12.

1977 College Football Season: The Road To The Major Bowls

, , , , , , , , , , ,

The 1977 college football season defined by a dramatic January 2, when the four major bowl games were played. Two big blowouts created chaos and a controversial national champion.

GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
Start reading today. 

Oklahoma and Michigan spent the first half of the season trading the #1 spot, moving up and down based on victories that were less than impressive. In October, both fell. Michigan’s loss was an upset to Minnesota, while OU lost a showdown battle with Texas. The Longhorns were the program on the rise.

Texas, after opening the season unranked, with a first-year head coach in Fred Akers, came barreling through the regular season as the nation’s only undefeated team. They had a Heisman Trophy winner at running back in Earl Campbell and were fully expected to make the national championship an easy vote in the Cotton Bowl.

Notre Dame was the opponent in Dallas, ranked #5. The Irish had bounced back from an early season to Ole Miss to get their season around. If Notre Dame could win, other candidates for the top of the polls included Orange Bowl foes Oklahoma and Arkansas, who had only lost to Texas. Third-ranked Alabama was hoping to make its case in the Sugar Bowl against Ohio State. And Michigan was still out there, ranked fourth and headed for the Rose Bowl to face unheralded Washington.

The Fighting Irish stunned the nation and the crowd in Dallas with a 38-10 blowout that was out of hand by halftime. Alabama blasted Ohio State, while Michigan was upset by Washington. There would still be no real debate if second-ranked Oklahoma could win—but the Sooners were crushed by the suspension-laden Razorbacks.

Notre Dame and Alabama were who the debate revolved around, with Arkansas, the runner-up in the old SWC to Texas, destined to finish third. The Irish had lost to an SEC opponent and had been ranked two spots behind the Tide coming into the bowl games. Conversely, another common opponent was USC—whom Notre Dame beat by thirty and Alabama beat by one. And the Irish had buried the consensus #1 team in a road-neutral environment.

The vote went to Notre Dame. The rise from #5 to #1 has not been duplicated since, and with the advent of the new era of playoff football, it never will

READ MORE ABOUT THE ROAD TO THE 1978 COTTON BOWL
READ MORE ABOUT THE ROAD TO THE 1978 SUGAR BOWL
READ MORE ABOUT THE ROAD TO THE 1978 ORANGE BOWL
READ MORE ABOUT THE ROAD TO THE 1978 ROSE BOWL

1980 College Football Season: The Road To The Major Bowls

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The biggest development in the 1980 college football season was the arrival of a freshman running back that would define the sport for the next three years. Herschel Walker made Georgia must-see television at the outset of the decade and in his first year he led the Bulldogs to an undefeated season and a national championship.

Two more traditional powers played important parts in the drama of the season. Georgia had to displace two-time defending national champion Alabama in the SEC. The Crimson Tide slipped a bit this year, but were still good enough to reach the Cotton Bowl and get what would prove to be the final major bowl victory for the great Bear Bryant.

Notre Dame was looking to return to the top and to do it for outgoing coach Dan Devine. The Irish made a serious run at #1, highlighted by a dramatic head-to-head win over Alabama. A late season loss ultimately ended those dreams, but Notre Dame got a crack at Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Another pair of traditional powers didn’t make a serious run at a national title, but they impacted the season and won major bowl games. Oklahoma survived a challenge from Nebraska and won its third straight Big Eight title, earning the automatic ticket to the Orange Bowl. Michigan won the Big Ten, which by itself wasn’t unusual. But they also won the Rose Bowl and that was outside the norm—in fact, for current head coach Bo Schembecler it was unprecedented.

Outside, the world of the “Bluebloods”, Florida State showed that their run to the Orange Bowl in 1979 was no fluke, by doing it again this year and this time matching up much better with Oklahoma. And Pitt, with a who’s who of future NFL talent up and down its lineup, made a run at the top and settled for the #2 spot in the final polls. 

This articles below take you on a season-long run through the seven most consequential teams in college football’s 1980 season: 

READ ABOUT 1980 GEORGIA
READ ABOUT 1980 NOTRE DAME
READ ABOUT 1980 MICHIGAN
READ ABOUT 1980 PITT
READ ABOUT 1980 OKLAHOMA
READ ABOUT 1980 FLORIDA STATE
READ ABOUT 1980 ALABAMA

The Road To The 1981 Cotton Bowl: Alabama & Baylor

, , , , , , , ,

The 1981 Cotton Bowl brought together one traditional power for whom the bid was a disappointment, and one up-and-comer for whom just being there was reason to celebrate. Alabama, the two-time defending national champion, met Baylor in the game that followed the 1980 college football regular season.

GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
Start reading today. 

Alabama had the #1 defense in the country, and it was through a cohesive team effort. Defensive end E.J. Junior was the only consensus All-American, though linebacker Tom Boyd got honorable mention and defensive back Jeremiah Castille went on to an NFL career whose biggest moment came when he recovered a fumble that preserved the 1987 AFC Championship Game for the Denver Broncos.

Offensively, the Tide took a step back from their attacks of the previous two seasons. The same balanced rushing attack existed, but at a little less prolific levels. Billy Jackson and Major Ogilvie got the bulk of the carries, and quarterback Don Jacobs was a runner, not a passer. Jacobs only attempted 76 passes all season.

Alabama was ranked #2 to start the season, behind only Ohio State. The Tide opened with a 26-3 win over lowly Georgia Tech and then crushed woeful Ole Miss 59-35, an uncharacteristic high-scoring game. An unimpressive win by Ohio State the same day nudged the Crimson Tide to the top of the polls as they gunned for a third straight national title.

Two more shutouts of bad teams followed, the victories over Kentucky and Vanderbilt coming by a combined 86-0. A tough escape at seven-win Rutgers, 17-13 was next and the defense spun yet another shutout at Tennessee, beating the mediocre Vols 27-0.

October 25 saw an unbeaten Southern Miss team come to Tuscaloosa. The Golden Eagles were coached by Bobby Collins, who would go on to take SMU to an undefeated season two years later and be the head coach when that program got the death penalty shortly after that. Southern Miss also had Sammy Winder, who in the NFL would be Castille’s teammate in Denver and score the winning touchdown in the playoff game that Castille ultimately preserved.

Southern Miss was coming off a rout of a good SEC opponent in Mississippi State and hoped that could translate against the #1 team in the country. It didn’t—the Tide won 42-7. Up next was Alabama’s own game with Mississippi State and the result against the common opponent should have made a Tide victory a foregone conclusion.

Sports is never that simple though, and Alabama-Mississippi State was a defensive war. The Bulldogs were coached by Emory Bellard, who had taught Bear Bryant the wishbone offense and Mississippi State held a 6-3 lead on their homefield when Alabama drove inside the red zone in the final minute.

A tie wouldn’t do Alabama any good—not with Georgia undefeated and not on the ‘Bama schedule. A tie would be as good as a loss, both in the SEC and nationally. Alabama reached the 4-yard line, but with no timeouts, they had to rush to the line for one last snap. Jacobs took it and tried to run the option right. He was met and a fumble was forced. Mississippi State recovered.

There was one last burst of interest when Mississippi State fumbled the snap on the play to kill the remaining clock and a furious pile-up, reminiscent of a scene in the Tom Cruise movie All The Right Moves, ensued. But State recovered and Alabama slipped to #6 in the polls.

After dispatching seven-win LSU by a 28-7 count, Alabama prepared for the arrival of Notre Dame, who had only an inexplicable tie against Georgia Tech darkening their resume. The game summarized the Alabama season—the defense was great and the only Notre Dame points came after a ‘Bama fumble inside their own 5-yard line. But the offense did literally nothing and the 7-0 defeat eliminated any faint hopes of a national championship.

Alabama still closed the year strong with a 34-18 win over Auburn and went to the Cotton Bowl ranked #9.

Grant Teaff took over the Baylor program in 1972 and showed improvement and got to the Cotton Bowl in 1974. A series of up-and-down years followed, but the Bears won eight games in 1979 and looked poised to again compete in the old Southwest Conference, typically dominated by Texas, Arkansas and now newcomer Houston, who had grabbed the league’s automatic berth in Dallas three times in the last four years.

Baylor had talent on the defensive end and it started with All-American linebacker Mike Singletary, a future two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Chicago Bears. Vann McElroy intercepted eight passes in the secondary and was a starter on a Super Bowl champion with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1983. On the offensive side, guard Frank Ditta was also All-American.

There was explosiveness at the skill positions, starting with 1100-yard rusher Walter Abercrombie. Dennis Gentry, a future teammate of Singletary’s in Chicago, ran for 900 yards. The quarterback play was pedestrian, with Jay Jeffrey completing 44 percent of his passes, and Baylor would have to overcome a lack of respect—they were unranked to start the season.

Baylor’s non-conference opponents were as bad in 1980 as they are today, and the Bears opened by crushing Lamar and West Texas A&M. The first conference game, an 11-3 win over a poor Texas Tech team nudged them into the polls at #20.

A potential changing of the guard in the SWC was signaled on the first week of October, when Baylor beat Houston 24-12, and then the Bears got set for a game with another undefeated up-and-comer, 20th-ranked SMU, in Waco.

Jeffrey might not have been a great passer, but he came up big with his legs in this game. After Baylor fell behind 21-0 in the second quarter and still trailed 28-14 in the third quarter, Jeffrey ran for three touchdowns from in close. Baylor survived, 32-28.

The Bears went on to blow out Texas A&M and beat TCU to get into the Top 10. Then they hosted San Jose State, and perhaps looking ahead to November games with Arkansas and Texas, the Bears suffered a stunning 30-22 upset. It dropped them back to #16, though they were still undefeated in league play and in control of the race for the Cotton Bowl nod.

Baylor smoothly dispatched Arkansas 42-15, then won a surprisingly competitive game at Rice, 16-6. The Bears had locked up their spot in Dallas—they would ultimately clear the field by three games in the SWC. But that didn’t mean the season finale at home with Texas didn’t have a lot of meaning for the fans and the program.

Gentry put his mark on the 1980 Baylor-Texas game. He bolted for a 64-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to start the scoring. With the score still 7-0 in the fourth quarter, Gentry ran 16 yards for the clincher. Baylor won the rushing battle 302-25. They intercepted four passes, and they tacked one more safety for a 16-0 win. Teaff’s team concluded the regular season ranked sixth in the nation.

Bear Bryant was at the end of his career and would only coach through the 1982 season. The 1981 Cotton Bowl proved to be the Bear’s last major bowl victory—ironically over a team nicknamed the Bears with two future members of the Chicago Bears on it (yeah, corny humor, I know).

Alabama led 6-0, when Baylor missed its best chance to turn momentum. They had gotten a 50-yard pass interference penalty and were on the Tide 8-yard line. The Bears fumbled it away. Jacobs immediately responded with a deep post pass to Jesse Bendross that set up an Alabama touchdown. The great defense took over from there, and Baylor turnovers kept setting up ‘Bama points. Baylor’s defense did score, getting a safety, but the final was an ugly 30-2.

Bryant would appear in one more major bowl, losing to Texas in this same venue the following year. Baylor wouldn’t get back to college football’s biggest stage until the end of the 2013 season and are still after the program’s first major bowl win since the Sugar Bowl following the 1956 season.

The Road To The 1980 Sugar Bowl: Alabama & Arkansas

, , , , , , , ,

The 1980 Sugar Bowl saw a national title settled in New Orleans for the second year in a row and once again the team doing the claiming was Alabama. After a winning a co-national championship the prior year, the Crimson Tide won it all again. The team standing in their way was Arkansas, coached by Lou Holtz. Let’s look back on the paths Alabama and Arkansas took through the 1979 college football season to reach New Year’s Day 1980 in the Bayou.

GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
Start reading today. 

Alabama was ranked #2 in the nation to start the year, right behind USC, whom they had split the title with the year before. Tide head coach Bear Bryant changed out a lot of the spots at the skill position. Steadman Shealy took most of the snaps at quarterback and though he only threw 81 passes all season, Shealy was the team’s leading rusher with 791 yards.

The running backs were a cadre of Steve Whitman, Major Ogilvie, Don Jacobs, John Hill and Billy Jackson, whom Bryant kept moving in and out and constantly attacking defenses with a fresh back behind an offensive line led by All-American guard Jim Bunch.

The top receiver was Keith Pugh, and in this offensive system, his 25 catches for 433 yards seemed to make him look like an early version of Jerry Rice.

Defensively, Alabama only had one All-American, corner Don McNeal. But the whole was much greater than the sum of the parts—the Tide gave up just 5.6 points per game, the best in the land.

The title quest started at mediocre Georgia Tech with a 30-5 win. Alabama then hosted Baylor, a program that was started to move upward—in fact these teams would meet the following season in the Cotton Bowl. The Tide smacked down the Bears 45-zip, then crushed lowly Vanderbilt 66- and shutout overmatched Wichita State.

Florida was a hapless foe that would not win a game, even with future NFL wide receiver and TV analyst Cris Collingsworth in the lineup. ‘Bama beat the Gators 40-0. That same day, USC blew a three-touchdown lead and tied Stanford, vaulting Alabama into the top poll position.

One week later, 18th-ranked Tennessee provided a test. Alabama, playing at home, fell behind 14-0 early and trailed 17-7 at the half. Shealy then did something rare and made a big play with his arm, throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass. Ogilvie got rolling, going for 109 yards on the day and scoring two second half-touchdowns. Alabama took over in the second half and won 27-17.

Easy victories over losing teams in Mississippi State and Virginia Tech followed.  A trip to LSU was nearly fatal—the Tide mustered only a field goal worth of offense. Fortunately, their elite defense saved them, as they pulled off a 3-0 shutout over a team with future Super Bowl-starting quarterback David Woodley.

The defense spun another shutout against 5-6 Miami, and the offense picked up the pace in a 30-0 rout. One more opponent remained and it was archrival Auburn, ranked #14. The Tigers had the SEC Player of the Year, Joe Cribbs in the backfield. Cribbs and his backfield mate James Brooks would each go on to productive NFL careers and they gave Alabama everything the Tide could handle.

Auburn kicked an early field goal, but when Alabama scored two second-quarter touchdowns it looked like business as usual. But with Cribbs running for 93 yards, Auburn came back and took an 18-17 lead in the fourth quarter.

Alabama was getting a big game from Whitman, who carried 14 times for 107 yards, and Shealy, who rushed for 99. The quarterback capped off a drive with an eight-yard touchdown run and the Tide took a 25-18 lead. Auburn came right back, driving to the ‘Bama 24 before the Tide defense finally held.

The undefeated season and national title shot was preserved, but the AP poll moved Alabama down to #2. The Tide still controlled the UPI poll, but now they were again set to share honors with unbeaten Ohio State, bound for the Rose Bowl.

Arkansas had reached the top five of the final polls two years earlier in Holtz’s first year before taking a modest step back in 1978. The Razorbacks were built on the running game, with Roland Sales going behind All-American tackle Greg Kolenda. Quarterback Kevin Scanlan threw 139 passes, which was moderate for the time. Scanlan was reasonably effective, completing 66 percent and getting 8.7 yards-per-attempt.

The Hogs opened the season ranked #20 and had moved up three spots before they played their first game on September 15. Arkansas blew out Colorado State to open the year. The Razorbacks then hosted Oklahoma State. The Cowboys were led by a rookie coach with whom Holtz would one day have an epic battle with—Jimmy Johnson. Nine years before the legendary Catholics vs. Convicts battle of Notre Dame-Miami, Holtz got the best of Johnson. Arkansas won 27-7.

After an easy win over Tulsa and a surprising 16-13 escape of lowly TCU, Arkansas beat Texas Tech 20-6. That win moved them to #10 in the polls in time for their two biggest games of the year, both at home—fellow Southwest Conference rivals Texas and Houston.

Texas was ranked #2 in the country, behind only Alabama, before the Longhorns came to Little Rock. Arkansas won it 17-14 and vaulted to #4, now in the national title picture themselves. When they led sixth-ranked Houston 10-7 at the half the following week, the picture looked even brighter. But the Razorback offense faltered after intermission and they lost 13-10, moving back to #9.

Arkansas opened November with a rout of an awful Rice team and then got an impressive 29-20 win over 17th-ranked Baylor, 29-20. That same day, Texas beat Houston and the Razorbacks were in a three-way tie for first in the SWC, which had an automatic bid to the Cotton Bowl.

The Hogs beat Texas A&M and SMU to end the year and at least claim their share of the conference championship. Texas was upset by A&M in the final week, removing the Longhorns from the tiebreaking and giving the Cotton Bowl bid to Houston on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Either way, Arkansas was ranked #6, with a piece of a league championship and still going to a major bowl as they got set to challenge Alabama.

Arkansas’ challenge was credible for about one quarter. McNeal fumbled the opening kickoff, but Arkansas could get only a field goal out of it. The Tide defense and Major Ogilvie took over. The Hogs couldn’t move, while Ogilvie scored two touchdowns and also had a 50-yard punt return to set up a field goal.

The score was 17-3 by half and after Arkansas briefly made it a game at 17-9, ‘Bama went on a soul-crushing 98-yard drive for the touchdown that sealed the 24-9 win and at least a share of the national championship.

It wasn’t until 1982 that the Sugar Bowl began being played in prime-time, so this was the first game of New Year’s Day. The national championship’s other half would now go up for grabs in the Rose Bowl, where Ohio State was meeting USC. The Buckeyes led 16-10 in the fourth quarter and looked like they might stake their claim. But the Trojans scored a late touchdown, won the game and the national championship belonged exclusively to Alabama.

The Road To The 1979 Sugar Bowl: Alabama & Penn State

, , , , , ,

Alabama spent time at #1 early in the 1978 college football regular season. Penn State stayed undefeated throughout and was #1 late in the season. On January 1, they were 1-2 in the polls and settled it with a great battle at the 1979 Sugar Bowl that was defined by one of the most memorable goal-line stands and tackles in college football history.

GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
Start reading today. 

The Crimson Tide finished #2 in 1977, and felt they had been robbed in the voting. Bear Bryant’s team was aiming for its first national title since 1965, though they had consistently dominated the SEC over the past several years.

Penn State produced unbeaten but uncrowned teams in 1968, 1969 and 1973. Much to the chagrin of the Nittany Lions, their rival Pitt was honored with a national title after a perfect season in 1976. After two years out of the major bowl picture, Joe Paterno’s team was ready to return to the national stage.

Alabama was ranked #1 in the preseason polls, with a balanced rushing attack led by Tony Nathan and Major Ogilvie, who were the SEC’s top two backs in terms of yards-per-attempt. Quarterback Jeff Rutledge didn’t have to throw a lot, but he had a long NFL future ahead of him and was effective when he had to. Rutledge’s 13 touchdown passes led the SEC.

Defensively, Alabama was anchored by defensive tackle Marty Lyons and linebacker Barry Krauss, each of whom made All-American. Cornerback Don McNeal would soon be an NFL starter on a Super Bowl team with the Miami Dolphins.

Penn State had a ferocious defensive line, led by Bruce Clark and Matt Millen. Millen would later convert to being an effective NFL linebacker and after that convert to being the worst general manager in the history of the NFL with the Detroit Lions. But that was for down the road. In the meantime, another future pro, Rich Milot, was at linebacker. And Pete Harris, the younger brother of Steeler/Penn State legend Franco Harris, intercepted ten passes in the secondary.

The Lions were no less stout on the offensive side of the trenches, with All-American tackle Keith Dorney, a top 10 pick in the coming NFL draft, and guard Eric Cunningham, who also chosen early in the draft.

Paterno was renowned for his conservative offenses, but Chuck Fusina put the ball up 242 times in 1978, a lot for a good team in that era and Fusina was a consensus All-American who finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting. The backfield combined the speed for Booker Moore with the power of Matt Suhey.  Penn State came into the season with high expectations, ranked #3 in the preseason poll.

Both the Tide and Lions challenged themselves early in the season. Alabama hosted 10th-ranked Nebraska to start the year. After trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, ‘Bama drove 99 yards for the lead touchdown and then took over. They outrushed the powerful Cornhuskers 264-110, forced four turnovers and won the football game 20-3. A win over a good Missouri team followed and set up Alabama to host seventh-ranked USC on September 23.

Penn State opened the season with a shaky win at Temple on a Friday night, and then were unimpressive in dispatching Rutgers the week after. Both teams had winning records, but Eastern football was not well-regarded and the failure of the Lions to post blowouts dropped them to #5 in the rankings when they visited #6 Ohio State on September 16.

It turned out that Ohio State was in for a tough year, one that would end up being Woody Hayes’ last, and Penn State was in command in a 19-0 win. They were back to #3 in the rankings, although another shaky win over SMU at home immediately dropped Paterno’s team back to #5.

Alabama had a rough day at home against USC and it wasn’t against an opponent good enough to escape against. Rutledge threw four interceptions and the normally stingy Tide defense was vulnerable to the attack led by running back Charles White and quarterback Paul McDonald.

The game was tight in the fourth quarter, with USC leading 10-7, but Alabama surrendered two straight touchdowns, kept turning the ball over and lost 24-7. Bryant’s team fell to #7.

Both Alabama and Penn State then started churning. The Tide blew out Vanderbilt, survived a trip west to face defending Pac-10 champ Washington and won decisively over Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State and 10th-ranked LSU on November 11. That same day, top-ranked Oklahoma lost to Nebraska and ‘Bama moved up to #2 in the polls. They were back in the hunt for a national title.

Penn State beat TCU and Kentucky by a combined 88-0 and moved to #2 in the rankings. The Lions were free to play then-#1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, so Penn State controlled their championship destiny. After beating up Syracuse and West Virginia and then impressively nailing fifth-ranked Maryland 27-3, the Lions took the top spot in the polls on November 11 after they survived nine-win N.C. State, 19-10.

Each team had one more hurdle, against their archrival. Penn State went on November 25, hosting Pitt. The Panthers were “in-between”, with Tony Dorsett being gone and Dan Marino not yet there, but they were a good team that would win eight games and were ranked #15 coming into this battle.

With 5:02 left in the game, Pitt was leading 10-7. Penn State faced a fourth-and-2 on the Pitt 4-yard line. Paterno eschewed going for a tie. It was probably a wise move. The Lions didn’t get a slack from the pollsters and even with being the only undefeated team in the country, a tie would risk dropping them behind not only Alabama, but any or all of USC, Nebraska and Oklahoma, and taking the Lions from controlling their national championship fate.

Paterno gave the football to fullback Mike Guman, a decision that would foreshadow one coming on New Year’s Day. Guman delivered with a touchdown run. Milot then intercepted a pass to set up a clinching field goal from All-American kicker Matt Bahr. Penn State’s 17-10 win had them going to the Sugar Bowl ranked #1.

One week later, Alabama made it official when they routed Auburn, an above-average team at best, 34-16 and set up the 1 vs. 2 showdown.

The game was a defensive classic. Penn State couldn’t move it all in the first half. Alabama could, but kept coming up empty. Finally, late in the first half, Rutledge rifled a bullet over the middle that was caught in the end zone by Bruce Bolton for a 30-yard touchdown catch. In the third quarter, Fusina tied the game with a touchdown pass of his own.

Penn State was driving for the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter when McNeal intercepted a Fusina pass. Then Rutledge gave it back with a bad pitchout and the Lions had the ball on the Tide 19-yard line. They ground it down to the goal line where they would have three chances from the one-yard line.

The first time up the middle was stuffed. The second time up the middle was stuffed. It was down to one play and even though six minutes still remained, it was realistically for a national title. Paterno opted to give the ball to Guman. The fullback tried to go up and over in the middle of the line, aiming to score the winning/tying touchdown of each his team’s final two games.

Krausse was ready. He leapt and met Guman head on, inches from the goal line. A Sports Illustrated cover caught the collision head-on in a photo for the ages. Alabama had held and they won the game 14-7.

There was one fly in the ointment for Alabama’s national title hopes. USC was ranked #3, but had the head-to-head win over the Tide—at Alabama no less. ‘Bama argued that they had beaten the #1 team on the field—the same rationale used to vault Notre Dame to the top spot a year ago over the Tide. USC, which would win the Rose Bowl, had the head-to-head argument.

In the end, the voters split. The writers went to Alabama and the coaches to USC. Either way, it was a national title for Bear Bryant. Paterno went back to the drawing board to try and get that elusive crown.

Load More