Tag: Alabama Football History

How bad was Alabama’s 24-3 loss to Oklahoma? Here’s what history tells us

When was the last time an Alabama football team lost by 21 or more points in a regular season game before Saturday? It’s been a while.

Alabama football fell 24-3 to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday night in Norman, a stunning three-score loss that saw the Crimson Tide kept out of the end-zone for the first time in many years.

How many years, to be exact? Alabama’s loss to the Sooners marked the first time since the 9-6 overtime loss to LSU in the 2011 “Game of the Century” where the Crimson Tide failed to score a touchdown. (Alabama earned a rematch with LSU in New Orleans the following January to win the national championship, 21-0.)

The 21-point loss in Norman was also the Tide’s most lopsided defeat since the Clemson Tigers‘ 44-16 assault of Nick Saban’s 2018 team in the College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., in January 2019.

But when was the last time Alabama lost this badly in a regular season contest? Three-touchdown losses haven’t exactly been commonplace, so Roll Tide Wire went looking through the year-to-year results for Alabama football to verify the last Tide team to suffer a 21-point defeat in the regular season.

To find the last time Alabama lost a regular season game by 21 or more points before Saturday, you’d have to go back to Year 1 of Mike Shula’s tenure as head coach in Tuscaloosa.

On Nov. 15, 2003, Nick Saban’s third-ranked LSU Tigers visited Tuscaloosa and delivered a 24-point loss to the Crimson Tide, 27-3. Saban’s 2003 team won LSU’s first national championship in 45 years, defeating Oklahoma 21-14 in the Sugar Bowl for the BCS Championship and a share of the national title with USC football.

The last time Alabama lost by 21 or more points in an SEC game on the road? That was all the way back in 1998. That year, the 22nd-ranked Crimson Tide traveled to Fayetteville during the third week of the season on Sept. 26 and were thoroughly routed by the Arkansas Razorbacks and first-year coach Houston Nutt, 42-6.

It was Alabama’s worst loss since the Tide were blanked 40-0 in a loss to Auburn to end the 1957 season, one year before Bear Bryant took over and restored Alabama to national prominence.

Alabama has had worse seasons than the one they’re having now. The Crimson Tide aren’t even mathematically eliminated from the College Football Playoff — even if no one should be stumping for them after such an embarrassing loss as the one Saturday in Norman.

Alabama football schedule 2024

Alabama (8-3) will face the Auburn Tigers (5-6) in the 89th edition of the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.

Auburn defeated No. 14 Texas A&M, 43-41, in four overtimes Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium to cap a wild day of SEC upsets. In addition to Alabama and Texas A&M losing, No. 9 Ole Miss fell 24-17 to the Florida Gators in Gainesville.

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Alabama Crimson Tide football helmets throughout the years

There may not be many differences, but the classic Crimson Tide helmets have changed slightly over the years!

Alabama football has been known for winning and tradition and neither one seems to be slowing down. A tradition could mean a family trip to Tuscaloosa for every third Saturday in October, or it could be something within the Crimson Tide program that has stayed the same since the Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant days.

One tradition that can be seen every Saturday when Alabama takes the field is the crimson helmets with the white, block numbers on them.

No need for fancy gimmicks or flashy logos. The performance on the field is more than enough to provide fans with excitement.

Though there has been one constant helmet for over half a century now, there have been small changes made over time. Take a look at the helmets Alabama has worn over the years!

A look at Alabama’s all-time winningest head coaches

Where do Paul “Bear” Bryant, Nick Saban, and Gene Stallings rank among the school’s all-time winningest coaches?

When you think of the Alabama Crimson Tide football program, usually two head coaches come to mind. Of course, you start with the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant and [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag]. Both were and are viewed as the best college football coaches of all time.

Combined the duo have over 400 career wins and 27 bowl game victories. Not to mention they have won 12 national championships as the head coach at Alabama. Overall, Saban has one more championship, which he won in 2003 with the LSU Tigers. These two men account for 12 of the school’s 18 national championships.

Alabama’s rich history goes beyond Bryant and Saban, in all they have five coaches with an 80% winning percentage with at least seven years on the sidelines in Tuscaloosa.

Roll Tide Wire breaks down the all-time rankings for head coaches in their illustrious history.