1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Consensus National Champions
Sugar Bowl Champions
SEC Champions
Sugar Bowl, W 24-9 vs. Arkansas
Conference Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches #1
AP #1
1979 record 12–0 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant
Captain Steve Whitman
Captain Don McNeal
Home stadium Bryant-Denny Stadium
Legion Field
Seasons
« 1978 1980 »

In 1979 the Alabama Crimson Tide capped off a decade of remarkable success with the seventh perfect season in program history, after 1925, 1930, 1934, 1945, 1961, and 1966 (not counting the 1897 "season" in which Bama played and won only one game).[1] The Tide defense recorded five shutouts and allowed only two teams to score in double digits. The offense scored thirty points or more seven times.

Despite this dominance Alabama had three close calls. Against Tennessee on October 20, Alabama fell behind 17-0 in the second quarter before rallying to win 27-17. Three weeks later, against LSU, all the Tide offense could scrape up was a single field goal, but it was enough to win 3-0. In the regular season finale against Auburn, after leading 14-3 at the half Alabama let Auburn take an 18-17 fourth quarter lead before winning 25-18. The Auburn and Tennessee games were the only two times in the 1979 season that Alabama trailed.[2] A 24-9 victory over Arkansas capped a 12-0 season and a unanimous national championship, Alabama's sixth wire service national title.

Contents

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site Result Attendance
September 8 at Georgia Tech* #2 Grant Field • Atlanta, GA W 30–6   57,621
September 22 Baylor* #2 Legion Field • Birmingham, AL W 45–0   77,512
September 29 at Vanderbilt #2 Dudley Field • Nashville, TN W 66–3   34,694
October 6 Wichita State* #2 Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL W 38–0   51,000
October 13 at Florida #2 Florida Field • Gainesville, FL W 40–0   64,552
October 20 #18 Tennessee #1 Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October) W 27–17   77,665
October 27 Virginia Tech* #1 Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL W 31–7   60,210
November 3 Mississippi State #1 Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL W 24–7   60,210
November 10 at LSU #1 Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA W 3–0   73,708
November 17 Miami (FL)* #1 Bryant-Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL W 30–0   54,500
December 1 vs. #14 Auburn #1 Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) W 25–18   77,918
January 1 vs. #6 Arkansas* #2 Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl) W 24–9   77,846
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Roster

Num Player Position Class Hometown
Scott Allison G Junior Titusville, FL
78 Buddy Aydelette T Senior Mobile, AL
53 Wiley Barnes C–T Senior Marianna, FL
Joe Beazley DT RS Freshman Woodbridge, VA
Thomas Boler T Junior Northport, AL
David Booker SE Junior Huntsville, AL
Vince Boothe G Senior Fairhope, AL
90 Thomas Boyd LB Sophomore Huntsville, AL
47 Byron Braggs DT Junior Montgomery, AL
Gary Bramblett G RS Freshman Dalton, GA
70 Mike Brock G Senior Montgomery, AL
Johnny Brooker K Sophomore Demopolis, AL
Bill Brown DB Sophomore DeKalb, MS
83 Laurence Brown III TE Senior Pembroke Pines, FL
63 Jim Bunch T Senior Mechanicsville, VA
Butch Bunn P Junior Bossemer, AL
Danny Casteel DT RS Freshman Florence, AL
Bob Cayavec TE RS Freshman Largo, FL
80 Tim Clark SE Sophomore Newman, GA
43 Mike Clements DB Junior Center Point, AL
98 Jackie Cline DT RS Freshman McCalla, AL
Prince Colley DB Sophomore Mobile, AL
Allen Connell DT Junior Alexandria, LA
67 Vince Cowell G Junior Snellville, GA
Bob Dasher C RS Freshman Plymouth, MI
51 Gary DeNiro DE–LB Junior Youngstown, OH
John Dyess RB Sophomore Elba, AL
Rusty Faust T Sophomore Fairhope, AL
41 Mitch Ferguson RB Junior Augusta, GA
Pat Folmar QB Junior Luverne, AL
Marvis Freeman DB Junior Tuscumbia, AL
Robert Gaines DE Freshman Huntsville, AL
Bill Glass G Sophomore Birmingham, AL
Steve Glass LB Freshman Demopolis, AL
14 Alan Gray QB–RB Sophomore Tampa, FL
94 Wayne Hamilton DE Senior Okahumpka, FL
21 James Haney RB Sophomore Rogersville, AL
74 David Hannah DT Senior Albertville, AL
Butch Harkness DE Junior Winfield, AL
9 Jim Bob Harris QB–RB Sophomore Athens, GA
37 Greg Haynes DB RS Freshman Athens, AL
Josh Henderson DB RS Freshman Panama City, FL
44 John Hill FB Junior Centre, AL
Tim Hill RB Sophomore Centre, AL
1 Buddy Holt TE–P Senior Demopolis, AL
93 Scott Homan DT RS Freshman Elkhart, IN
James Hughes LB Sophomore Mobile, AL
95 Mike Inman DT Junior Loganville, GA
33 Billy Jackson RB Junior Phenix City, AL
5 Don Jacobs QB–DB Junior Scottsboro, AL
Amos Jones RB Sophomore Aliceville, AL
24 Joe Jones RB Junior Thomaston, GA
97 Robbie Jones LB RS Freshman Demopolis, AL
Bobby Johnson FB Sophomore Andalusia, AL
39 E.J. Junior DE Junior Nashville, TN
Mike Kennedy FB Sophomore Red Bay, AL
87 Bart Krout TE Sophomore Birmingham, AL
John Lancaster DE Junior Tuscaloosa, AL
Greg Landers DB Freshman Birmingham, AL
57 Eddie Lowe DB Sophomore Phenix City, AL
91 Warren Lyles NG Sophomore Birmingham, AL
James Mallard SE Junior Tampa, FL
George Mardini K Sophomore Damascus, Syria
Bobby Marks DB RS Sophomore Tuscaloosa, AL
82 Keith Marks SE RS Freshman Tuscaloosa, AL
84 John Mauro DE Junior South Bend, IN
David McCarty LB Sophomore Birmingham, AL
72 Eddie McCombs T Junior Birmingham, AL
6 Alan McElroy K Senior Tuscaloosa, AL
96 Curtis McGriff DT Senior Cottonwood, AL
28 Don McNeal DB Senior Atmore, AL
Denny Merritt T RS Freshman Andalusia, AL
Jeff Miller T RS Freshman Clarkston, GA
Farrar Montgomery T Junior Atmore, AL
Clay Moss SE Freshman Tuscaloosa, AL
48 Mark Nix RB–DB Sophomore Altoona, AL
42 Major Ogilvie RB Junior Birmingham, AL
29 Ben Orcutt RB–DB Sophomore Arlington Heights, IL
23 Benny Perrin DB Sophomore Decatur, AL
81 Mike Pitts DE RS Freshman Baltimore, MD
Doug Prater RB Junior Gadsden, AL
4 Keith Pugh SE Senior Evergreen, AL
16 David Reeves DB Sophomore Dothan, AL
Steve Rhoden QB Sophomore Red Bay, AL
Joe Robbins C Junior Opp, AL
Bill Robinson DB Sophomore Richmond, VA
David Rogers DB Sophomore Mobile, AL
36 Ricky Rozzell LB RS Freshman Pascagoula, MS
Roy Rumbley DE Sophomore Moss Point, MS
Frank Sazera SE Junior Jemison, AL
69 Bill Searcey G Junior Savannah, GA
10 Steadman Shealy QB Senior Dothan, AL
David Sherrill SE Sophomore Birmingham, AL
99 Richard Shinn NG Sophomore Columbiana, AL
52 Barry Smith C Senior Anniston, AL
49 Bobby Smith DB Senior Fairhope, AL
Marvin Smith T Sophomore Gadsden, AL
Peter Smith DB Junior Birmingham, AL
27 Tom Spencer DB Junior Fairfax, Va
7 Jerrill Sprinkle DB RS Freshman Chamblee, GA
57 Dwight Stephenson C Senior Hampton, VA
John Theis DE Sophomore Daphne, AL
88 Tim Travis TE Senior Bessemer, AL
18 Ricky Tucker DB Junior Florence, AL
2 Woody Umphrey P Junior Bourbonnais, IL
45 Steve Whitman FB Senior Birmingham, AL
15 Tommy Wilcox QB–DB RS Freshman Harahan, LA
38 Charlie Williams FB RS Freshman Bessemer, AL

[3]

Staff

HC: Bear Bryant

Ast: Sylvester Croom (ILB), Ken Donahue (DC), Mal Moore (OC), Bill Oliver (DB)

Game summaries

Miami (FL)

See also: 1979 Miami Hurricanes football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Miami (FL) 0 0 0 0 0
Alabama 10 0 7 13 30

at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL

References

  1. ^ All-time results
  2. ^ 1979 game recaps
  3. ^ 1979 Alabama football roster [1]
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