1981 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
American college football season
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The 1981 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 87th overall and 48th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 24th year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished season with nine wins, two losses and one tie (9–2–1 overall, 6–0 in the SEC), as SEC co-champions with Georgia and with a loss against Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
| 1981 Alabama Crimson Tide football | |
|---|---|
SEC co-champion | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 6 |
| AP | No. 7 |
| Record | 9–2–1 (6–0 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Mal Moore (7th season) |
| Offensive scheme | Wishbone |
| Defensive coordinator | Ken Donahue (8th season) |
| Base defense | 5–2 |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Bryant–Denny Stadium Legion Field |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Georgia + | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Alabama + | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU | 1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Alabama recovered from an upset loss to a 1–10 Georgia Tech team to win its ninth SEC title in eleven years (shared with Georgia). It was Bama's 18th SEC championship, and the 13th and last conference title for Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama. Alabama's 28–17 win over Auburn was Coach Bryant's 315th career victory, breaking the then all-time record held by Amos Alonzo Stagg.[1] Alabama's Cotton Bowl Classic loss to Texas dropped the Tide's all-time record against the Longhorns to 0–7–1.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | 8:00 p.m. | at LSU | No. 4 | ABC | W 24–7 | 78,066 | [2] | |
| September 12 | 4:00 p.m. | Georgia Tech* | No. 2 | ESPN | L 21–24 | 78,865 | [3] | |
| September 19 | 12:30 p.m. | at Kentucky | No. 12 | W 19–10 | 57,853 | [4] | ||
| September 26 | 7:00 p.m. | at Vanderbilt | No. 10 | W 28–7 | 41,000 | [5] | ||
| October 3 | 1:30 p.m. | Ole Miss[A 1]* | No. 11 | W 38–7 | 60,210 | [7] | ||
| October 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Southern Miss* | No. 7 |
| T 13–13 | 76,400 | [8] | |
| October 17 | 1:30 p.m. | Tennessee | No. 15 |
| W 38–19 | 78,550 | [9] | |
| October 24 | 1:30 p.m. | Rutgers* | No. 11 |
| W 31–7 | 60,210 | [10] | |
| October 31 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 7 Mississippi State | No. 8 |
| W 13–10 | 60,210 | [11] | |
| November 14 | 11:30 a.m. | at No. 5 Penn State* | No. 6 | ABC | W 31–16 | 85,133 | [12] | |
| November 28 | 2:45 p.m. | vs. Auburn | No. 4 | ABC | W 28–17 | 78,170 | [13] | |
| January 1, 1982 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Texas* | No. 3 | CBS | L 12–14 | 73,243 | [14] | |
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Game summaries
Notes
- Prior to the 1980 season, the SEC ruled if two SEC teams scheduled each another independently, and not through the conference office, the game would not count in SEC standings. As such, although both were members of the SEC, the Alabama–Ole Miss games in 1980 and 1981 did not count as conference games in the official SEC standings.[6]