1978 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

1978 Alabama Crimson Tide football
National champion (AP) SEC champion Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 14–7 vs. Penn State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 1
1978 record	11–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach	Bear Bryant (21st year)
Captain	Marty Lyons
Captain	Jeff Rutledge
Captain	Tony Nathan
Home stadium	Bryant–Denny Stadium Legion Field

1978 SEC football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#1 Alabama $	6	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
#16 Georgia	5	–	0	–	1	9	–	2	–	1
Auburn	3	–	2	–	1	6	–	4	–	1
LSU	3	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	1
Florida	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 84th overall and 45th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 21st year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished season with eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 6–0 in the SEC), as SEC champions and as national champions after a victory over Penn State in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama's costumed "Big Al" mascot officially debuted this season, appearing at the Sugar Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	No. 10 Nebraska*	No. 1	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	ABC	W 20–3	77,023
September 16	at No. 11 Missouri*	No. 1	Memorial Stadium • Columbia, MO		W 38–20	73,655
September 23	No. 7 USC*	No. 1	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	ABC	L 14–24	77,313
September 30	Vanderbilt	No. 7	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL		W 51–28	56,910
October 7	at Washington*	No. 8	Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA		W 20–17	60,975
October 14	Florida	No. 7	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL		W 23–12	60,210
October 21	at Tennessee	No. 4	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)		W 30–17	85,436
October 28	Virginia Tech*	No. 3	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL		W 35–0	60,210
November 4	Mississippi State	No. 3	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Rivalry)		W 35–14	74,217
November 11	No. 10 LSU	No. 3	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Rivalry)	ABC	W 31–10	76,831
December 2	vs. Auburn	No. 2	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)		W 34–16	79,218
January 1, 1979	vs. No. 1 Penn State*	No. 2	Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 14–7	76,824
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll.

Source: Rolltide.com: 1978 Alabama football schedule^[1]

Sugar Bowl

The 1979 Sugar Bowl against Penn State would go down as a classic.^[2] Alabama scored in the second quarter, then Penn State answered in the third, then Alabama took a 14–7 lead on a touchdown set up by a 62-yard punt return. Penn State had a chance to tie in the fourth, but quarterback Chuck Fusina threw an interception into the Alabama end zone.^[3] Then Alabama had a chance to put the game away, but fumbled the football back to Penn State at the Nittany Lion 19-yard-line with four minutes to go.^[2] Penn State drove to a first and goal at the Alabama eight. On third and goal from the one, Fusina asked Bama defensive lineman Marty Lyons "What do you think we should do?", and Lyons answered "You'd better pass."^[4] On third down, Penn State was stopped inches short of the goal line. On fourth down, Penn State was stopped again, Barry Krauss meeting Mike Guman and throwing him back for no gain. Alabama held on for a 14–7 victory. The Crimson Tide split the national championship, winning the AP poll while Southern California won the UPI Coaches' poll. It was Alabama's fifth wire service national championship.

References

General

"1977 Season Recaps" (PDF). RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
"2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book" (PDF). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office. 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2015.

Specific

↑ "1978 Alabama football schedule". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
1 2 Greatest Bowl Games
↑ Penn State Daily Collegian, 3 January 1979
↑ "Sugar Bowl Memories", Tuscaloosa News

1978 Alabama Crimson Tide football—AP national champions

Buddy Aydelette Byron Braggs Jim Bunch Billy Jackson Amos Jones E. J. Junior Barry Krauss Marty Lyons Curtis McGriff Don McNeal Tony Nathan Jeff Rutledge Randy Scott Steadman Shealy Dwight Stephenson Rich Wingo Head coach Bear Bryant Assistant coaches Ken Donahue Sylvester Croom Mal Moore Bill Oliver

Alabama Crimson Tide football

Venues	University of Alabama Quad (1893–1914) Denny Field (1915–1928) Bryant–Denny Stadium (1929–present) Rickwood Field (alternate, 1912–1927) Cramton Bowl (alternate, 1922–1954) Ernest F. Ladd Stadium (alternate, 1948–1968) Legion Field (alternate, 1927–2003)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Auburn: Iron Bowl (James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy) LSU Mississippi State Ole Miss Penn State Tennessee: Third Saturday in October

Culture & lore	History Saban era Traditions Big Al "Yea Alabama" A-Day 1922 Penn game Million Dollar Band Walk of Fame Paul W. Bryant Museum The Bear The Bear Bryant Show Porter Cup 1943 Informals

People	Head coaches All-Americans College Football Hall of Fame inductees NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks Statistical leaders Champ Pickens

Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

College football national champions (poll era)

1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP, DS) / Pittsburgh (BS, HS) 1937: Pittsburgh (AP, BS, DS, HS) / California 1938: TCU (AP) / Tennessee (BS, HS) / Notre Dame (DS) 1939: Texas A&M (AP, BS, HS) / USC (DS) 1940: Minnesota (AP, BS, DS, HS) / Stanford 1941: Minnesota (AP, BS) / Alabama (HS) 1942: Ohio State (AP, BS) / Georgia (HS) 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army (AP, BS, HS) / Ohio State 1945: Army 1946: Notre Dame (AP) / Army (BS, HS) 1947: Notre Dame (AP) / Michigan (AP [post-bowl], BS, HS) 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame

1950s	1950: Oklahoma 1951: Tennessee (AP, Coaches) / Michigan State / Maryland / Georgia Tech (BS) / Illinois (BS) 1952: Michigan State (AP, Coaches, BS) / Georgia Tech (INS) 1953: Maryland (AP, Coaches, INS) / Notre Dame (BS) 1954: Ohio State (AP, BS, INS) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, BS, FWAA, INS) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches, BS, FN) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse

1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) / Iowa BS) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (FN, NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas

1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FN, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP, FN) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches, FN) 1979: Alabama

1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FN, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

Southeastern Conference football champions

Alabama (1933) Alabama & Tulane (1934) LSU (1935) LSU (1936) Alabama (1937) Tennessee (1938) Georgia Tech, Tennessee, & Tulane (1939) Tennessee (1940) Mississippi State (1941) Georgia (1942) Georgia Tech (1943) Georgia Tech (1944) Alabama (1945) Georgia & Tennessee (1946) Ole Miss (1947) Georgia (1948) Tulane (1949) Kentucky (1950) Georgia Tech & Tennessee (1951) Georgia Tech (1952) Alabama (1953) Ole Miss (1954) Ole Miss (1955) Tennessee (1956) Auburn (1957) LSU (1958) Georgia (1959) Ole Miss (1960) Alabama & LSU (1961) Ole Miss (1962) Ole Miss (1963) Alabama (1964) Alabama (1965) Alabama & Georgia (1966) Tennessee (1967) Georgia (1968) Tennessee (1969) LSU (1970) Alabama (1971) Alabama (1972) Alabama (1973) Alabama (1974) Alabama (1975) Georgia (1976) Alabama (1977) Alabama (1978) Alabama (1979) Georgia (1980) Alabama & Georgia (1981) Georgia (1982) Auburn (1983) Florida (1984) vacated Tennessee (1985) LSU (1986) Auburn (1987) Auburn & LSU (1988) Alabama, Auburn, & Tennessee (1989) Tennessee (1990) Florida (1991) Alabama (1992) Florida (1993) Florida (1994) Florida (1995) Florida (1996) Tennessee (1997) Tennessee (1998) Alabama (1999) Florida (2000) LSU (2001) Georgia (2002) LSU (2003) Auburn (2004) Georgia (2005) Florida (2006) LSU (2007) Florida (2008) Alabama (2009) Auburn (2010) LSU (2011) Alabama (2012) Auburn (2013) Alabama (2014) Alabama (2015) Alabama (2016)

National championships in bold

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