1991 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

1991 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Blockbuster Bowl champion
Blockbuster Bowl, W 30–25 vs. Colorado
Conference Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 5
AP No. 5
1991 record 11–1 (6–1 SEC)
Head coach Gene Stallings (2nd year)
Offensive coordinator Mal Moore
Captain Kevin Turner
Captain Siran Stacy
Captain Robert Stewart
Captain John Sullins
Home stadium Bryant-Denny Stadium
(Capacity: 70,123)
Legion Field
(Capacity: 83,091)
1991 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#7 Florida $ 7 0 0     10 2 0
#5 Alabama 6 1 0     11 1 0
#14 Tennessee 5 2 0     9 3 0
#17 Georgia 4 3 0     9 3 0
Mississippi State 4 3 0     7 5 0
LSU 3 4 0     5 6 0
Vanderbilt 3 4 0     5 6 0
Auburn 2 5 0     5 6 0
Ole Miss 1 6 0     5 6 0
Kentucky 0 7 0     3 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1991 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 1991 college football season. The team was led by head coach Gene Stallings who was in his second season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Bryant-Denny Stadium, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The team competed in the Southeastern Conference.

The team improved upon a 7–5 record from Stallings's first season as they ended with an 11–1 overall record, while going 6–1 in their conference games. The September 21st win against Georgia would prove to be the first in a school record tying 28-game winning streak and a school record 31-game unbeaten streak.

Summary

In the opener against Temple, Chris Anderson had a 96-yard touchdown run from scrimmage, setting an all-time team record that still stands.[1] One week later, Alabama traveled to Florida and got blown out, 35–0. It was the worst Tide loss in 34 years, since a 40–0 loss in 1957 to Auburn that ended the disastrous coaching tenure of J.B. Whitworth. It also cost Alabama an SEC title as the Gators went undefeated in conference play. However, it would be the last game Alabama lost until November 1993, as the next week's 10–0 victory over Georgia began a 28-game winning streak.

After lopsided victories over Vanderbilt, Chattanooga, and Tulane, the Tide started winning a series of squeakers. Against Tennessee the Tide trailed 6–3 in the fourth quarter when starting QB Danny Woodson left the game with a strained hamstring. Behind backup Jay Barker, Alabama rallied for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and won 24–19.[2] It was the Crimson Tide's sixth victory in a row in the Third Saturday in October rivalry. Barker assumed the starting job when Woodson was suspended for violating team rules before the LSU game.[3]

Late in the fourth quarter of the Mississippi State game, the Bulldogs drove down to the Alabama 1, but Stacy Harrison's end-zone interception preserved a 13–7 victory.[4] Against LSU, David Palmer ran a punt back 90 yards for a touchdown and Antonio London blocked a field goal with 2:39 to go to preserve a 20–17 Alabama victory.[5] Bama eked out a 10–7 victory over lowly Memphis State after the Memphis kicker missed two second-half field goals and Alabama end John Copeland forced a fumble by the Memphis QB at the Tide 27 with 3:51 to go.[6] The season ended with Alabama's fifth straight victory by six points or less, as the Tide defeated Auburn in the Iron Bowl 13–6. Alabama faced off against Colorado in the Blockbuster Bowl and won another nailbiter 30–25 behind a punt return TD and 146 all-purpose yards from Palmer.[7] Alabama's 11–1 record was its best since the 1979 team went 12–0 and won the national championship.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 7 4:00 p.m. Temple* No. 20 Legion FieldBirmingham, AL PPV W 41–3   83,091
September 14 6:30 p.m. at No. 6 Florida No. 16 Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL ESPN L 0–35   85,069
September 21 7:00 p.m. No. 25 Georgia Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL ABC W 10–0   70,123
September 28 7:00 p.m. at Vanderbilt No. 22 Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN PPV W 48–17   40,736
October 5 1:30 p.m. Tennessee–Chattanooga* No. 20 Legion Field • Birmingham, AL W 53–7   76,543
October 12 2:30 p.m. Tulane*dagger No. 19 Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL PPV W 62–0   70,123
October 19 11:00 a.m. No. 8 Tennessee No. 14 Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October) ABC W 24–19   86,293
November 2 11:30 a.m. Mississippi State No. 7 Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL (Rivalry) WTBS W 13–7   70,123
November 9 2:30 p.m. at LSU No. 7 Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA (Rivalry) ABC W 20–17   78,838
November 16 1:30 p.m. at Memphis* No. 7 Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis, TN W 10–7   34,632
November 30 3:00 p.m. vs. Auburn No. 8 Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) ESPN W 13–6   83,091
December 28 8:00 p.m. vs. No. 15 Colorado* No. 5 Joe Robbie StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Blockbuster Bowl) CBS W 30–25   52,644
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time Zone.

Rankings

Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Final
AP Poll[8] 22 20 16 NR 22 20 19 14 7 7 8 7 8 8 8 5

Regular season statistics

Source:[9]

Overall

Alabama Opponents
Total Points 294 118
Average 26.7 10.7
First Downs 217 173
Rushing 136 84
Passing 63 78
Penalty 18 11
Total Yards 4,280 3,303
Rushing 2,772 1,452
Passing 1,508 1,851
Touchdowns 37 13
Rushing 24 4
Passing 7 9
Return 6 0
Field Goals Made–Att 12–22 9–19
PAT Made–Att 34–37 11–11
Third Down Made–Att 60–141 54–160
Percent Successful 42.6 33.8

Scoring

1 2 3 4 Total
Alabama 78 70 59 87 294
Opponents 7 35 25 51 118

Passing

Name G Comp–Att TD Int Yards Pct. Long
Woodson 8 64–101 4 3 882 63.4 59
Jay Barker 9 33–56 1 3 554 58.9 75
Siran Stacy 11 3–4 2 1 57 75.0 26
David Palmer 11 1–1 0 0 15 100 15

References

  1. "The Record Book", p. 12
  2. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL", New York Times, Oct. 20, 1991
  3. "SPORTS PEOPLE: COLLEGE FOOTBALL", New York Times, Nov. 7, 1991
  4. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL", New York Times, Nov. 3, 1991
  5. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL", New York Times, Nov. 10, 1991
  6. "College Report", Sports Illustrated, Nov. 25, 1991
  7. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL", New York Times, Dec. 30, 1991
  8. "Alabama 1991 AP Football Rankings". AP Poll Archive. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  9. "1991 University of Alabama final football statistics" (PDF). University of Alabama Athletics. 1991. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
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