1981 Alabama Crimson Tide football
SEC co-champion
Cotton Bowl, L 12–14 vs. Texas
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 7
Record9–2–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach
Captains
  • Warren Lyles
  • Alan Gray
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
(Capacity: 60,210)
Legion Field
(Capacity: 75,808)
1981 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Georgia + 6 –0 –010 –2 –0
No. 7 Alabama + 6 –0 –09 –2 –1
Mississippi State 4 –2 –08 –4 –0
Tennessee 3 –3 –08 –4 –0
Florida 3 –3 –07 –5 –0
Auburn 2 –4 –05 –6 –0
Kentucky 2 –4 –03 –8 –0
LSU 1 –4 –13 –7 –1
Ole Miss 1 –5 –14 –6 –1
Vanderbilt 1 –5 –04 –7 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 58:00 p.m.at LSUNo. 4
ABCW 24–778,066[2]
September 124:00 p.m.Georgia Tech*No. 2
ESPNL 21–2478,865[3]
September 1912:30 p.m.at KentuckyNo. 12
W 19–1057,853[4]
September 267:00 p.m.at VanderbiltNo. 10
W 28–741,000[5]
October 31:30 p.m.Ole Miss[A 1]*No. 11
W 38–760,210[7]
October 101:30 p.m.Southern Miss*No. 7
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
T 13–1376,400[8]
October 171:30 p.m.TennesseeNo. 15
W 38–1978,550[9]
October 241:30 p.m.Rutgers*daggerNo. 11
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
W 31–760,210[10]
October 311:30 p.m.No. 7 Mississippi StateNo. 8
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)
W 13–1060,210[11]
November 1411:30 a.m.at No. 5 Penn State*No. 6
ABCW 31–1685,133[12]
November 282:45 p.m.vs. AuburnNo. 4
ABCW 28–1778,170[13]
January 1, 19821:00 p.m.vs. No. 6 Texas*No. 3
CBSL 12–1473,243[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[15]

Notes

  1. ↑ 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]

References

General

  • "1981 Season Recaps" (PDF). RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  • "2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book" (PDF). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2015.

Specific

  1. ↑ Smothers, Jimmy (November 29, 1981). "Bryant now winningest college coach in history". The Gadsden Times. Google News Archives. p. 17. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Alabama gets an easy one". The Anniston Star. September 6, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Tech 24, Alabama 21 - it really did happen". The Atlanta Constitution. September 13, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "'Bama bounces back to beat UK 19–10". The Courier-Journal. September 20, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Tide sinks Commodores, 28–7". The Tennessean. September 27, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ McNair, Kirk (February 7, 2006). "SEC football - With the death late last week of legendary Mississippi Football Coach John Vaught, the question was raised as to why Alabama and Coach Paul Bryant had so few meetings against the Rebels and Vaught". 'BamaMag. Scout.com. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  7. ↑ "King Bama ain't dead yet". The Clarion-Ledger. October 4, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "USM ties a 13–13 shocker on Alabama". The Clarion-Ledger. October 11, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Tide's first half monsoon wrecks Vols". The Tennessean. October 18, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Bama varies attack, and buries Rutgers". The Anniston Star. October 25, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "State fires and falls back 13–10". The Clarion-Ledger. November 1, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Penn State falls to Alabama, 31–16". Sunday News. November 15, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Bendross sparks Alabama offense". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 29, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "UT turns tide on 'Bama, 14–12". Austin American-Statesman. January 2, 1982. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "1981 Alabama football archives". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
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