1978 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

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.

1978 Alabama Crimson Tide football
AP Poll national champion 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 season)
Captains	Marty Lyons Jeff Rutledge Tony Nathan
Home stadium	Bryant–Denny Stadium Legion Field

1978 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Alabama $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 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

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 / rivalry)	ABC	W 14–7	76,824
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll

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

Before the Season

Alabama ended the 1977 season with the disappointment of a #2 finish, an 11-point voting margin behind national champion Notre Dame.

On April 13, 1978, Paul Bryant was one of several coaches quoted in an AP interview that focused on efforts to rid college football of cheating. Bryant advocated a rule requiring coaches notify the NCAA of suspected infractions immediately and getting it over with rather than complaining after losing a game.

On April 20, nearly a dozen players with injuries were held out of the annual A-Day game that ended in a colorless 7-7 tie. The biggest concern was a knee injury to second-string QB Steadman Shealy. Bryant, in the post A-Day game press conference, declared his 1978 team would have "a questionable offense, an average kicking game, and a good defense" in the post-A-Day game press conference.

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.

Roster

1978 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class T 78 Buddy Aydelette Jr RB 22 Tony Nathan Sr QB 11 Jeff Rutledge Sr C 57 Dwight Stephenson Jr TE 88 Tim Travis Jr FB 45 Steve Whitman Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 39 E. J. Junior So DT 96 Curtis McGriff Jr DB 28 Don McNeal Jr LB 50 Randy Scott So LB 36 Rich Wingo Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bear Bryant Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

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. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2015.

Specific

1. "1978 Alabama football schedule". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on December 2, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
2. Greatest Bowl Games
3. Penn State Daily Collegian, 3 January 1979
4. "Sugar Bowl Memories", Tuscaloosa News