1990 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1990 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama for the 1990 College football season. The Crimson Tide was led by first-year head coach Gene Stallings,[1][2] replacing Bill Curry who left for the University of Kentucky.[3]

1990 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Fiesta Bowl, L 7–34 vs. Louisville
Conference	Southeastern Conference
1990 record	7–5 (5–2 SEC)
Head coach	Gene Stallings (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Mal Moore
Captains	Efrum Thomas Gary Hollingsworth Philip Doyle
Home stadium	Bryant–Denny Stadium (Capacity: 70,123) Legion Field (Capacity: 75,962)

1990 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Florida	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Tennessee $	5	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	2
No. 21 Ole Miss	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Alabama	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Auburn	4	–	2	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
LSU	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Georgia	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Florida ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Rankings from AP Poll

Summary

The 1990 season got off to an excruciating start, as the Tide and new coach Gene Stallings lost three games by a combined total of eight points. In the opener against Southern Miss, star tailback Siran Stacy tore ligaments in his knee and missed the rest of the season. Against Florida, Alabama lost another star player for the year in wide receiver Craig Sanderson and quarterback Gary Hollingsworth threw three interceptions to Florida safety Will White, and the Gators scored the winning touchdown on a blocked punt.[4]

After wins over lightly regarded Vanderbilt and SW Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette), Bama traveled to Knoxville to face undefeated, third-ranked Tennessee. The result was a shocking 9–6 upset victory, Alabama's fifth in a row in the Third Saturday in October rivalry. The game was a defensive struggle and a field goal duel. UT's kicker Greg Harris, who hit a 51-yard field goal try to tie the game with ten minutes left, attempted a 50-yarder for the win with 1:35 to go, but Alabama's Stacy Harrison blocked the kick and the ball bounced to the Tennessee 37-yard line. The Crimson Tide advanced the ball seven yards on three running plays, setting up Philip Doyle's third field goal, a game-winning 48-yarder as time expired.[5]

The next game was an ugly 9–0 loss to Penn State in which Hollingsworth threw five interceptions and Bama rushed for only six yards.[6] However, Alabama bounced back to win four in a row and salvage a winning season after the 0–3 start. Most importantly, Alabama won its first Iron Bowl in five years, dominating Auburn defensively and winning 16–7. It was the seventh game in a row in which the Alabama defense held the opposition to single digits. The season ended with a lopsided 34–7 bowl loss to Louisville, and Alabama finished 7–5.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	1:30 p.m.	Southern Miss*	No. 13	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	PPV	L 24–27	75,962
September 15	11:30 a.m.	No. 24 Florida		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	WTBS	L 13–17	70,123
September 22	2:00 p.m.	at Georgia		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	L 16–17	82,122
September 29	1:30 p.m.	Vanderbilt		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	W 59–28	70,123
October 6	4:00 p.m.	at Southwestern Louisiana*		Cajun Field Lafayette, LA	PPV	W 25–6	36,133
October 20	3:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Tennessee		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	ESPN	W 9–6	96,732
October 27	4:00 p.m.	Penn State*		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 0–9	70,123
November 3	11:30 a.m.	at Mississippi State		Scott Field Starkville, MS (rivalry)	WTBS	W 22–0	39,252
November 10	1:30 p.m.	LSU		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	PPV	W 24–3	70,123
November 17	1:30 p.m.	Cincinnati*		Legion Field Birmingham, AL		W 45–7	71,327
December 1	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 20 Auburn		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)	CBS	W 16–7	75,962
January 1, 1991	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 18 Louisville*	No. 25	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	L 7–34	69,098
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Statistics

Note: Does not include Fiesta Bowl.

Overall

Statistics	Alabama	Opponents
Touchdowns	26	13
Points Scored	253	127
Total First Downs	194	139
Rushing	111	62
Passing	72	65
Penalty	11	12
Total Yards	3,673	2,523
Rushing	2,144	1,007
Passing	1,529	1,519
Punts–Yards	64–2,473	79–3,105
FG Made–Att	24–29	12–17
XP Made–Att	25–25	11–11

Scoring

	1	2	3	4	Total
Alabama	89	74	42	48	253
Opponents	15	24	34	54	127

Passing

Name	Comp–Att	Pct.	TD	INT	Yards	Rating	Long
Hollingsworth	140–282	49.7	4	13	1,463	88.7	60
Woodson	2–11	18.2	0	3	66	14.0	35
Lee	0–1	0.0	0	0	0	0.0	0

References

1. "Stallings Hopes To Bring Alabama Program Home". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 14, 1990.
2. "Alabama set to name Stallings". St. Petersburg Times. January 11, 1990. p. 1C. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
3. "Alabama's Curry quits, reportedly for Kentucky job". The Dallas Morning News. January 8, 1990.
4. "Loaded For Bear", S. Looney, Douglas. Sports Illustrated, September 24, 1990
5. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Alabama Stuns Tennessee, 9–6", New York Times, October 21, 1990
6. "Lions' defense smothers Tide in 9–0 win" Archived 2008-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Collegian (Penn State University), October 29, 1990