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 FWAA national champion NFF 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
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	Source
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 (rivalry)		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 released prior to the game

Personnel

1978 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 78 Buddy Aydelette Jr WR Bruce Bolton Sr OL Vince Boothe Jr OL Mike Brock Jr OL Jim Bunch Jr WR Tim Clark RB James Haney Fr RB John Hill So RB Lou Ikner Sr RB Billy Jackson So RB Joe Jones So QB Kevin Jones Sr WR Alan Krout RB 22 Tony Nathan Sr WR Rick Neal Sr RB 42 Major Ogilvie So WR 4 Keith Pugh Jr QB 11 Jeff Rutledge Sr OT 69 Bill Searcey So QB 10 Steadman Shealy Jr C 57 Dwight Stephenson Jr TE 88 Tim Travis Jr RB John Turpin Sr FB 45 Steve Whitman Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Henry Adams So DB Phil Allman Sr LB Charles Andre So DT Thomas Boler Jr DL Byron Braggs So DB Allen Crumbley Sr DL 51 Gary DeNiro So DL 94 Wayne Hamilton Jr DB Jim Bob Harris DT 95 Mike Inman So DE 39 E. J. Junior So LB Barry Krauss Sr DB Murray Legg Sr DL Warren Lyles Fr DL Marty Lyons Sr LB Eddie McGeorge DT 96 Curtis McGriff Jr DB 28 Don McNeal Jr LB 50 Randy Scott So DB Bobby Smith Jr DB Ricky Tucker So LB 36 Rich Wingo Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Don Jacobs So P Woody Umphrey So	Head coach Bear Bryant Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

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. Lastly a newcomer who was recruited four years ago but decided to pursue other athletics adventures started as outside linebacker from Richmond Virginia, Eddie McGeorge.

Bear Bryant felt his team was not prepared enough for their week-1 game against Nebraska and did not feel his team deserved their #1 rating.

Sugar Bowl

The 1979 Sugar Bowl against Penn State would go down as a classic. 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. 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. 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." 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, this despite the Trojans' 24–14 victory over the Crimson Tide on September 23. It was Alabama's fifth wire service national championship.

References

General

• "1977 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 15, 2015.

Specific