1977 Alabama Crimson Tide football
National champion (Football Research)
SEC champion
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 35–6 vs. Ohio State
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record11–1 (7–0 SEC)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
Legion Field
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Alabama $ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 6 Kentucky 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Auburn 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
LSU 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Georgia 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Mississippi State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Ole Miss 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Tennessee 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Vanderbilt 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Kentucky ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Mississippi State later forfeited all 1977 wins due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 83rd overall and 44th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 20th 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, 7–0 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a victory over Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 10Ole MissNo. 6
W 34–1374,324[1]
September 17at Nebraska*No. 4
ABCL 24–3175,899[2]
September 24at VanderbiltNo. 10
W 24–1234,694[3]
October 1GeorgiaNo. 10
W 18–1060,210[4]
October 8at No. 1 USC*No. 7
ABCW 21–2063,140[5]
October 15TennesseeNo. 4
W 24–1071,000[6]
October 22Louisville*daggerNo. 3
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
W 55–660,210[7]
October 29at Mississippi StateNo. 2
W 37–747,500[8]
November 5at No. 18 LSUNo. 2
ABCW 24–365,377[9]
November 12Miami (FL)*No. 2
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
W 36–057,422[10]
November 26vs. AuburnNo. 2
W 48–2169,721[11]
January 2, 1978vs. No. 9 Ohio State*No. 3
ABCW 35–676,811[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Personnel

1977 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 78 Buddy Aydelette So
WR 32 Bruce Bolton
OL Jim Bunch
RB 20 Pete Cavan
RB 40 Johnny Crow
G Bob Cryder Sr
FB 38 Johnny Davis Sr
RB Mike English
RB Donnie Faust
RB Mitch Ferguson
QB Alan Gray
OL Louis Green
RB 30 Lou Ikner
QB Kevin Jones
RB 22 Tony Nathan Jr
WR 8 Rick Neal
WR 82 Ozzie Newsome (C) Sr
QB Jack O'Rear
RB 42 Major Ogilvie
WR 4 Keith Pugh
QB 11 Jeff Rutledge Jr
QB 10 Steadman Shealy
C 57 Dwight Stephenson So
OL Chip Tilman
TE 88 Tim Travis So
RB John Turpin
FB 45 Steve Whitman So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB Phil Allman
DL William Davis
LB Rickey Gilliland
DT 94 Wayne Hamilton So
DT Terry Jones Sr
DE 39 E. J. Junior Fr
DL John Knox
DB Mike Kramer
LB 77 Barry Krauss
DB Murray Legg
DL 93 Marty Lyons
DT 96 Curtis McGriff So
DB 28 Don McNeal So
DL Calvin Parker
LB 50 Randy Scott Fr
DB Mike Tucker (C)
LB 36 Rich Wingo Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Roger Chapman
P 1 Buddy Holt So
K Alan McElroy
K Barry Smith
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Ole Miss

See also: Alabama–Ole Miss football rivalry
Ole Miss Rebels (1–0) at #6 Alabama Crimson Tide (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Ole Miss 6 7 0013
Alabama 13 14 0734

at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: September 10
  • Game attendance: 74,324
  • Box Score
Game information

At Nebraska

#4 Alabama Crimson Tide (1–0) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Alabama 7 10 0724
Nebraska 10 7 7731

at Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska

  • Date: September 17
  • Game attendance: 75,899
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
Game information

Alabama went into Lincoln with Nebraska still feeling the sting of a home loss to Washington State. While the Crimson Tide slightly exceeded the Cornhuskers in offensive production, five interceptions helped give Nebraska the edge to pull off the stunning upset.

At Vanderbilt

#10 Alabama Crimson Tide (1–1) at Vanderbilt Commodores (1–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Alabama 10 6 0824
Vanderbilt 6 0 0612

at Dudley Field, Nashville, Tennessee

  • Date: September 24
  • Game attendance: 34,694
  • Box Score
Game information

Georgia

See also: Alabama–Georgia football rivalry
Georgia Bulldogs (2–1) at #10 Alabama Crimson Tide (2–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Georgia 3 0 0710
Alabama 9 0 6318

at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: October 1
  • Game attendance: 60,210
  • Box Score
Game information

At USC

#7 Alabama Crimson Tide (3–1) at #1 USC Trojans (4–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Alabama 0 0 71421
USC 3 0 31420

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

  • Date: October 8
  • Game attendance: 63,140
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
Game information

[14][15]

Tennessee

See also: Third Saturday in October
Tennessee Volunteers (2–3) at #4 Alabama Crimson Tide (4–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Tennessee 3 0 7010
Alabama 3 13 8024

at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: October 15
  • Game attendance: 71,000
  • Box Score
Game information

Louisville

Louisville Cardinals (3–2–1) at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide (5–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Louisville 0 0 606
Alabama 14 13 141455

at Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Game information

At Mississippi State

See also: Alabama–Mississippi State football rivalry
#2 Alabama Crimson Tide (6–1) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (3–4)
Period 1 2 34Total
Alabama 14 7 13337
Mississippi State 0 7 007

at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson, Mississippi

  • Date: October 29
  • Game attendance: 47,500
  • Box Score
Game information

At LSU

See also: Alabama–LSU football rivalry
#2 Alabama Crimson Tide (7–1) at #18 LSU Tigers (5–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Alabama 3 7 7724
LSU 0 3 003

at Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Date: November 5
  • Game attendance: 65,377
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
Game information

Miami (FL)

Miami (FL) Hurricanes (3–5) at #2 Alabama Crimson Tide (8–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Miami (FL) 0 0 000
Alabama 0 15 71436

at Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

  • Date: November 12
  • Game attendance: 57,422
  • Box Score
Game information

Vs. Auburn

See also: Iron Bowl
#2 Alabama Crimson Tide (9–1) vs. Auburn Tigers (5–5)
Period 1 2 34Total
Alabama 0 14 142048
Auburn 7 0 01421

at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: November 26
  • Game attendance: 69,721
  • Box Score
Game information

Sugar Bowl (vs. Ohio State)

Main article: 1978 Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl: #3 Alabama Crimson Tide (10–1) vs. #9 Ohio State Buckeyes (9–2)
Period 1 2 34Total
Ohio State 0 0 066
Alabama 0 13 81435

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Date: January 2, 1978
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Game attendance: 76,811
  • Referee: Percy Penn
  • TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Ara Parseghian
  • Box Score
Game information

[16]

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

  1. ^ "Rutledge guides Alabama past Ole Miss, 34–14". Hattiesburg American. September 11, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Tide defense can't stop 'Huskers". The Anniston Star. September 18, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Davis' lip and legs beat Vandy". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. September 25, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tide hands 'Dogs 18–10 SEC setback". The Selma Times-Journal. October 2, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Alabama hangs on to upset Trojans". The Register. October 9, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Alabama defense sticks Volunteers in 24–10 victory". The Anniston Star. October 16, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Crimson Tide romps Louisville by 55–6". Panama City News-Herald. October 23, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Time and Tide wait not for Mississippi State". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. October 30, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Tide powers past Tigers". The Shreveport Times. November 6, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Rutledge, Newsome, Alabama too much". The Dothan Eagle. November 13, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Alabama scoring spree ends Eagle upset hopes". The Commercial Appeal. November 27, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Tide rips Onio State 35–6 in sweet Sugar". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 3, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1977 Alabama football schedule". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  14. ^ "Alabama Withstands Rally And Upsets U.S.C., 21‐20". The New York Times. October 9, 1977. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  15. ^ "Alabama stole the show". Sports Illustrated. October 17, 1977. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  16. ^ "1978 Game Recap - Official Site of the Allstate Sugar Bowl". Sugar Bowl. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
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