The 1975 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 81st overall and 42nd season as a member of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). The team was led by head coach

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

, in his 18th year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...

and

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. They finished season with eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 6–0 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a victory over

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

. The 1975 squad entered the season with the No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll and as one of the favorites to compete for the national championship. Their championship hopes were dashed after they were upset by an unranked

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

team in their season opener at Legion Field. Although Alabama dropped into the No. 14 position prior to their second game against Clemson, they would not lose another game during the season as they climbed up the polls back into a top five position by season's end. After their shutout over Clemson, Alabama traveled to Nashville in the first road game of the season where they defeated Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide then returned to Birmingham and defeated Ole Miss the week before their victory over

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the first meeting between the schools since the

1926 Rose Bowl The 1926 Rose Bowl Game was held on January 1, 1926, in Pasadena, California. The game is commonly referred to as "The Game That Changed The South." The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide, making their first bowl appearance, and the Washington ...

. They followed this with wins over

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, TCU,

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide then closed the season with wins against

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

in what was

Ralph Jordan Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

's final game as the Tigers' head coach and

in the

that ended an eight-game winless streak in

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s, and started a bowl winning streak that went six years.

Schedule

Roster

Game summaries

Missouri

*Sources: As they entered their first game of the 1975 season, Alabama was ranked as the nations No. 2 team prior to their Monday night game against

. Before a nationally televised audience, the Crimson Tide fell behind to the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

20–0 at halftime and were ultimately defeated 20–7 in the first major upset of the season.1975 Season Recap The loss brought Alabama's record against Missouri to 0–2 up to that point in time.

Clemson

*Sources: After their loss against Missouri, the Crimson Tide had a bye prior their game against Clemson, and entered the contest as the No. 14 team prior to their game against the

. At Denny Stadium, Alabama ran for 437 yards and eight touchdowns in this 56–0 shutout of Clemson. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Clemson to 11–3.

Vanderbilt

*Sources: After their victory over Clemson, Alabama moved into the No. 11 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt. In their first road game of the season, the Crimson Tide score on their first four possession en route to a 40–7 victory over the

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

at Nashville. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 32–17–4.

Ole Miss

*Sources: After their victory over Vanderbilt, Alabama moved into the No. 9 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Ole Miss at Legion Field. Against the Rebels, the Crimson Tide scored twice in a 0:44 span early in the game en route to a 32–6 victory at Birmingham. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Ole Miss to 24–5–2.

Washington

*Sources: After their victory over Ole Miss, Alabama moved into the No. 7 position in the AP Poll prior to their non-conference game against

. Playing the

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

for the first time since the

, Alabama had 496 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns in this 52–0 shutout of Washington. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Washington to 2–0.

Tennessee

*Sources: After their blowout victory over Washington, Alabama moved into the No. 6 position prior to their game against

. Against the

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

Richard Todd Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor n ...

ran for three and threw for a fourth touchdown in this 30–7 victory at Legion Field. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 28–23–7.

TCU

*Sources: After their victory over Tennessee, Alabama retained their No. 6 position prior to their match-up against

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

(TCU) of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

at Legion Field. Against the Horned Frogs, Alabama posted its third shutout of the season with this 45–0 victory over TCU. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against TCU to 2–3.

Mississippi State

*Sources: As they entered their game against

, Alabama retained their No. 6 position in the AP Poll. At Jackson, the Crimson Tide overcame a 10–7 halftime deficit and came-from-behind and defeated the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 47–10–3.

LSU

*Sources: After their victory over Mississippi State, Alabama moved into the No. 5 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against

. With this 23–10 victory over the rival

, the Crimson Tide secured the 1975 conference championship. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 25–10–4.

Southern Miss

*Sources: After they clinched the conference championship with their victory over LSU, Alabama retained the No. 5 position of the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

prior to their game against

. On

against the

Golden Eagles The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

, the Crimson Tide captured the 600th win in school history with this 27–6 win at Denny Stadium. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Southern Miss to 15–2–1.

Auburn

*Sources: As they entered the annual

Iron Bowl The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...

, Alabama moved into the No. 4 position in the AP Poll prior to their match-up at Legion Field. In what was the final game ever coached by

as the head coach of the

, the Crimson Tide were victorious with this 28–0 shutout at Birmingham. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 22–17–1.

Penn State

*Sources: Playing the first Sugar Bowl at the

Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

, Alabama defeated the

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

13–6 and ended a seven-game bowl losing streak in the process. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Penn State to 1–1.

NFL Draft

Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1975 squad were drafted into the

National Football League (NFL) The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

in the 1976, 1977 and 1978 drafts. These players included:

References

General * * Specific {{Southeastern Conference football champions

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Alabama Crimson Tide football seasons Southeastern Conference football champion seasons Sugar Bowl champion seasons

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Asso ...