The 1989 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the

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

in the

1989 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 1980s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program. Notre Dame signed a six-year, $30 ...

. It was the Crimson Tide's 97th overall and 56th 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 o ...

(SEC). The team was led by head coach

Bill Curry William Alexander Curry (born October 21, 1942) is a retired American football coach and former player. Most recently, Curry was the head coach at Georgia State University, which began competing in college football in 2010. Previously, Curry s ...

, in his third year, and played their home games at both

Bryant–Denny Stadium Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Open ...

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 ...

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 the season with a record of ten wins and two losses (10–2 overall, 6–1 in the SEC), as SEC co-champions and with a loss in the Sugar Bowl against national championship winner

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. Alabama won its first ten games en route to its best record since 1980 and first SEC championship since 1981 season, its 19th overall. Highlights of the season included a 62–27 victory over Ole Miss after falling behind 21–0,1989 Game Recaps, p. 87 a 47–30 victory 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 ...

in a match of unbeatens, and a 17–16 victory over Penn State in which Alabama blocked an 18-yard field goal try with 13 seconds left in the game for the win.1989 Game Recaps, p. 90 The 32–16 win at LSU featured a first for the Crimson Tide, as Alabama safety Lee Ozmint scored the first ever defensive two-point conversion in school history on a 100-yard interception return of an LSU two-point conversion attempt. However, in the season finale against Auburn—the first

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 Conferen ...

ever played in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population ...

—the Tigers beat Alabama 30–20.1989 Game Recaps, p. 94 As a result, Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee finished in a three-way tie for the conference championship. Alabama would however receive the conference's Sugar Bowl berth. In the Sugar Bowl

would defeat Alabama 33–25 and be named national champions. In the week after the Sugar Bowl loss, on January 7, 1990, Bill Curry resigned his position to take the head coaching job at

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Schedule

*Source: Rolltide.com: 1989 Alabama football schedule

Roster

Rankings

Game summaries

Tennessee

Vs. Miami (FL) (Sugar Bowl)

References

General * Specific {{Southeastern Conference football champions

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Alabama Crimson Tide football seasons Southeastern Conference football 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 Ass ...