The 2002 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 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 108th overall season, 70th 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) and its 11th within the SEC Western Division. The team was led by head coach

Dennis Franchione Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951), also known as Coach Fran, is a retired American football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school w ...

, in his second year, and played their home games at

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 ...

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 ...

. They finished the season with a record of 10–3 (6–2 in the SEC) to finish in first place in the SEC West; however, the team was ineligible to compete in the

2002 SEC Championship Game The 2002 SEC Championship Game was won by the Georgia Bulldogs 30–3 over the Arkansas Razorbacks. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 7, 2002 and was televised to a national audience on CBS. The 2002 champi ...

or a bowl game due to a two-year postseason ban imposed as part of the penalty for

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) violations.

Summary

The team was led by second-year head coach

. The team began the season with a 4–1 record, only losing a very close game to then #8 ranked Oklahoma. On October 5, the Crimson Tide lost another hard-fought game to the #4

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

27–25 at home. The team would then defeat their next five opponents by an average of 24.4 points. In the 2002

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 ...

, the team was defeated by the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

by a score of 17–7. The team would end their season by defeating

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. Though the team finished at 10–3 (6–2) and atop the SEC West standings, they were ineligible to play in the postseason due to receiving

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

sanctions in 2001. On December 5, head coach Dennis Franchione left the

to take a head coaching job at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

which was left vacant by the firing of

R. C. Slocum Richard Copeland Slocum (born November 7, 1944), is a former American football player and coach. He served as the interim athletic director at Texas A&M University from January through June 2019, and previously served as the head football coach ...

Schedule

*Source: Rolltide.com All-time Football Results: 2002 Season

Roster

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Middle Tennessee

In the only game that Alabama would play at

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 ...

in 2002, the Crimson Tide would score a season opening win for the first time since 1999.

Oklahoma

The first road game of the year for Alabama would prove to be one of the most exciting game of the year. Despite trailing 23-3 at halftime, Alabama roared back in the second half with 24 unanswered points to take a 27-23 lead late into the 4th quarter. Oklahoma however, scored the last 14 points to win 37-27.

North Texas

In the first game of the season at Bryant-Denny Stadium, The Crimson Tide would go over 500 yards of offense for the first time this season and win their first non-conference game at Bryant Denny Stadium since 1999. This game also was the first time since 1986 Alabama would not sellout their game at Bryant-Denny Stadium snapping a streak of 56 straight sellouts in Tuscaloosa.

Southern Miss

For the second straight week, Alabama would hold their opponent to under 150 yards of total offense to win their third game of the season. This would be Ahmaad Galloway final game at Alabama as he would tear his ACL in the 4th quarter.

Arkansas

Shaud Williams Shaud Rashae Williams (born October 2, 1980) is an American football coach and former running back who is currently assistant strength and conditioning coordinator at Oregon Ducks football, Oregon. Originally from Andrews, Texas, Williams played ...

would take the opening play 80 yards for a touchdown as the Crimson Tide beat Arkansas on the road for the first time since 1996.

Georgia

Georgia would use a Billy Bennett 32 yard field goal to beat Alabama in the first meeting between teams since 1995.

Ole Miss

Santonio Beard tied

Shaun Alexander Shaun Edward Alexander (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...

record of five rushing touchdowns in a game as Alabama dominated Ole Miss on Homecoming.

Tennessee

For the first time since 1994, Alabama beat Tennessee snapping a seven year win streak that the Vols had. To date, this was the longest streak by any opponent over the Tide.

Vanderbilt

For the second year in a row, the Crimson Tide traveled to Vanderbilt and for the 18th straight time Alabama would beat Vanderbilt. This would be the last time Alabama would play Vanderbilt until 2006 snapping a 50 consecutive seasons streak of playing.

Mississippi State

Alabama used their offense in the first half and their defense in the second half to preserve second straight win against the Bulldogs for the first time since 1994-95. This game was not televised making it the first Alabama game since 1995 not to be on live television.

LSU

Alabama defense would record a shutout for the first time since 1997 as the defeated the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.

Auburn

Alabama would trail for the first time since the Georgia game earlier in the season as Auburn would upset Alabama to continue their undefeated mark in Iron Bowl's played in Tuscaloosa.

Hawaii

Alabama would clinch 10 wins for the first time since 1999 as Alabama beat Hawaii to end the season 10-3. This would be

last game as coach at Alabama as he would leave to be Texas A&M Head Coach on December 4th, 2002.

References

{{Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox

Alabama Crimson Tide football 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 ...