FanPost

Greatest Alabama Games of the Past 20 Years - 1991

 

Guys, it’s the offseason, so I decided to start a series of FanPosts asking you what were the greatest games of the past 20 years.  If there is interest, I plan on going year by year.  I understand (and remember) that many of those were down years, so there will be some years in which there will not be many from which to choose, but here goes.

 

In the interests of time (as well as to stay true to my wikipedian principles), I will draw most of my information from wikipedia and memory, so I will obviously have mistakes and omissions.  Please correct and enlighten me.  If you feel that there was a greater game than those I included, please vote "other" and explain in a comment.

Unless otherwise cited, my information will come from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Alabama_Crimson_Tide_football_team and the links contained therein...

1991.  Alabama went 11-1, finishing second in the SEC and #5 in the country.  This is a pretty good year with which to start, since there were a lot of nailbiters (several of which really shouldn’t have been).  So, in your opinion, which was the greatest game of 1991?

#14 Alabama vs. #8 Tennessee.  Starting Quarterback Danny Woodson left the game in the 3rd quarter with an injury, and Alabama later trailed 6-3 in the 4th.  Freshman backup QB Jay Barker came in to rally for a 24-19 victory in front of 86,293 fans, which was then the largest crowd to ever watch a football game in the State of Alabama.

#7 Alabama vs. Mississippi State.  Alabama held a 13-7 lead late in the 4th quarter when Mississippi State drove to the Alabama 1 yard line.  Stacy Harrison, having already returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown earlier in the game, intercepted MSU Quarterback Sleepy Robinson in the end zone to hang on for the win.

#8 Alabama at LSU.  "David Palmer ran a punt back 90 yards for a touchdown and Antonio London blocked a field goal with 2:39 to go to preserve a 20-17 Alabama victory."

#7 Alabama at Memphis State (not a typo – they didn’t become the University of Memphis until July 1st, 1994).  Alabama managed only 11 first downs and 130 yards of offense against a team that had given up 52 points to Tennessee.  Memphis State Quarterback Keith Benton accounted for 166 yards by himself.  Memphis State kicker Joe Allison missed two second half field goals, allowing the Tide to hold a 10-7 lead.  The Tigers were at the Alabama 18 with 3:51 remaining when legendary defensive end John Copeland stripped Benton and recovered the fumble.

#8 Alabama at Auburn (well, at Legion Field, but Auburn was the "home team").  "David Palmer's 10-yard scoring run provided the winning points as the Tide, backed by a strong defensive performance, knocked off Auburn 13-6 for the second consecutive year, giving Stallings a 2-0 record in the series." http://www.angelfire.com/al/bamacrimsontide/ironbowlhistory.html

#8 Alabama vs. #15 Colorado (Blockbuster Bowl).  David Palmer had a 52 yard punt return for a touchdown for Alabama’s first score, a 5 yard catch for Alabama’s last score, and 146 all-purpose yards.  Alabama led 30-25, Colorado had the ball 4th and 1 on the Alabama 33 with less than a minute left, when Colorado Quarterback Darian Hagan was tackled for a 1 yard loss.

FanPosts are just that; posts created by the fans. They are in no way indicative of the opinions of SBN and the authors of Roll Bama Roll.