Let's just focus on the happy times...mmmmkay?
Mike DuBose: (1997-2000): 7-7 (.500)
Notable wins: Opening day win against BYU in `98
Humiliating losses: UCF `00 - Louisiana Tech `99 & `97 - Virginia Tech '98 - Southern Miss `00
Opponents and records:
BYU (1-0)
Central Florida (0-1)
East Carolina (1-0)
Houston (2-0)
Louisiana Tech (0-2)
Michigan (0-1)
Southern Miss (3-1)
Virginia Tech (0-1)
UCLA (0-1)
As I mentioned in a recent post, the Mike DuBose era taught me what being a sports fan is all about. Yeah, you read that correctly. Think about it though, how hard was it to be a Yankees fan in the 1950s or a Michael Jordan era Bulls fan? Here's a little clue if you can't answer that question: it wasn't difficult at all. Our mettle as a fan base was tested under Coach DuBose at a level unseen since the days of J.B. "Ears" Whitworth. DuBose (24-23) obviously did infinitely better than Whitworth's paltry 4-24-2 record, but DuBose was the first coach since him to have two losing seasons while leading the Tide.
Until DuBose came along, Alabama had only experienced one losing season since Whitworth was fired and that was under Perkins in 1984. In four short years under DuBose the fanbase would experience more misery than they had in the previous 39 years combined. All of that aside, DuBose is also the last person to put a significant trophy in our case: The 1999 SEC Championship. Of course, as Todd once said, "Shaun Alexander won that SEC title, not Mike DuBose." I hate to get down on a coach so badly, but he was clearly out of his depth for what this job requires, both on and off the field. And then there's the question we're all still trying to figure out, "How do you lose to Louisiana Tech but win the SEC Championship in the same year?"
Alabama suffered some horrific losses under DuBose. We lost to Louisiana Tech twice...at home. That's just unfathomable. Oddly enough, Memphis Tider was recounting the '99 loss recently. He also ran down us getting shutout by Southern Miss in his off-season reviews of memorable games. Might as well go ahead and mention the Memphis Tider trifecta of misery by linking to his brief recap of our getting hammered by Virginia Tech to the tune of 38-7.
Then there's my personal (least) favorite. The loss to UCF. Not only was it homecoming, but it was a loss to UC-friggin'-F. I made the questionable choice of wearing an Alabama jersey to a UCF game while living in Florida in 2005. If I heard about that loss once, I heard about it 10,000 times that night. You should not ever have to worry about getting razzed by UCF fans...it's just that simple. LSU got a taste of this feeling earlier that same year by losing to UAB at home (that was under Saban too, here's hoping he's gotten that out of his system.) I also regrettably remind you that we only beat East Carolina by one point under DuBose. As I mentioned earlier, please kick Bob Bockrath in the shin if you happen to see him out in public. Tell him it's from Nico.
I couldn't find any happy DuBosian out-of-conference YouTube action and I'm certainly not going to post any video of the torture. It was bad enough of me to inflict these memories upon you in type. I don't think we need the visuals.
Other stories in this series:
Gene Stallings
Bill Curry
Ray Perkins