In 1958 Paul W. Bryant returned to the University of Alabama to begin rebuilding the football program he once played for. He was 45 years old and had been a head coach at three different schools leading them all to new heights of success. But the National Championship had eluded him.
He started with a group of raw freshmen and began transforming the Crimson Tide program from the bottom up. Three years later he had molded the team into a fearsome unit that "played like it was a sin to give up a point." After rolling undefeated through the regular season Alabama met Frank Broyles Arkansas squad in the 1962 Sugar Bowl. The 10-3 victory over the Razorbacks 10-3 gave the Crimson Tide the first National Championship of the Bryant Era.
That team was not simply Bryant's first great Alabama squad, it may have been one of the best in the history of the program as well as the game.
Bill Connelly, of Rock M Nation, has produced a statistical comparison for Football Outsiders that ranks the best college football teams in the last 100 years. Using a metric that gauged on points scored and points allowed - the same tool OTS relies on to derive his Pythagorean Wins statistics - Connelly created a historical comparison of every team in the past century of college football.
Today, over at Football Outsiders, he reveals that Alabama's 1961 squad is ranked No. 2. Furthermore, no less that 12 Crimson Tide teams made the list, more than any other program in college football. Here is how Alabama fared in Connelly's rankings.
Overall Rank |
Alabama Rank |
Year |
Coach |
Record |
Championships |
2 |
1 |
1961 |
Paul W. Bryant |
11-0 |
NC/SEC |
8 |
2 |
1962 |
Paul W. Bryant |
10-1 |
|
15 |
3 |
1979 |
Paul W. Bryant |
12-0 |
NC/SEC |
24 |
4 |
1966 |
Paul W. Bryant |
11-0 |
SEC |
40 |
5 |
1971 |
Paul W. Bryant |
11-1 |
SEC |
61 |
6 |
1934 |
Frank Thomas |
10-0 |
NC/SEC |
63 |
7 |
1975 |
Paul W. Bryant |
11-1 |
SEC |
78 |
8 |
2009 |
Nick Saban |
14-0 |
NC/SEC |
80 |
9 |
1973 |
Paul W. Bryant |
11-1 |
NC/SEC |
83 |
10 |
1992 |
Gene Stallings |
13-0 |
NC/SEC |
88 |
11 |
1936 |
Frank Thomas |
8-0-1 |
|
97 |
12 |
1945 |
Frank Thomas |
10-0 |
SEC |
|
His results have been... controversial to say the least. But we thought it was interesting to see how the rest of the Crimson Tide teams stacked up using this system. Obviously, these twelve squads are at the top of the list of all Alabama teams over the past century but Connelly was kind enough to provide us his tally of the rest using his system. You'll find them after the jump.
Rank |
Year |
Coach |
Record |
Championships |
13 |
1974 |
Paul W. Bryant |
11-1 |
SEC |
14 |
1964 |
Paul W. Bryant |
10-1 |
NC/SEC |
15 |
1930 |
Wallace Wade |
10-0 |
NC/SC |
16 |
1924 |
Wallace Wade |
8-1 |
SC |
17 |
1925 |
Wallace Wade |
10-0 |
NC/SC |
18 |
1937 |
Frank Thomas |
9-1 |
SEC |
19 |
1978 |
Paul W. Bryant |
11-1 |
NC/SEC |
20 |
1977 |
Paul W. Bryant |
11-1 |
SEC |
21 |
1980 |
Paul W. Bryant |
10-2 |
|
22 |
1972 |
Paul W. Bryant |
10-2 |
SEC |
23 |
1926 |
Wallace Wade |
9-0-1 |
NC/SC |
24 |
1965 |
Paul W. Bryant |
9-1-1 |
NC/SEC |
25 |
1960 |
Paul W. Bryant |
8-1-2 |
|
26 |
1919 |
Xen Scott |
8-1 |
|
27 |
1933 |
Frank Thomas |
7-1-1 |
SEC |
28 |
1938 |
Frank Thomas |
7-1-1 |
|
29 |
1994 |
Gene Stallings |
12-1 |
|
30 |
2002 |
Dennis Franchione |
10-3 |
|
31 |
1991 |
Gene Stallings |
11-1 |
|
32 |
1963 |
Paul W. Bryant |
9-2 |
|
33 |
1935 |
Frank Thomas |
6-2-1 |
|
34 |
2005 |
Mike Shula |
10-2 |
|
35 |
2008 |
Nick Saban |
12-2 |
|
36 |
1952 |
Harold Drew |
10-2 |
|
37 |
1989 |
Bill Curry |
10-2 |
SEC |
38 |
1986 |
Ray Perkins |
10-3 |
|
39 |
1985 |
Ray Perkins |
9-2-1 |
|
40 |
1941 |
Frank Thomas |
9-2 |
NC |
41 |
1976 |
Paul W. Bryant |
9-3 |
|
42 |
1967 |
Paul W. Bryant |
8-2-1 |
|
43 |
1999 |
Mike DuBose |
10-3 |
SEC |
44 |
1920 |
Xen Scott |
10-1 |
|
45 |
1931 |
Frank Thomas |
9-1 |
|
46 |
1981 |
Paul W. Bryant |
9-2-1 |
SEC |
47 |
1950 |
Harold Drew |
9-2 |
|
48 |
1939 |
Frank Thomas |
5-3-1 |
|
49 |
1968 |
Paul W. Bryant |
8-3 |
|
50 |
1996 |
Gene Stallings |
10-3 |
|
51 |
1959 |
Paul W. Bryant |
7-2-2 |
|
52 |
1942 |
Frank Thomas |
8-3 |
|
53 |
1993 |
Gene Stallings |
9-3-1 |
|
54 |
1932 |
Frank Thomas |
8-2 |
|
55 |
1988 |
Bill Curry |
9-3 |
|
56 |
1947 |
Harold Drew |
8-3 |
|
57 |
1982 |
Paul W. Bryant |
8-4 |
|
58 |
1940 |
Frank Thomas |
7-2 |
|
59 |
1995 |
Gene Stallings |
8-3 |
|
60 |
1983 |
Ray Perkins |
8-4 |
|
61 |
1928 |
Wallace Wade |
6-3 |
|
62 |
1915 |
Thomas Kelly |
6-2 |
|
63 |
1923 |
Wallace Wade |
7-2-1 |
|
64 |
1929 |
Wallace Wade |
6-3 |
|
65 |
1944 |
Frank Thomas |
5-2-2 |
|
66 |
1917 |
Thomas Kelly |
5-2-1 |
|
67 |
2001 |
Dennis Franchione |
7-5 |
|
68 |
1953 |
Harold Drew |
6-3-3 |
SEC |
69 |
1958 |
Paul W. Bryant |
5-4-1 |
|
70 |
1946 |
Frank Thomas |
7-4 |
|
71 |
1987 |
Bill Curry |
7-5 |
|
72 |
1969 |
Paul W. Bryant |
6-5 |
|
73 |
1911 |
D.V. Graves |
5-2-2 |
|
74 |
1990 |
Gene Stallings |
7-5 |
|
75 |
1922 |
Xen Scott |
6-3-1 |
|
76 |
2003 |
Mike Shula |
4-9 |
|
77 |
1970 |
Paul W. Bryant |
6-5-1 |
|
78 |
1912 |
D.V. Graves |
5-3-1 |
|
79 |
1913 |
D.V. Graves |
6-3 |
|
80 |
1949 |
Harold Drew |
6-3-1 |
|
81 |
1998 |
Mike DuBose |
7-5 |
|
82 |
1916 |
Thomas Kelly |
6-3 |
|
83 |
2004 |
Mike Shula |
6-6 |
|
84 |
1948 |
Harold Drew |
6-4-1 |
|
85 |
2007 |
Nick Saban |
7-6 |
|
86 |
1914 |
D.V. Graves |
7-6 |
|
87 |
1927 |
Wallace Wade |
5-4-1 |
|
88 |
1984 |
Ray Perkins |
5-6 |
|
89 |
2006 |
Mike Shula |
6-7 |
|
90 |
1954 |
Harold Drew |
4-5-2 |
|
91 |
1921 |
Xen Scott |
5-4-2 |
|
92 |
1951 |
Harold Drew |
5-6 |
|
93 |
1910 |
Guy Lowman |
4-4 |
|
94 |
2000 |
Mike DuBose |
3-8 |
|
95 |
1997 |
Mike DuBose |
4-7 |
|
96 |
1955 |
J.B. Whitworth |
0-10 |
|
97 |
1956 |
J.B. Whitworth |
2-7-1 |
|
98 |
1957 |
J.B. Whitworth |
2-7-1 |
|
|
Football Outsiders Top 100 College Football Teams of the Last 100 Years