1984 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

1984 Alabama Crimson Tide football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record5–6 (2–4 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGeorge Henshaw (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorKen Donahue (2nd as DC, 21st overall season)
Captains
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
(Capacity: 60,210)
Legion Field
(Capacity: 75,808)
Seasons
← 1983
1985 →
1984 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Florida 5 0 1 9 1 1
No. 15 LSU 4 1 1 8 3 1
No. 14 Auburn 4 2 0 9 4 0
Georgia 4 2 0 7 4 1
No. 19 Kentucky 3 3 0 9 3 0
Tennessee 3 3 0 7 4 1
Vanderbilt 2 4 0 5 6 0
Alabama 2 4 0 5 6 0
Ole Miss 1 5 0 4 6 1
Mississippi State 1 5 0 4 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Florida was assessed a postseason ban following an NCAA investigation, and the SEC subsequently vacated any championship. The Sugar Bowl automatic bid for the conference champion was awarded to LSU. Under modern rules, LSU would be credited with the conference championship.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 90th overall and 51st season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Ray Perkins, in his second year, and played its home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama finished the season with a record of five wins and six losses (5–2 overall, 2–1 in the SEC). This marked Alabama's first losing season since the Tide went 2–3–1 in 1957 under Jennings B. Whitworth, and ended its streak of 26 straight bowl appearances.[1]

Some of the more notable contests of the season included a season-opening loss to Boston College (and their quarterback, Doug Flutie, who went on to win the 1984 Heisman Trophy), a third consecutive loss to Tennessee in which the Tide gave up a 14-point fourth quarter lead, and Alabama's first loss to Vanderbilt since 1969.[2][3][4] However, Alabama did upset Auburn 17–15 in the 1984 edition of the Iron Bowl, denying the Tigers a berth in the Sugar Bowl.[5]

  1. ^ Mitchell, Billy (November 11, 1984). "Reality of a losing record stuns the Tide". The Tuscaloosa News. Google News. p. 1B. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  2. ^ 1984 Game Recaps, Game No. 1
  3. ^ 1984 Game Recaps, Game No. 7
  4. ^ Mitchell, Billy (September 30, 1984). "Homecoming wrong time for Tide". The Tuscaloosa News. Google News. p. 1A. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  5. ^ "Upsets do happen". Press-Register. AL.com. November 26, 2008. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.