2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Consensus national champion
SEC champion
SEC Western Division champion
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record14–0 (8–0 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJim McElwain (2nd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorKirby Smart (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
MVPRolando McClain
Mark Ingram II
CaptainRolando McClain
Javier Arenas
Mike Johnson
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
Seasons
← 2008
2010 →
2009 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 3 Florida x%   8 0     13 1  
Georgia   4 4     8 5  
Tennessee   4 4     7 6  
Kentucky   3 5     7 6  
South Carolina   3 5     7 6  
Vanderbilt   0 8     2 10  
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#   8 0     14 0  
No. 17 LSU   5 3     9 4  
No. 20 Ole Miss   4 4     9 4  
Arkansas   3 5     8 5  
Auburn   3 5     8 5  
Mississippi State   3 5     5 7  
Championship: Alabama 32, Florida 13
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 115th overall season, 76th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and its 18th within the SEC Western Division. The team was led by head coach Nick Saban, in his third year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season undefeated with a record of 14–0 (8–0 in the SEC) and as national champions for the first time since 1992.

Looking to build on the successes of the 2008 campaign, Alabama entered the 2009 season as the favorite to win the Western Division and meet the Florida Gators in the 2009 SEC Championship Game. Alabama closed the regular season with a 12–0 record including four wins against Top 25-ranked teams—and met the Gators for the SEC Championship in a rematch of the 2008 contest. Alabama was victorious by a final score of 32–13. The following day, final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings were unveiled. No. 1 ranked Alabama would meet No. 2 ranked Texas for the BCS National Championship. In the BCS National Championship Game, the Crimson Tide defeated the Longhorns 37–21 to capture their first national championship since 1992. With the 14–0 record, they became only the 3rd team in college football history to accomplish this feat, behind the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes and the 2009 Boise State Broncos (who completed the feat three days earlier in the Fiesta Bowl).

Alabama earned their third SEC championship since the inception of the SEC Championship Game in 1992, and their 22nd SEC title. The victory over Texas gave Alabama their 13th national championship in football (their eighth wire service title since the AP Poll began in 1936) and their ninth perfect season since 1925. The season included victories over the previous three national champions: Florida, Louisiana State University (LSU), and Texas.

The season marked the first time a player for Alabama won the Heisman Trophy: Mark Ingram II won the award over Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. Other award winners included Rolando McClain, who won the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award, and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who won the Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant coach. Also, six players were named to various All-America Teams with Terrence Cody, Mike Johnson, and Javier Arenas being consensus selections and Ingram and McClain each being unanimous selections.