| 2018 Alabama Crimson Tide football | |
|---|---|
 | |
SEC champion SEC Western Division champion Orange Bowl champion | |
SEC Championship Game, W 35–28 vs. Georgia | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Western Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 2 |
| AP | No. 2 |
| Record | 14–1 (8–0 SEC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Mike Locksley (1st season) |
| Co-offensive coordinator | Josh Gattis (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Defensive coordinator | Tosh Lupoi (1st season) |
| Co-defensive coordinator | Pete Golding (1st season) |
| Base defense | 3–4 |
| Captain | Damien Harris Hale Hentges Christian Miller Ross Pierschbacher |
| Home stadium | Bryant–Denny Stadium |
Uniform | |
 | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7т Georgia x | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Kentucky | 5 | – | 3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7т Florida | 5 | – | 3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 4 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 2 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Alabama x$^ | 8 | – | 0 | 14 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Texas A&M | 5 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 LSU | 5 | – | 3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State* | 4 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 3 | – | 5 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 1 | – | 7 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 0 | – | 8 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Alabama 35, Georgia 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2018 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This season marked the Crimson Tide's 124th overall season, 85th as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and 27th within the SEC Western Division. They played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and were led by twelfth-year head coach Nick Saban.
Alabama, coming off a national championship winning season in 2017, began the season ranked first in the AP Poll for the third consecutive year and fifth time under Nick Saban. The Tide opened the year with a dominant victory over Louisville in the Camping World Kickoff played in Orlando, Florida. Alabama won their remaining regular season games to achieve their second undefeated regular season in three years. As champions of the SEC's Western Division, they played in the 2018 SEC Championship Game, defeating Eastern Division champion Georgia, in a rematch of the 2017 national title game, 35–28, to win the school's 27th SEC title. In the final College Football Playoff rankings of the year, Alabama was ranked first, which earned them their fifth consecutive playoff berth and a spot in the 2018 Orange Bowl against fourth-ranked Oklahoma. Alabama won that game 45–34 to advance to the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship against Clemson, their fourth consecutive playoff match-up against Clemson and the third to be in a national title game. The Crimson Tide lost in a blowout, 44–16, representing the Tide's worst loss in the Saban era.[2]
The Crimson Tide were led on offense by sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who won the starting job over two-year starter Jalen Hurts. Tagovailoa set the NCAA FBS record for passing efficiency rating (199.4),[a][3] was a consensus first-team All-American, and finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy behind Oklahoma's Kyler Murray. Hurts, despite losing the starting role, received praise for sticking with the team and helping to mount a comeback in the SEC Championship Game when Tagovailoa went down with an ankle injury.[4] Also receiving consensus first-team All-America honors on offense were wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, winner of the Biletnikoff Award, and offensive tackle Jonah Williams. On defense, Alabama featured two consensus All-Americans, defensive lineman Quinnen Williams and defensive back Deionte Thompson.
- ^ Lowery, Logan (September 12, 2024). "MSU fires Moorhead after two seasons". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
All eight of Moorhead's victories in 2018 had to be vacated after 10 football players were reprimanded by the NCAA for academic misconduct involving a former part-time tutor and an online chemistry class.
- ^ Zimanek, Brad (January 8, 2019). "Alabama experiences complete collapse in suffering worst loss under Nick Saban". USA Today.
- ^ "Tua Tagovailoa sets new FBS passer rating record". rollbamaroll.com. Vox Media. January 9, 2019.
- ^ Sallee, Barrett; Kercheval, Ben (December 2, 2018). "Alabama vs. Georgia score: Jalen Hurts returns in epic fashion, leads No. 1 Tide to SEC Championship Game win". CBSSports.com.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).