Alabama vs. Penn State
Alabama and Penn State have 15 meetings on file, the first in 1959; Alabama leads the series 10–5 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Alabama 6–4, and Alabama has won the last 2. Share
- Alabama wins
- 10
- Penn State wins
- 5
- Ties
- 0
- Earliest on file
- 1959
- Longest streak
- 4 Alabama
- Current streak
- 2 Alabama
- Last 10 meetings
- Alabama 6–4
- Most recent
- 2011
The series at a glance
| ’0 | ’1 | ’2 | ’3 | ’4 | ’5 | ’6 | ’7 | ’8 | ’9 | W–L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0–1 | ||||||||||
| 1970s | 2–0 | ||||||||||
| 1980s | 6–3 | ||||||||||
| 1990s | 0–1 | ||||||||||
| 2010s | 2–0 |
- Both ranked
- 11 meetings: Alabama 8, Penn State 3; 6 both in the top 10
- Average margin
- 10.3 points; 8 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
- At Alabama
- 4–2 Alabama’s record at home
- At Penn State
- 2–4 Penn State’s record at home
- Neutral sites
- 2–1 Alabama first
- Shutouts
- 3
Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.
Games that tell the story
- Alabama’s biggest win2010: Alabama 24, Penn State 3by 21 points
- Penn State’s biggest win1986: Penn State 23, Alabama 3by 20 points
- Ranked showdown1978: Alabama 14, Penn State 7No. 1 Penn State at No. 2 Alabama
- Ranked showdown1982: Alabama 42, Penn State 21No. 3 Penn State at No. 4 Alabama
- Ranked showdown1986: Penn State 23, Alabama 3No. 6 Penn State at No. 2 Alabama
- Ranked showdown1981: Alabama 31, Penn State 16No. 6 Alabama at No. 5 Penn State
Coach against coach
| Years | Alabama | Series | Penn State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–1982 | Bear Bryant | 4–0 | Joe Paterno |
| 1983–1986 | Ray Perkins | 1–3 | Joe Paterno |
| 1987–1989 | Bill Curry | 3–0 | Joe Paterno |
Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Alabama’s side (Bryant 4–0 against Paterno). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.
Both programs through the years
Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.
Stars of the series
Named most valuable
| Barry Krauss Alabama | 1978 |
| Richard Todd Alabama | 1975 |
| Jay Huffman Penn State | 1959 |
Most valuable: as the games’ Wikipedia articles name them (CC BY-SA).
On television
ESPN’s College GameDay has broadcast from this game once: 2010.
College GameDay’s sites from Wikipedia’s list of its locations (CC BY-SA).
Every game
| Sep 10, 2011 | 3Alabama 27, 23Penn State 11 | at Penn State | ||
| Sep 11, 2010 | 1Alabama 24, 18Penn State 3 | at Alabama | ||
| Oct 27, 1990 | Penn State 9, Alabama 0 | at Alabama | ||
| Oct 28, 1989 | 6Alabama 17, 14Penn State 16 | at Penn State | ||
| Oct 22, 1988 | Alabama 8, Penn State 3 | at Alabama | ||
| Sep 12, 1987 | 19Alabama 24, 11Penn State 13 | at Penn State | ||
| Oct 25, 1986 | 6Penn State 23, 2Alabama 3 | at Alabama | ||
| Oct 12, 1985 | 8Penn State 19, 10Alabama 17 | at Penn State | ||
| Oct 13, 1984 | Alabama 6, 11Penn State 0 | at Alabama | ||
| Oct 8, 1983 | Penn State 34, 3Alabama 28 | at Penn State | ||
| Oct 9, 1982 | 4Alabama 42, 3Penn State 21 | at Alabama | ||
| Nov 14, 1981 | 6Alabama 31, 5Penn State 16 | at Penn State | ||
| Jan 1, 1979 | 2Alabama 14, 1Penn State 7 | Neutral site | Sugar Bowl | |
| Dec 31, 1975 | 4Alabama 13, 8Penn State 6 | Neutral site | Sugar Bowl | |
| Dec 19, 1959 | 14Penn State 7, 11Alabama 0 | Neutral site | Liberty Bowl |
Every game is listed as played on the field.