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1965 Alabama

9–⁠1–⁠1 (6–⁠1–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1965, game by game: lost at Georgia 17–18; won vs. Tulane 27–0; won vs. Ole Miss 17–16; won at Vanderbilt 22–7; tied at Tennessee 7–7; won vs. Florida State 21–0; won at Mississippi State 10–7; won at LSU 31–7; won vs. South Carolina 35–14; won vs. Auburn 30–3; won vs. No. 3 Nebraska 39–28+27−1Lost 17–18 at Georgia-1GeorgiaWon 27–0 vs. Tulane+27TulaneWon 17–16 vs. Ole Miss+1Ole MissWon 22–7 at Vanderbilt+15VanderbiltTied 7–7 at Tennessee0TennesseeWon 21–0 vs. Florida State+21Florida StateWon 10–7 at Mississippi State+3Mississippi Sta…Won 31–7 at LSU+24LSUWon 35–14 vs. South Carolina+21South CarolinaWon 30–3 vs. Auburn+27AuburnWon 39–28 vs. No. 3 Nebraska+11No. 3 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 18atGeorgiaL 17–⁠1859%
Sep 25vsTulaneW 27–⁠085%
Oct 2vsOle MissW 17–⁠1671%
Oct 9atVanderbiltW 22–⁠779%
Oct 16atTennesseeT 7–⁠766%
Oct 23vsFlorida StateW 21–⁠070%
Oct 30atMississippi StateW 10–⁠765%
Nov 6atLSUW 31–⁠758%
Nov 13vsSouth CarolinaW 35–⁠1488%
Nov 27vsAuburnW 30–⁠373%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3NebraskaOrange BowlW 39–⁠2857%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 39–⁠28 in the Orange Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 7: 10
  3. Wk 8: 5
  4. Wk 9: 5
  5. Wk 10: 5
  6. Wk 11: 5
  7. Wk 12: 4
  8. Final: 1

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1965.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Southeastern Conference champions6–⁠1–⁠1 in the conference

Led the nationSteve Sloan: passer rating (153.8)

Consensus All-AmericanPaul Crane, C

Record
9–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1–⁠1 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
256–⁠107
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1795 +108 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
24.5 No. 3 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Howard Schnellenberger
Captains
Steve Sloan and Paul Crane

Drafted in 1966

The 1966 draft
Rd 7Ray Perkins WRBaltimore Colts

All-SEC

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Tommy TollesonEAP-1
  • Paul CraneCAP-1; UPI
  • Steve BowmanRBAP-1; UPI
  • Creed GilmerDEAP-1; UPI
  • Bobby JohnsDBAP-1; UPI

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1965 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1965 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama6–⁠1–⁠19–⁠1–⁠11
Auburn4–⁠1–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Florida4–⁠27–⁠4
Ole Miss5–⁠37–⁠4
Tennessee2–⁠1–⁠28–⁠1–⁠27
LSU3–⁠38–⁠38
Kentucky3–⁠36–⁠4
Georgia2–⁠36–⁠4
Mississippi State1–⁠54–⁠6
Vanderbilt1–⁠52–⁠7–⁠1
Tulane1–⁠52–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.