CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1974 Alabama

11–⁠1 (6–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1974, game by game: won at No. 14 Maryland 21–16; won vs. Southern Miss 52–0; won vs. Vanderbilt 23–10; won at Ole Miss 35–21; won vs. Florida State 8–7; won at Tennessee 28–6; won vs. TCU 41–3; won vs. No. 17 Mississippi State 35–0; won vs. LSU 30–0; won at Miami 28–7; won vs. No. 7 Auburn 17–13; lost vs. No. 9 Notre Dame 11–13+52−2Won 21–16 at No. 14 Maryland+5No. 14 MarylandWon 52–0 vs. Southern Miss+52Southern MissWon 23–10 vs. Vanderbilt+13VanderbiltWon 35–21 at Ole Miss+14Ole MissWon 8–7 vs. Florida State+1Florida StateWon 28–6 at Tennessee+22TennesseeWon 41–3 vs. TCU+38TCUWon 35–0 vs. No. 17 Mississippi State+35No. 17 Mississippi Sta…Won 30–0 vs. LSU+30LSUWon 28–7 at Miami+21MiamiWon 17–13 vs. No. 7 Auburn+4No. 7 AuburnLost 11–13 vs. No. 9 Notre Dame-2No. 9 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14at14MarylandW 21–⁠1664%
Sep 21vsSouthern MissW 52–⁠082%
Sep 28vsVanderbiltW 23–⁠1087%
Oct 5atOle MissW 35–⁠2169%
Oct 12vsFlorida StateW 8–⁠795%
Oct 19atTennesseeW 28–⁠670%
Oct 26vsTCUW 41–⁠394%
Nov 2vs17Mississippi StateW 35–⁠082%
Nov 9vsLSUW 30–⁠082%
Nov 16atMiamiW 28–⁠781%
Nov 29vs7AuburnW 17–⁠1374%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs9Notre DameOrange BowlL 11–⁠1369%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Notre Dame 13–⁠11 in the Orange Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 3
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 2
  15. Final: 5

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 1974.

Southeastern Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

2 consensus All-AmericansLeroy Cook, DE; Woodrow Lowe, LB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 2
Points
329–⁠96
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1820 +93 this season
SP+ rating
29.5 No. 2 of 124; offense No. 10, defense No. 1
SRS
25.8 No. 3 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bud Moore
Defensive coordinator
Ken Donahue
Captains
Sylvester Croom and Ricky Davis
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1975

The 1975 draft
Rd 3Mike Washington DBBaltimore Colts

All-SEC

7 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Mike DuBoseDEAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1974 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1974 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama6–⁠011–⁠15
Auburn4–⁠210–⁠28
Georgia4–⁠26–⁠6
Mississippi State3–⁠39–⁠317
Florida3–⁠38–⁠415
Kentucky3–⁠36–⁠5
Vanderbilt2–⁠3–⁠17–⁠3–⁠2
Tennessee2–⁠3–⁠17–⁠3–⁠220
LSU2–⁠45–⁠5–⁠1
Ole Miss0–⁠63–⁠8

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