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1976 Alabama

9–⁠3 (5–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1976, game by game: lost at Ole Miss 7–10; won vs. SMU 56–3; won vs. Vanderbilt 42–14; lost at No. 6 Georgia 0–21; won vs. Southern Miss 24–8; won at Tennessee 20–13; won vs. Louisville 24–3; won vs. No. 18 Mississippi State 34–17; won vs. LSU 28–17; lost at No. 18 Notre Dame 18–21; won vs. Auburn 38–7; won vs. No. 7 UCLA 36–6+53−21Lost 7–10 at Ole Miss-3Ole MissWon 56–3 vs. SMU+53SMUWon 42–14 vs. Vanderbilt+28VanderbiltLost 0–21 at No. 6 Georgia-21No. 6 GeorgiaWon 24–8 vs. Southern Miss+16Southern MissWon 20–13 at Tennessee+7TennesseeWon 24–3 vs. Louisville+21LouisvilleWon 34–17 vs. No. 18 Mississippi State+17No. 18 Mississippi Sta…Won 28–17 vs. LSU+11LSULost 18–21 at No. 18 Notre Dame-3No. 18 Notre DameWon 38–7 vs. Auburn+31AuburnWon 36–6 vs. No. 7 UCLA+30No. 7 UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11atOle MissL 7–⁠1068%
Sep 18vsSMUW 56–⁠382%
Sep 25vsVanderbiltW 42–⁠1482%
Oct 2at6GeorgiaL 0–⁠2151%
Oct 9vsSouthern MissW 24–⁠884%
Oct 16atTennesseeW 20–⁠1360%
Oct 23vsLouisvilleW 24–⁠390%
Oct 30vs18Mississippi StateW 34–⁠1771%
Nov 6vsLSUW 28–⁠1778%
Nov 13at18Notre DameL 18–⁠2155%
Nov 27vsAuburnW 38–⁠780%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvs7UCLALiberty BowlW 36–⁠651%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UCLA 36–⁠6 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 13
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 6: 20
  6. Wk 7: 18
  7. Wk 8: 17
  8. Wk 9: 15
  9. Wk 10: 10
  10. Wk 11: 18
  11. Wk 12: 18
  12. Wk 13: 16
  13. Final: 11

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 1976.

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠2 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 6
Points
327–⁠140
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1768 +58 this season
SP+ rating
26.0 No. 5 of 132; offense No. 16, defense No. 6
SRS
21.4 No. 7 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Mal Moore
Defensive coordinator
Ken Donahue
Captains
Thad Flanagan and Charley Hannah
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1977

The 1977 draft
Rd 2Bob Baumhower DTMiami Dolphins
Rd 3Charles Hannah DETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 6Paul Harris LBPittsburgh Steelers

All-SEC

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1976 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1976 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia5–⁠110–⁠210
Alabama5–⁠29–⁠311
Mississippi State4–⁠29–⁠220
Kentucky4–⁠28–⁠418
Florida4–⁠28–⁠4
Ole Miss3–⁠45–⁠6
LSU2–⁠46–⁠4–⁠1
Tennessee2–⁠46–⁠5
Auburn2–⁠43–⁠8
Vanderbilt0–⁠62–⁠9

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