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1978 Alabama

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

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1978, game by game: won vs. Nebraska 20–3; won at No. 11 Missouri 38–20; lost vs. No. 7 USC 14–24; won vs. Vanderbilt 51–28; won at Washington 20–17; won vs. Florida 23–12; won at Tennessee 30–17; won vs. Virginia Tech 35–0; won vs. Mississippi State 35–14; won vs. No. 10 LSU 31–10; won vs. Auburn 34–16; won vs. No. 1 Penn State 14–7+35−10Won 20–3 vs. Nebraska+17NebraskaWon 38–20 at No. 11 Missouri+18No. 11 MissouriLost 14–24 vs. No. 7 USC-10No. 7 USCWon 51–28 vs. Vanderbilt+23VanderbiltWon 20–17 at Washington+3WashingtonWon 23–12 vs. Florida+11FloridaWon 30–17 at Tennessee+13TennesseeWon 35–0 vs. Virginia Tech+35Virginia TechWon 35–14 vs. Mississippi State+21Mississippi Sta…Won 31–10 vs. No. 10 LSU+21No. 10 LSUWon 34–16 vs. Auburn+18AuburnWon 14–7 vs. No. 1 Penn State+7No. 1 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsNebraskaW 20–⁠367%
Sep 16at11MissouriW 38–⁠2065%
Sep 23vs7USCL 14–⁠2469%
Sep 30vsVanderbiltW 51–⁠2889%
Oct 7atWashingtonW 20–⁠1758%
Oct 14vsFloridaW 23–⁠1282%
Oct 21atTennesseeW 30–⁠1777%
Oct 28vsVirginia TechW 35–⁠089%
Nov 4vsMississippi StateW 35–⁠1476%
Nov 11vs10LSUW 31–⁠1074%
Dec 2vsAuburnW 34–⁠1680%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1Penn StateSugar BowlW 14–⁠747%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Penn State 14–⁠7 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 1
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 3
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 2
  15. 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 1978.

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

Southeastern Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanMarty Lyons, DT

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
345–⁠168
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1814 +107 this season
SP+ rating
33.9 No. 2 of 133; offense No. 3, defense No. 3
SRS
26.3 No. 3 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Mal Moore
Defensive coordinator
Ken Donahue
Captains
Marty Lyons, Jeff Rutledge and Tony Nathan
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 1Barry Krauss LBBaltimore Colts
Rd 1Marty Lyons DENew York Jets
Rd 3Tony Nathan RBMiami Dolphins
Rd 7Rich Wingo LBGreen Bay Packers

All-SEC

8 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1978 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1978 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama6–⁠011–⁠11
Georgia5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠2–⁠116
Auburn3–⁠2–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
LSU3–⁠38–⁠4
Tennessee3–⁠35–⁠5–⁠1
Florida3–⁠34–⁠7
Mississippi State2–⁠46–⁠5
Ole Miss2–⁠45–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠44–⁠6–⁠1
Vanderbilt0–⁠62–⁠9

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