CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1979 Alabama

12–⁠0 (6–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1979, game by game: won at Georgia Tech 30–6; won vs. Baylor 45–0; won at Vanderbilt 66–3; won vs. Wichita State 38–0; won at Florida 40–0; won vs. No. 18 Tennessee 27–17; won vs. Virginia Tech 31–7; won vs. Mississippi State 24–7; won at LSU 3–0; won vs. Miami 30–0; won vs. No. 14 Auburn 25–18; won vs. No. 6 Arkansas 24–9+63Won 30–6 at Georgia Tech+24Georgia TechWon 45–0 vs. Baylor+45BaylorWon 66–3 at Vanderbilt+63VanderbiltWon 38–0 vs. Wichita State+38Wichita StateWon 40–0 at Florida+40FloridaWon 27–17 vs. No. 18 Tennessee+10No. 18 TennesseeWon 31–7 vs. Virginia Tech+24Virginia TechWon 24–7 vs. Mississippi State+17Mississippi Sta…Won 3–0 at LSU+3LSUWon 30–0 vs. Miami+30MiamiWon 25–18 vs. No. 14 Auburn+7No. 14 AuburnWon 24–9 vs. No. 6 Arkansas+15No. 6 Arkansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8atGeorgia TechW 30–⁠668%
Sep 22vsBaylorW 45–⁠081%
Sep 29atVanderbiltW 66–⁠390%
Oct 6vsWichita StateW 38–⁠095%
Oct 13atFloridaW 40–⁠079%
Oct 20vs18TennesseeW 27–⁠1780%
Oct 27vsVirginia TechW 31–⁠790%
Nov 3vsMississippi StateW 24–⁠786%
Nov 10atLSUW 3–⁠068%
Nov 17vsMiamiW 30–⁠087%
Dec 1vs14AuburnW 25–⁠1872%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6ArkansasSugar BowlW 24–⁠958%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arkansas 24–⁠9 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  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 1979.

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

Southeastern Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanJim Bunch, OT

Record
12–⁠0
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
383–⁠67
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1838 +129 this season
SP+ rating
27.3 No. 2 of 135; offense No. 12, defense No. 2
SRS
26.4 No. 2 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Mal Moore
Defensive coordinator
Ken Donahue
Captains
Don McNeal and Steve Whitman
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 1Don McNeal DBMiami Dolphins
Rd 2Dwight Stephenson CMiami Dolphins
Rd 6Wayne Hamilton LBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 7Buddy Aydelette OTGreen Bay Packers

All-SEC

10 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1979 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1979 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama6–⁠012–⁠01
Georgia5–⁠16–⁠5
Auburn4–⁠28–⁠316
LSU4–⁠27–⁠5
Tennessee3–⁠37–⁠5
Kentucky3–⁠35–⁠6
Ole Miss3–⁠34–⁠7
Mississippi State2–⁠43–⁠8
Vanderbilt0–⁠61–⁠10
Florida0–⁠60–⁠10–⁠1

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