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1985 Alabama

9–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Ray Perkins, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1985, game by game: won at Georgia 20–16; won vs. Texas A&M 23–10; won vs. Cincinnati 45–10; won at Vanderbilt 40–20; lost at No. 8 Penn State 17–19; lost vs. No. 20 Tennessee 14–16; won at Memphis 28–9; won vs. Mississippi State 44–28; tied at No. 15 LSU 14–14; won vs. Southern Miss 24–13; won vs. No. 7 Auburn 25–23; won vs. USC 24–3+35−2Won 20–16 at Georgia+4GeorgiaWon 23–10 vs. Texas A&M+13Texas A&MWon 45–10 vs. Cincinnati+35CincinnatiWon 40–20 at Vanderbilt+20VanderbiltLost 17–19 at No. 8 Penn State-2No. 8 Penn StateLost 14–16 vs. No. 20 Tennessee-2No. 20 TennesseeWon 28–9 at Memphis+19MemphisWon 44–28 vs. Mississippi State+16Mississippi Sta…Tied 14–14 at No. 15 LSU0No. 15 LSUWon 24–13 vs. Southern Miss+11Southern MissWon 25–23 vs. No. 7 Auburn+2No. 7 AuburnWon 24–3 vs. USC+21USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atGeorgiaW 20–⁠1638%
Sep 14vsTexas A&MW 23–⁠1064%
Sep 21vsCincinnatiW 45–⁠1078%
Sep 28atVanderbiltW 40–⁠2066%
Oct 12at8Penn StateL 17–⁠1947%
Oct 19vs20TennesseeL 14–⁠1659%
Oct 26atMemphisW 28–⁠958%
Nov 2vsMississippi StateW 44–⁠2875%
Nov 9at15LSUT 14–⁠1443%
Nov 16vsSouthern MissW 24–⁠1375%
Nov 30vs7AuburnW 25–⁠2340%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsUSCAloha BowlW 24–⁠364%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat USC 24–⁠3 in the Aloha Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 58th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1985.

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 10
Points
318–⁠181
Coach
Ray Perkins
Elo
1690 +135 this season
SP+ rating
25.2 No. 4 of 106; offense No. 13, defense No. 6
SRS
19.2 No. 7 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
George Henshaw
Defensive coordinator
Joe Kines
Captains
Jon Hand and Thornton Chandler

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 1Jon Hand DEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 2Larry Roberts DESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 6Thornton Chandler TEDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Brent Sowell DTMiami Dolphins

All-SEC

5 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1985 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1985 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida5–⁠19–⁠1–⁠15
Tennessee5–⁠19–⁠1–⁠24
LSU4–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠120
Alabama4–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠113
Georgia3–⁠2–⁠17–⁠3–⁠2
Auburn3–⁠38–⁠4
Ole Miss2–⁠44–⁠6–⁠1
Vanderbilt1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Kentucky1–⁠55–⁠6
Mississippi State0–⁠65–⁠6

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