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1989 Alabama

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bill Curry, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1989, game by game: won vs. Memphis 35–7; won vs. Kentucky 15–3; won at Vanderbilt 20–14; won at Ole Miss 62–27; won vs. Louisiana 24–17; won vs. No. 6 Tennessee 47–30; won at No. 14 Penn State 17–16; won vs. Mississippi State 23–10; won at LSU 32–16; won vs. Southern Miss 37–14; lost at No. 11 Auburn 20–30; lost vs. No. 2 Miami 25–33+35−10Won 35–7 vs. Memphis+28MemphisWon 15–3 vs. Kentucky+12KentuckyWon 20–14 at Vanderbilt+6VanderbiltWon 62–27 at Ole Miss+35Ole MissWon 24–17 vs. Louisiana+7LouisianaWon 47–30 vs. No. 6 Tennessee+17No. 6 TennesseeWon 17–16 at No. 14 Penn State+1No. 14 Penn StateWon 23–10 vs. Mississippi State+13Mississippi Sta…Won 32–16 at LSU+16LSUWon 37–14 vs. Southern Miss+23Southern MissLost 20–30 at No. 11 Auburn-10No. 11 AuburnLost 25–33 vs. No. 2 Miami-8No. 2 Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsMemphisW 35–⁠779%
Sep 23vsKentuckyW 15–⁠372%
Sep 30atVanderbiltW 20–⁠1473%
Oct 7atOle MissW 62–⁠2763%
Oct 14vsLouisianaW 24–⁠1782%
Oct 21vs6TennesseeW 47–⁠3065%
Oct 28at14Penn StateW 17–⁠1654%
Nov 4vsMississippi StateW 23–⁠1087%
Nov 11atLSUW 32–⁠1669%
Nov 18vsSouthern MissW 37–⁠1479%
Dec 2at11AuburnL 20–⁠3045%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2MiamiSugar BowlL 25–⁠3337%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami 33–⁠25 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 46th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 19
  3. Wk 3: 16
  4. Wk 4: 15
  5. Wk 5: 13
  6. Wk 6: 13
  7. Wk 7: 11
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 5
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 4
  14. Wk 14: 2
  15. Wk 15: 7
  16. Wk 16: 7
  17. Final: 9

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 1989.

Southeastern Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Auburn and Tennessee

Consensus All-AmericanKeith McCants, LB

Bobby Dodd Coach of the YearBill Curry, coach

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 2
Points
357–⁠217
Coach
Bill Curry
Elo
1716 +93 this season
SP+ rating
23.0 No. 10 of 103; offense No. 12, defense No. 15
SRS
17.5 No. 11 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Homer Smith
Defensive coordinator
Don Lindsey
Captains
Marco Battle and Willie Wyatt

Drafted in 1990

The 1990 draft
Rd 1Keith McCants DETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 6John Mangum DBChicago Bears

All-SEC

10 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1989 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1989 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tennessee6–⁠111–⁠15
Auburn6–⁠110–⁠26
Alabama6–⁠110–⁠29
Ole Miss4–⁠38–⁠4
Florida4–⁠37–⁠5
Georgia4–⁠36–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠56–⁠5
LSU2–⁠54–⁠7
Mississippi State1–⁠65–⁠6
Vanderbilt0–⁠71–⁠10

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