CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Alabama

14–⁠0 (8–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2009, game by game: won vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech 34–24; won vs. Florida International 40–14; won vs. North Texas 53–7; won vs. Arkansas 35–7; won at Kentucky 38–20; won at No. 20 Ole Miss 22–3; won vs. No. 22 South Carolina 20–6; won vs. Tennessee 12–10; won vs. No. 9 LSU 24–15; won at Mississippi State 31–3; won vs. Chattanooga 45–0; won at Auburn 26–21; won vs. No. 1 Florida 32–13; won vs. No. 2 Texas 37–21+46Won 34–24 vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech+10No. 7 Virginia TechWon 40–14 vs. Florida International+26Florida Interna…Won 53–7 vs. North Texas+46North TexasWon 35–7 vs. Arkansas+28ArkansasWon 38–20 at Kentucky+18KentuckyWon 22–3 at No. 20 Ole Miss+19No. 20 Ole MissWon 20–6 vs. No. 22 South Carolina+14No. 22 South CarolinaWon 12–10 vs. Tennessee+2TennesseeWon 24–15 vs. No. 9 LSU+9No. 9 LSUWon 31–3 at Mississippi State+28Mississippi Sta…Won 45–0 vs. Chattanooga+45ChattanoogaWon 26–21 at Auburn+5AuburnWon 32–13 vs. No. 1 Florida+19No. 1 FloridaWon 37–21 vs. No. 2 Texas+16No. 2 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vs7Virginia TechW 34–⁠2449%
Sep 12vsFlorida InternationalW 40–⁠1486%
Sep 19vsNorth TexasW 53–⁠790%
Sep 26vsArkansasW 35–⁠780%
Oct 3atKentuckyW 38–⁠2065%
Oct 10at20Ole MissW 22–⁠356%
Oct 17vs22South CarolinaW 20–⁠675%
Oct 24vsTennesseeW 12–⁠1080%
Nov 7vs9LSUW 24–⁠1567%
Nov 14atMississippi StateW 31–⁠376%
Nov 21vsChattanoogaW 45–⁠096%
Nov 27atAuburnW 26–⁠2172%
Dec 5vs1FloridaSEC Championship GameW 32–⁠1340%
Jan 7Bowls & playoffvs2TexasBCS National ChampionshipW 37–⁠2148%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas 37–⁠21 in the BCS National Championship; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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

Southeastern Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Heisman TrophyMark Ingram II, RB

Butkus AwardRolando McClain, ILB

4 consensus All-AmericansMark Ingram II, RB; Mike Johnson, OG; Terrence Cody, DT; Rolando McClain, ILB

Broyles AwardKirby Smart, coach

Record
14–⁠0
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
449–⁠164
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1862 +220 this season
SP+ rating
30.2 No. 2 of 120; offense No. 23, defense No. 1, special teams No. 11
SRS
24.7 No. 1 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 3
Offensive coordinator
Jim McElwain
Defensive coordinator
Kirby Smart
Captains
Rolando McClain, Javier Arenas and Mike Johnson
Most valuable player
Rolando McClain and Mark Ingram II
Offense
Multiple, Wildcat
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense46th of 120
  • Defense3rd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted32nd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0643%0.8346th of 120
Defense-0.0833%1.003rd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
-0.05 def		44% off
33% def		—32nd off
3rd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 352% allowed
Defense0.1own 293% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsGreg McElroy QB2,508 yds
Passing touchdownsGreg McElroy QB17 TD
Rushing yardsMark Ingram RB1,658 yds
Rushing touchdownsMark Ingram RB17 TD
Receiving yardsJulio Jones WR596 yds
Receiving touchdownsJulio Jones WR4 TD
InterceptionsMark Barron DB7 INT

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Trent Richardson RB★★★★★No. 6
Dre Kirkpatrick CB★★★★★No. 14
Nico Johnson ILB★★★★★No. 17
D.J. Fluker OT★★★★★No. 30
A.J. McCarron PRO★★★★No. 87
Tana Patrick ILB★★★★No. 88
Kendall Kelly WR★★★★No. 126
Eddie Lacy RB★★★★No. 131

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.959
Running backs34.00.935
Receivers44.00.917
Offensive line24.00.928
Defensive line43.80.902
Linebackers44.00.938
Defensive backs24.50.956
Whole class204.00.928

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2010

The 2010 draft
Rd 1Rolando McClain ILBOakland Raiders
Rd 1Kareem Jackson CBHouston Texans
Rd 2Javier Arenas CBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 2Terrence Cody DTBaltimore Ravens
Rd 3Mike Johnson OGAtlanta Falcons
Rd 7Marquis Johnson CBSt. Louis Rams
Rd 7Brandon Deaderick DENew England Patriots

Roster 104

The 2009 roster

104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 35 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

7 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2009 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2009 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠014–⁠01
Florida8–⁠013–⁠13
LSU5–⁠39–⁠417
Ole Miss4–⁠49–⁠420
Georgia4–⁠48–⁠5
Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Arkansas3–⁠58–⁠5
Auburn3–⁠58–⁠5
Kentucky3–⁠57–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠57–⁠6
Mississippi State3–⁠55–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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