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2012 Alabama

13–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2012, game by game: won vs. No. 8 Michigan 41–14; won vs. Western Kentucky 35–0; won at Arkansas 52–0; won vs. Florida Atlantic 40–7; won vs. Ole Miss 33–14; won at Missouri 42–10; won at Tennessee 44–13; won vs. No. 13 Mississippi State 38–7; won at No. 5 LSU 21–17; lost vs. No. 15 Texas A&M 24–29; won vs. Western Carolina 49–0; won vs. Auburn 49–0; won vs. No. 3 Georgia 32–28; won vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 42–14+52−5Won 41–14 vs. No. 8 Michigan+27No. 8 MichiganWon 35–0 vs. Western Kentucky+35Western KentuckyWon 52–0 at Arkansas+52ArkansasWon 40–7 vs. Florida Atlantic+33Florida AtlanticWon 33–14 vs. Ole Miss+19Ole MissWon 42–10 at Missouri+32MissouriWon 44–13 at Tennessee+31TennesseeWon 38–7 vs. No. 13 Mississippi State+31No. 13 Mississippi Sta…Won 21–17 at No. 5 LSU+4No. 5 LSULost 24–29 vs. No. 15 Texas A&M-5No. 15 Texas A&MWon 49–0 vs. Western Carolina+49Western CarolinaWon 49–0 vs. Auburn+49AuburnWon 32–28 vs. No. 3 Georgia+4No. 3 GeorgiaWon 42–14 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame+28No. 1 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vs8MichiganW 41–⁠1467%
Sep 8vsWestern KentuckyW 35–⁠089%
Sep 15atArkansasW 52–⁠061%
Sep 22vsFlorida AtlanticW 40–⁠796%
Sep 29vsOle MissW 33–⁠1491%
Oct 13atMissouriW 42–⁠1076%
Oct 20atTennesseeW 44–⁠1383%
Oct 27vs13Mississippi StateW 38–⁠780%
Nov 3at5LSUW 21–⁠1756%
Nov 10vs15Texas A&ML 24–⁠2978%
Nov 17vsWestern CarolinaW 49–⁠099%
Nov 24vsAuburnW 49–⁠092%
Dec 1vs3GeorgiaSEC Championship GameW 32–⁠2863%
Jan 7Bowls & playoffvs1Notre DameBCS National ChampionshipW 42–⁠1458%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 42–⁠14 in the BCS National Championship; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 6th-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: 1
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 2
  15. Wk 15: 2
  16. Final: 1

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

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Led the nationA.J. McCarron: passer rating (175.3)

Rimington TrophyBarrett Jones, C; also the Campbell Trophy

4 consensus All-AmericansBarrett Jones, C; Chance Warmack, OL; C.J. Mosley, LB; Dee Milliner, DB

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
542–⁠153
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1881 +131 this season
SP+ rating
36.5 No. 1 of 124; offense No. 3, defense No. 3, special teams No. 16
SRS
26.7 No. 1 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 1
Offensive coordinator
Doug Nussmeier
Defensive coordinator
Kirby Smart
Captains
Barrett Jones, Damion Square and Chance Warmack
Most valuable player
C.J. Mosley
Offense
Multiple pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense3rd of 124
  • Defense11th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted6th of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1748%0.893rd of 124
Defense-0.0135%1.0011th of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
-0.00 def		47% off
34% def		—2nd off
6th 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
Offense0.1own 331% allowed
Defense-0.1own 252% 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 yardsA.J. McCarron QB2,933 yds
Passing touchdownsA.J. McCarron QB30 TD
Rushing yardsEddie Lacy RB1,322 yds
Rushing touchdownsEddie Lacy RB17 TD
Receiving yardsAmari Cooper WR1,000 yds
Receiving touchdownsAmari Cooper WR11 TD
InterceptionsHa Ha Clinton-Dix DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Landon Collins S★★★★★No. 7
Eddie Williams ATH★★★★★No. 17
T.J. Yeldon RB★★★★★No. 27
Reggie Ragland ILB★★★★No. 40
Cyrus Jones ATH★★★★No. 44
Amari Cooper WR★★★★No. 45
Chris Black WR★★★★No. 48
Geno Smith CB★★★★No. 63

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.873
Running backs24.50.967
Receivers33.70.945
Offensive line33.70.911
Defensive line43.50.901
Linebackers54.00.958
Defensive backs24.50.984
Athletes and specialists34.00.945
Whole class233.90.938

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 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 1Dee Milliner CBNew York Jets
Rd 1Chance Warmack OGTennessee Titans
Rd 1D.J. Fluker OTSan Diego Chargers
Rd 2Eddie Lacy RBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 4Nico Johnson ILBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 4Barrett Jones CSt. Louis Rams
Rd 5Jesse Williams DTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Quinton Dial DESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7Michael Williams TEDetroit Lions

Roster 117

The 2012 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2012 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠112–⁠25
Florida7–⁠111–⁠29
South Carolina6–⁠211–⁠28
Texas A&M6–⁠211–⁠25
LSU6–⁠210–⁠314
Vanderbilt5–⁠39–⁠423
Mississippi State4–⁠48–⁠5
Ole Miss3–⁠57–⁠6
Missouri2–⁠65–⁠7
Arkansas2–⁠64–⁠8
Tennessee1–⁠75–⁠7
Auburn0–⁠83–⁠9
Kentucky0–⁠82–⁠10

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