CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Alabama

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

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2017, game by game: won vs. No. 3 Florida State 24–7; won vs. Fresno State 41–10; won vs. Colorado State 41–23; won at Vanderbilt 59–0; won vs. Ole Miss 66–3; won at Texas A&M 27–19; won vs. Arkansas 41–9; won vs. Tennessee 45–7; won vs. No. 19 LSU 24–10; won at No. 18 Mississippi State 31–24; won vs. Mercer 56–0; lost at No. 6 Auburn 14–26; won vs. No. 1 Clemson 24–6; won vs. No. 3 Georgia 26–23+63−12Won 24–7 vs. No. 3 Florida State+17No. 3 Florida StateWon 41–10 vs. Fresno State+31Fresno StateWon 41–23 vs. Colorado State+18Colorado StateWon 59–0 at Vanderbilt+59VanderbiltWon 66–3 vs. Ole Miss+63Ole MissWon 27–19 at Texas A&M+8Texas A&MWon 41–9 vs. Arkansas+32ArkansasWon 45–7 vs. Tennessee+38TennesseeWon 24–10 vs. No. 19 LSU+14No. 19 LSUWon 31–24 at No. 18 Mississippi State+7No. 18 Mississippi Sta…Won 56–0 vs. Mercer+56MercerLost 14–26 at No. 6 Auburn-12No. 6 AuburnWon 24–6 vs. No. 1 Clemson+18No. 1 ClemsonWon 26–23 vs. No. 3 Georgia+3No. 3 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vs3Florida StateW 24–⁠767%
Sep 9vsFresno StateW 41–⁠1094%
Sep 16vsColorado StateW 41–⁠2387%
Sep 23atVanderbiltW 59–⁠076%
Sep 30vsOle MissW 66–⁠388%
Oct 7atTexas A&MW 27–⁠1972%
Oct 14vsArkansasW 41–⁠991%
Oct 21vsTennesseeW 45–⁠789%
Nov 4vs19LSUW 24–⁠1079%
Nov 11at18Mississippi StateW 31–⁠2469%
Nov 18vsMercerW 56–⁠097%
Nov 25at6AuburnL 14–⁠2662%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1ClemsonSugar Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 24–⁠647%
Jan 8Bowls & playoffvs3GeorgiaCFP National ChampionshipW 26–⁠2359%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Georgia 26–⁠23 in the CFP National Championship; No. 1 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  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: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 5
  15. Wk 15: 4
  16. Final: 1

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

SEC West champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Auburn

Jim Thorpe AwardMinkah Fitzpatrick, S; also the Bednarik

Consensus All-AmericanMinkah Fitzpatrick, S

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
519–⁠167
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1892 +112 this season
SP+ rating
33.5 No. 1 of 128; offense No. 11, defense No. 1, special teams No. 50
SRS
24.1 No. 2 of 130 in FBS
Returning
73% of last season’s EPA, No. 35 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 1 roster talent No. 1 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Brian Daboll and Mike Locksley
Defensive coordinators
Jeremy Pruitt and Tosh Lupoi
Captains
Minkah Fitzpatrick, Rashaan Evans, Shaun Dion Hamilton and Bradley Bozeman
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense10th of 130
  • Defense2nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted6th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2347%1.1910th of 130
Defense-0.0935%1.132nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
-0.09 def		49% off
33% def		—6th off
1st 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
Offense4.1own 3511% allowed
Defense2.1own 2721% caused

CORE rating 27.4, 3rd of 130 (offense 9.5, defense -17.9).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJalen Hurts QB2,081 yds
Passing touchdownsJalen Hurts QB17 TD
Rushing yardsDamien Harris RB1,000 yds
Rushing touchdownsDamien Harris RB11 TD
Receiving yardsCalvin Ridley WR967 yds
Receiving touchdownsHenry Ruggs III WR6 TD
TacklesRashaan Evans LB74 tkl
SacksRaekwon Davis DL8.5 sacks
InterceptionsMack Wilson LB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Najee Harris RB★★★★★No. 2
Alex Leatherwood OT★★★★★No. 4
Dylan Moses OLB★★★★★No. 13
Jerry Jeudy WR★★★★★No. 21
LaBryan Ray SDE★★★★★No. 28
Tua Tagovailoa DUAL★★★★★No. 32
Jedrick Wills OT★★★★No. 34
Xavier McKinney S★★★★No. 58

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.934
Running backs24.50.967
Receivers64.20.946
Offensive line44.00.939
Defensive line34.30.966
Linebackers44.30.965
Defensive backs33.70.930
Athletes and specialists33.00.850
Whole class274.00.938

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Minkah Fitzpatrick SMiami Dolphins
Rd 1Da’Ron Payne DTWashington Redskins
Rd 1Rashaan Evans ILBTennessee Titans
Rd 1Calvin Ridley WRAtlanta Falcons
Rd 3Ronnie Harrison SJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 4Da’Shawn Hand DEDetroit Lions
Rd 4Anthony Averett CBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5J.K. Scott PGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Shaun Dion Hamilton ILBWashington Redskins
Rd 6Bradley Bozeman CBaltimore Ravens
Rd 7Bo Scarbrough RBDallas Cowboys
Rd 7Joshua Frazier DTPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 124

The 2017 roster

124 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

10 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠113–⁠22
Auburn7–⁠110–⁠410
LSU6–⁠29–⁠418
South Carolina5–⁠39–⁠4
Mississippi State4–⁠49–⁠419
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Missouri4–⁠47–⁠6
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠6
Ole Miss3–⁠56–⁠6
Florida3–⁠54–⁠7
Vanderbilt1–⁠75–⁠7
Arkansas1–⁠74–⁠8
Tennessee0–⁠84–⁠8

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