CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2019 Alabama

11–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2019, game by game: won vs. Duke 42–3; won vs. New Mexico State 62–10; won at South Carolina 47–23; won vs. Southern Miss 49–7; won vs. Ole Miss 59–31; won at No. 24 Texas A&M 47–28; won vs. Tennessee 35–13; won vs. Arkansas 48–7; lost vs. No. 1 LSU 41–46; won at Mississippi State 38–7; won vs. Western Carolina 66–3; lost at No. 16 Auburn 45–48; won vs. No. 17 Michigan 35–16+63−5Won 42–3 vs. Duke+39DukeWon 62–10 vs. New Mexico State+52New Mexico StateWon 47–23 at South Carolina+24South CarolinaWon 49–7 vs. Southern Miss+42Southern MissWon 59–31 vs. Ole Miss+28Ole MissWon 47–28 at No. 24 Texas A&M+19No. 24 Texas A&MWon 35–13 vs. Tennessee+22TennesseeWon 48–7 vs. Arkansas+41ArkansasLost 41–46 vs. No. 1 LSU-5No. 1 LSUWon 38–7 at Mississippi State+31Mississippi Sta…Won 66–3 vs. Western Carolina+63Western CarolinaLost 45–48 at No. 16 Auburn-3No. 16 AuburnWon 35–16 vs. No. 17 Michigan+19No. 17 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsDukeW 42–⁠377%
Sep 7vsNew Mexico StateW 62–⁠1094%
Sep 14atSouth CarolinaW 47–⁠2376%
Sep 21vsSouthern MissW 49–⁠787%
Sep 28vsOle MissW 59–⁠3190%
Oct 12at24Texas A&MW 47–⁠2870%
Oct 19vsTennesseeW 35–⁠1392%
Oct 26vsArkansasW 48–⁠795%
Nov 9vs1LSUL 41–⁠4665%
Nov 16atMississippi StateW 38–⁠776%
Nov 23vsWestern CarolinaW 66–⁠398%
Nov 30at16AuburnL 45–⁠4863%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs17MichiganCitrus BowlW 35–⁠1663%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 35–⁠16 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

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

Led the nationJaylen Waddle: punt return average (24.4)

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 1
Points
614–⁠242
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1826 +66 this season
SP+ rating
32.4 No. 3 of 130; offense No. 2, defense No. 3, special teams No. 83
SRS
24.5 No. 3 of 130 in FBS
Returning
70% of last season’s EPA, No. 47 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 1 roster talent No. 1 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Steve Sarkisian
Defensive coordinators
Pete Golding and Charles Kelly
Captains
Anfernee Jennings, DeVonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa and Xavier McKinney
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 130
  • Defense4th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted7th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3752%1.372nd of 130
Defense-0.0540%1.104th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.33 off
-0.03 def		53% off
39% def		—3rd off
7th 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
Offense4.7own 3315% allowed
Defense2.6own 2823% caused

CORE rating 33.7, 3rd of 130 (offense 22.7, defense -10.9).

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 yardsTua Tagovailoa QB2,840 yds
Passing touchdownsTua Tagovailoa QB33 TD
Rushing yardsNajee Harris RB1,224 yds
Rushing touchdownsNajee Harris RB13 TD
Receiving yardsDeVonta Smith WR1,256 yds
Receiving touchdownsDeVonta Smith WR14 TD
TacklesXavier McKinney DB95 tkl
SacksAnfernee Jennings LB8 sacks
InterceptionsJared Mayden DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Antonio Alfano SDE★★★★★No. 5
Trey Sanders RB★★★★★No. 6
Evan Neal OT★★★★★No. 7
Pierce Quick OT★★★★No. 40
Jordan Battle S★★★★No. 43
Ishmael Sopsher DT★★★★No. 47
Justin Eboigbe SDE★★★★No. 62
Amari Kight OT★★★★No. 76

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks33.30.868
Running backs33.70.889
Receivers33.30.868
Offensive line54.20.954
Defensive line84.10.953
Linebackers24.00.958
Defensive backs54.00.959
Athletes and specialists13.00.846
Whole class303.90.927

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 1Tua Tagovailoa QBMiami Dolphins
Rd 1Jedrick Wills Jr. OTCleveland Browns
Rd 1Henry Ruggs III WRLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 1Jerry Jeudy WRDenver Broncos
Rd 2Xavier McKinney SNew York Giants
Rd 2Trevon Diggs CBDallas Cowboys
Rd 2Raekwon Davis DTMiami Dolphins
Rd 3Terrell Lewis OLBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 3Anfernee Jennings OLBNew England Patriots

Roster 123

The 2019 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

8 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2019 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2019 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
LSU8–⁠015–⁠01
Georgia7–⁠112–⁠24
Alabama6–⁠211–⁠28
Florida6–⁠211–⁠26
Auburn5–⁠39–⁠414
Tennessee5–⁠38–⁠5
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠5
Kentucky3–⁠58–⁠5
Missouri3–⁠56–⁠6
Mississippi State3–⁠56–⁠7
South Carolina3–⁠54–⁠8
Ole Miss2–⁠64–⁠8
Vanderbilt1–⁠73–⁠9
Arkansas0–⁠82–⁠10

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