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2020 Alabama

13–⁠0 (10–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2020, game by game: won at Missouri 38–19; won vs. No. 13 Texas A&M 52–24; won at Ole Miss 63–48; won vs. No. 3 Georgia 41–24; won at Tennessee 48–17; won vs. Mississippi State 41–0; won vs. Kentucky 63–3; won vs. No. 22 Auburn 42–13; won at LSU 55–17; won at Arkansas 52–3; won vs. No. 11 Florida 52–46; won vs. No. 2 Notre Dame 31–14; won vs. No. 3 Ohio State 52–24+60Won 38–19 at Missouri+19MissouriWon 52–24 vs. No. 13 Texas A&M+28No. 13 Texas A&MWon 63–48 at Ole Miss+15Ole MissWon 41–24 vs. No. 3 Georgia+17No. 3 GeorgiaWon 48–17 at Tennessee+31TennesseeWon 41–0 vs. Mississippi State+41Mississippi Sta…Won 63–3 vs. Kentucky+60KentuckyWon 42–13 vs. No. 22 Auburn+29No. 22 AuburnWon 55–17 at LSU+38LSUWon 52–3 at Arkansas+49ArkansasWon 52–46 vs. No. 11 Florida+6No. 11 FloridaWon 31–14 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame+17No. 2 Notre DameWon 52–24 vs. No. 3 Ohio State+28No. 3 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 26atMissouriW 38–⁠1969%
Oct 3vs13Texas A&MW 52–⁠2475%
Oct 10atOle MissW 63–⁠4879%
Oct 17vs3GeorgiaW 41–⁠2461%
Oct 24atTennesseeW 48–⁠1775%
Oct 31vsMississippi StateW 41–⁠090%
Nov 21vsKentuckyW 63–⁠384%
Nov 28vs22AuburnW 42–⁠1377%
Dec 5atLSUW 55–⁠1766%
Dec 12atArkansasW 52–⁠390%
Dec 19vs11FloridaSEC Championship GameW 52–⁠4668%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2Notre DameRose Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 31–⁠1463%
Jan 11Bowls & playoffvs3Ohio StateCFP National ChampionshipW 52–⁠2456%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio State 52–⁠24 in the CFP National Championship; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

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

AP poll, week by week

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

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

Southeastern Conference champions10–⁠0 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Heisman voteMac Jones, third; Najee Harris, fifth

Led the nationMac Jones: passing yards (4,500 yds), passer rating (203.1), total offense (4,514 yds); Najee Harris: rushing touchdowns (26 TD), points (180 pts); DeVonta Smith: receptions (117 catches), receiving yards (1,856 yds), receiving touchdowns (23 TD)

Heisman TrophyDeVonta Smith, WR; also the Maxwell, Walter Camp, Biletnikoff and Hornung

Davey O’Brien AwardMac Jones, QB; also the Unitas Golden Arm and Manning

Doak Walker AwardNajee Harris, RB

Rimington TrophyLandon Dickerson, C

Outland TrophyAlex Leatherwood, OT

6 consensus All-AmericansMac Jones, QB; Najee Harris, RB; DeVonta Smith, WR; Alex Leatherwood, OT; Landon Dickerson, C; Patrick Surtain II, DB

Paul “Bear” Bryant AwardNick Saban, coach

Broyles AwardSteve Sarkisian, coach

Record
13–⁠0
Conference
10–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
630–⁠252
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1923 +205 this season
SP+ rating
28.3 No. 2 of 130; offense No. 1, defense No. 12
SRS
31.1 No. 1 of 77 in FBS
Returning
50% of last season’s EPA, No. 91 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 2 roster talent No. 2 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Steve Sarkisian
Defensive coordinators
Pete Golding and Charles Kelly
Captains
Landon Dickerson, DeVonta Smith, Alex Leatherwood and Mac Jones
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 127
  • Defense28th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted1st of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted6th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.4156%1.282nd of 127
Defense0.0338%1.2628th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.35 off
0.01 def		54% off
37% def		—1st 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
Offense5.2own 3011% allowed
Defense2.9own 2618% caused

CORE rating 31.4, 1st of 127 (offense 25.9, defense -5.4).

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 yardsMac Jones QB4,500 yds
Passing touchdownsMac Jones QB41 TD
Rushing yardsNajee Harris RB1,466 yds
Rushing touchdownsNajee Harris RB26 TD
Receiving yardsDeVonta Smith WR1,856 yds
Receiving touchdownsDeVonta Smith WR23 TD
TacklesChristian Harris LB73 tkl
SacksChristian Barmore DL6 sacks
InterceptionsMalachi Moore DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Bryce Young DUAL★★★★★No. 2
Will Anderson WDE★★★★★No. 17
Chris Braswell WDE★★★★★No. 19
Drew Sanders ATH★★★★★No. 22
Demouy Kennedy ILB★★★★No. 39
Jase McClellan RB★★★★No. 47
Tim Smith DT★★★★No. 56
Brian Branch S★★★★No. 61

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.999
Running backs33.70.943
Receivers43.80.913
Offensive line33.70.891
Defensive line64.20.934
Linebackers34.00.961
Defensive backs34.00.931
Athletes and specialists34.00.905
Whole class264.00.929

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 1Jaylen Waddle WRMiami Dolphins
Rd 1Pat Surtain II CBDenver Broncos
Rd 1DeVonta Smith WRPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 1Mac Jones QBNew England Patriots
Rd 1Alex Leatherwood OTLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 1Najee Harris RBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 2Landon Dickerson CPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 2Christian Barmore DTNew England Patriots
Rd 6Deonte Brown OGCarolina Panthers
Rd 6Thomas Fletcher LSCarolina Panthers

Roster 133

The 2020 roster

133 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

9 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2020 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama10–⁠013–⁠01
Texas A&M8–⁠19–⁠14
Florida8–⁠28–⁠413
Georgia7–⁠28–⁠27
Auburn6–⁠46–⁠5
LSU5–⁠55–⁠5
Missouri5–⁠55–⁠5
Ole Miss4–⁠55–⁠5
Kentucky4–⁠65–⁠6
Mississippi State3–⁠74–⁠7
Arkansas3–⁠73–⁠7
Tennessee3–⁠73–⁠7
South Carolina2–⁠82–⁠8
Vanderbilt0–⁠90–⁠9

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