1974Alabama Crimson Tide football
SEC champion
Orange Bowl,L 11–13 vs.Notre Dame
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 5
Record	11–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach	Bear Bryant (17th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bud Moore (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Ken Donahue (1st season)
Base defense	5–2
Captains	Sylvester Croom Ricky Davis
Home stadium	Denny Stadium Legion Field
Seasons ← 1973 1975 →

The1974 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented theUniversity of Alabama in the1974 NCAA Division I football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 80th overall and 41st season as a member of theSoutheastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coachBear Bryant, in his 17th year, and played their home games atDenny Stadium inTuscaloosa andLegion Field inBirmingham, Alabama. They finished season with eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 6–0 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a loss toNotre Dame in theOrange Bowl.

As they entered the 1974 season, the Crimson Tide were one of the favorites to compete for the national championship. In their first game of the season, Alabama narrowly escaped with a win atMaryland in what was Bryant's first visit toCollege Park since he resigned as the Terrapins' head coach after their1945 season. They followed with victories overSouthern Miss,Vanderbilt andOle Miss before they played in their closest game of the season againstFlorida State. Although the Crimson Tide entered their contest against the 0-4 Seminoles as a heavy favorite, they trailed for nearly the entire game until Bucky Berrey connected on the game-winningfield goal from 36-yards out with only 0:33 left in the game. It was the closest Florida State would come to victory until scoring their only win atMiami in their ninth game to break a 20-game losing streakdating back to1972.

In their next game, Alabama defeated rivalTennessee. After the Vols scored on a second quarter touchdown run, the Crimson Tide defense did not surrender another for 17 consecutive quarters againstTCU,Mississippi State,LSU, andMiami. Alabama then closed the season with anIron Bowl victory overAuburn, but then failed to capture the national championship after they lost toNotre Dame in theOrange Bowl. The loss extended their winless streak inbowl games to eight(0–7–1), which ended thefollowing year.

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 14	at No. 14Maryland*	No. 3	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD		W 21–16	54,412
September 21	Southern Miss*	No. 5	Legion Field Birmingham, AL		W 52–0	65,181
September 28	Vanderbilt	No. 4	Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL		W 23–10	58,419
October 5	atOle Miss	No. 3	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	ABC	W 35–21	45,500
October 12	Florida State*	No. 3	Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL		W 8–7	58,394
October 19	atTennessee	No. 4	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)		W 28–6	74,286
October 26	TCU*	No. 4	Legion Field Birmingham, AL		W 41–3	63,191
November 2	No. 17Mississippi State	No. 4	Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)		W 35–0	59,069
November 9	LSU	No. 3	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)	ABC	W 30–0	70,364
November 16	atMiami*	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 28–7	26,265
November 29	vs. No. 7Auburn	No. 2	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)	ABC	W 17–13	71,224
January 1, 1975	vs. No. 9Notre Dame*	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	NBC	L 11–13	71,801
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game

^[1]

As they entered their first game of the 1974 season, Alabama was ranked as the USA's No. 3 team andMaryland, coached by Bryant discipleJerry Claiborne, as the No. 14 team in theAP Poll.^[4] Before what was then the largest crowd to ever attend a college football game in the state of Maryland, the Crimson Tide entered the game as a two-touchdown favorite, but struggled to a 21–16 win over theTerrapins.^[2][3][5] Alabama took a 14–0 lead in the second quarter behind a pair of Calvin Culliver touchdown runs. He scored one in each of the first two quarter with the first from seven and the second from 73-yards.^[2][3] The Terrapins responded with a pair ofSteve Mike-Mayerfield goals from 32 and 35-yards in the second and one from 40-yards in the third that cut the lead to 14–9.^[2][3]

AfterRichard Todd extended the Crimson Tide lead to 21–9 with his one-yard touchdown run in the third,Louis Carter made the final score 21–16 with his one-yard touchdown run for Maryland in the fourth.^[2][3] This game also marked the first for coach Bryant at College Park since he resigned as the Terrapins' head coach after their1945 season.^[2] For his two touchdown, 169 yard performance, Culliver was recognized as the AP Southeastern Back of the Week.^[6] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Maryland to 2–1.^[7]

After their closer than expected victory over Maryland, Alabama dropped into the No. 5 position of theAP Poll prior to their game againstSouthern Miss.^[10] Against theGolden Eagles the Crimson Tide amassed 643 yards of total offense en route to this 52–0 victory at Legion Field.^[5][8][9] Alabama took a 7–0 first quarter lead on an 11-yardRichard Todd touchdown run. They then extended it to 21–0 at halftime behind a 42-yard Todd touchdown pass to Russ Schamun and a five-yard Randy Billingsley touchdown run.^[8][9]

A 30-yard Jack O'Rear touchdown run in the third made the score 28–0 as they entered the fourth quarter. In the final period, Danny Ridgeway connected on a 27-yardfield goal and touchdowns were scored on runs of 25, 11 and 50-yards by Ralph Stokes, Rick Watson and John Boles respectively.^[8][9] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Southern Miss to 14–2–1.^[11]

After their victory over Southern Miss, Alabama moved into the No. 4 position in the AP Poll prior to their game againstVanderbilt.^[14] Against theCommodores, Vanderbilt, coached bySteve Sloan, the starting quarterback for the Tide's 1965 national championship team, kept it close, but ultimately fell to the Crimson Tide 23–10 in the first Tuscaloosa game of the season.^[5][12][13] After Calvin Culliver gave Alabama a 7–0 lead with his 85-yard touchdown run, Mark Adams connected on a 20-yardfield goal for Vanderbilt that made the score 7–3 at the end of the first quarter. A 36-yard Bucky Berrey field goal in the second quarter gave the Crimson Tide a 10–3 halftime lead.^[12][13]

In the third,Richard Todd threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Russ Schamun and Berrey connected on a 42-yard field goal that made the score 20–3 as the teams entered the final quarter. In the fourth, Danny Ridgeway connected on a 27-yard field goal for Alabama and Fred Fisher threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Walter Overton for the Commodores that made the final score 23–10.^[12][13] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 31–17–4.^[15]

After their victory over Vanderbilt, Alabama moved into the No. 3 position in the AP Poll prior to their game againstOle Miss.^[18] Playing before a televised audience, the Crimson Tide defeated theRebels 35–21 at Jackson.^[5][16][17] Alabama took an early 7–0 lead on a three-yard James Taylor run in the first quarter. After the Rebels tied the game 7–7 on a nine-yard Kenneth Lyons touchdown run in the second, the Crimson Tide responded with a three-yard Willie Shelby touchdown run for a 14–7 halftime lead.^[16][17]

In the third, Ole Miss briefly took a 21–14 lead after touchdowns were scored on a one-yard Lyons run and a 42-yard Gary Turnerinterception return.^[16][17] Alabama responded with a pair of third quarter touchdowns of their own on runs of 58-yards by Shelby and eight-yards by Rick Watson. A one-yardRichard Todd touchdown run in the fourth quarter made the final score 35–21.^[16][17] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Ole Miss to 23–5–2.^[19]

After their victory over Ole Miss, Alabama retained their No. 3 position in the AP Poll prior to their game againstFlorida State.^[22]Against theSeminoles, the Crimson Tide trailed until the final minute of regulation when Bucky Berrey converted the game-winningfield goal for the 8–7 victory.^[5][20][21] The Seminoles took the openingkickoff and drove 78-yards on nine plays for a 7–0 lead behind a six-yardLarry Key touchdown run.^[20][21]

Florida State, which was 0-11 in 1973 and would finish 1974 1-10, continued to hold their touchdown lead through the third quarter when the Crimson Tide scored their first points on a 44-yard Berrey field goal. With just 1:27 left in the game, Seminoles head coachDarrell Mudra elected to take an intentionalsafety instead of attempting apunt out of the endzone. He made this decision as Alabama had been close on a couple of previous attempts to block punts during the game, and did not want a block to occur in the endzone.^[20] Down now 7–5, the Crimson Tide drove into field goal territory and Berrey hit the game winner from 36-yards out with only 0:33 left in the game.^[21] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Florida State to 2–0–1.^[23]

After their closer than expected victory over Florida State, Alabama dropped into the No. 4 position prior to their game atTennessee.^[26] Both Willie Shelby and Calvin Culliver each scored a pair of touchdowns for the Crimson Tide in this 28–6 victory over theVolunteers.^[5][24][25] After a scoreless first, Alabama took a 7–0 on a 13-yard touchdown run by Willie Shelby in the second quarter. Tennessee responded with their only points on a 64-yardStanley Morgan touchdown run and made the halftime score 7–6.^[24][25]

The Crimson Tide extended their lead to 21–6 at the end of the third behind touchdown runs of 19-yards by Shelby and 30-yards by Calvin Culliver. Culliver then scored the final points of the game with his six-yard touchdown run that made the final score 28–6.^[24][25] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 27–23–7.^[27]

After their victory over Tennessee, Alabama retained their No. 4 position prior to their out of conference match-up againstTexas Christian University (TCU) at Legion Field.^[30]Against theHorned Frogs of theSouthwest Conference, Alabama won 41–3 for their first all-time victory over TCU.^[5][28][29] The Crimson Tide took a 14–0 lead in the first quarter behind touchdown runs of four and one-yard by Robert Fraley and Rick Watson before TCU scored their only points on a 30-yard Tony Biasattifield goal in the second. Alabama responded with a five-yard Robert Fraley touchdown pass to George Pugh just prior to the break that made the score 21–3 at halftime.^[28][29]

The Crimson Tide continued their scoring with three second half touchdowns en route to their 41–3 victory.Ozzie Newsome scored on a 15-yard Fraley pass in the third and Jack O'Rear threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Brown and scored on a 21-yard run in the fourth.^[28][29] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against TCU to 1–3.^[31]

As they entered their game againstMississippi State, Alabama retained their No. 4 position in the AP Poll and theBulldogs were in the No. 17 position.^[34] Onhomecoming and before what was then the largest crowd in the history of Denny Stadium, the Crimson Tide shutout Mississippi State 35–0 for the second consecutive season.^[5][32][33] Alabama took a 6–0 first quarter lead behind a one-yard Robert Fraley touchdown run. They then extended it to 19–0 at halftime behind touchdown runs of one-yard by Calvin Culliver and two-yards byRichard Todd.^[32][33]

After a scoreless third, the Crimson Tide closed the game with 16 fourth quarter points for the 35–0 win. Touchdowns were scored in the final period on runs of seven-yards by Randy Billingsley and five-yards by Ray Sewell with a 42-yard Bucky Berreyfield goal providing for the final margin.^[32][33] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 46–10–3.^[35]

After their victory over Mississippi State, Alabama moved into the No. 3 position in the AP Poll prior to their nationally televised game againstLSU.^[38] With their 30–0 victory over the rivalTigers, the Crimson Tide secured both a share of the 1974 conference championship and a place in theOrange Bowl.^[5][36][37]

Alabama took a 7–0 first quarter lead behind a one-yard Calvin Culliver touchdown run. They extended it further to 23–0 at halftime after points were scored on a 20-yard Danny Ridgewayfield goal, a 29-yardRicky Davisfumble return and on a three-yardRichard Todd touchdown run.^[36][37] After a scoreless third, the Crimson Tide closed with a two-yard Jack O'Rear touchdown run in the fourth for the 30–0 win.^[36][37] For their performances, Willie Shelby was recognized as the SEC Back of the Week andLeroy Cook was recognized as the SEC Lineman of the Week.^[39] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 24–10–4.^[40]

As they entered their game againstMiami, Alabama moved into the No. 2 position in the AP Poll.^[43] Before a relatively small crowd (one-third the size of the sellout crowd which jammed the Orange Bowl the next day to watch the Miami Dolphins defeat the Buffalo Bills), Alabama defeated theHurricanes 28–7 and secured Bryant's 150th victory as head coach of the Crimson Tide.^[5][41][42] The Crimson Tide opened the game with a pair of eight-yardRichard Todd touchdown passes to George Pugh and Jerry Brown for a 14–0 lead. They then extended their lead to 21–0 at halftime behind a 12-yard Gary Rutledge touchdown run in the second quarter.^[41][42]

After a scoreless third, Miami scored their only points on a one-yard Johnny Williams touchdown run in the fourth that marked the first touchdown scored against the Crimson Tide defense in 17 quarters.^[41] Alabama responded with a 62-yard Willie Shelbypunt return late in the fourth that made the final score 28–7.^[41][42] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Miami to 11–2.^[44]

As they entered the annualIron Bowl, Alabama retained the No. 2 position andAuburn the No. 7 in the AP Poll prior to their match-up at Legion Field.^[47] Against theTigers, the Crimson Tide were victorious as they edged out a 17–13 win at Birmingham.^[5][45][46] Alabama scored on a 45-yardRichard Todd touchdown pass to Willie Shelby in the first and on a 36-yard Bucky Berreyfield goal in the second for a 10–0 lead. Auburn responded with a one-yard Secdrick McIntyre touchdown run late in the second that made the halftime score 10–7.^[45][46]

The Crimson Tide extended their lead to 17–7 early in the third with their only second half points on a 13-yard Calvin Culliver touchdown run. The Tigers then brought the final margin to 17–13 with a two-yard Phil Gargis touchdown run in the fourth.^[45][46] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 21–17–1.^[48]

Playing for what would have been a second consecutive UPI national championship againstNotre Dame, Alabama wasupset by theFighting Irish 13–11 in theOrange Bowl.^[49][50] Notre Dame took a 13–0 lead behind touchdown runs of four-yards by Wayne Bullock in the first and nine-yards by Mark McLane in the second quarter. A 21-yard Danny Ridgewayfield goal for Alabama made the halftime score 13–3.^[49][50] After a scoreless third, the Crimson Tide scored the final points of the game on a 48-yardRichard Todd touchdown pass to Russ Schamun that made the final score 13–11.^[49][50] The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Notre Dame to 0–2.^[51]

Several players that werevarsity lettermen from the 1974 squad were selected in theNFL draft in the 1975, 1976 and 1977. These players included:

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