Alabama football: 5 best seasons in program history
Alabama football claims an absurd 17 National Championships but which seasons earn the honor as the five best in Crimson Tide history?
In the modern era of the sport and in the days of Paul Bryant, better known as Bear, there was college football, there were the elite programs in college football and then there’s Alabama football above the rest. The Crimson Tide have established a tradition of excellence that has lasted for over a century in Tuscaloosa, most recently with Nick Saban carrying the torch.
While Alabama football has only produced two Heisman Trophy winners in their history, the program success far outdoes that mark. The Crimson Tide claim 17 National Championships, including five since 2009. And even when they aren’t winning the natty, Bama is still often among the best teams in the country.
So when you’re trying to talk about the all-time great seasons in the history of the Crimson Tide, it isn’t like looking through the history of most programs. You can’t just look for the hardware and go from there. Instead, you have to break down the dominance of each title won and evaluate them in that regard.
With that taken into account, let’s delve into the five best seasons in Alabama football history.
5. 2015
Record: 14-1 | Finish: National Champions, beat Clemson 45-40 in CFP National Championship
Alabama ended the 2014 season on a sour note as they lost in the College Football Playoff semifinal (Sugar Bowl) to Ohio State. It was clear that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide were hungry to avenge that loss and get back to the highest of highs in college football after that season. And they were going to ride running back Derrick Henry to do that.
The 2015 season is notable in the history of the Crimson Tide as Henry became just the second player in the history of the program to win the Heisman Trophy and deservedly so. The back was an absolute workhorse for Bama as he carried the ball an absurd 395 times for a nation-leading 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Beyond Henry’s individual dominance, however, wasn’t the only thing of note that season. While the Crimson Tide fell in the third game of the season against Ole Miss, they were dominant at almost every other turn. The 2015 squad notched all but one of their 11 regular-season wins by double-digits. They continued that with a 29-15 beating of Florida in the SEC Championship Game and then embarrassing Michigan State in the CFP semifinal (Cotton Bowl) with a 38-0 rout.
Ranked No. 2 in the country, that set the stage for a date with Clemson for the National Championship. Despite a heroic effort from Deshaun Watson, who the Crimson Tide defense didn’t have many answers for, Henry starred with three rushing scores while Jake Coker and O.J. Howard came up clutch with two touchdown connections to push Alabama to a 45-40 win in a thriller.
When you take in the totality of the 2015 Alabama season, I don’t see how you can leave it out of the top five seasons in program history.