Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: The 1978 National Champions
Alabama’s near-miss for the 1977 national title, when the Crimson Tide finished second in both the final Associated Press and coaches’ polls, served as prime motivation the following season.
However, if it wasn’t already enough of a target for opponents after being ranked No. 1 in the preseason, the schedule was arguably the toughest in program history, with Alabama set to play Nebraska, Missouri, Southern California, Washington, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, LSU and Auburn, followed by the presumably difficult bowl opponent.
The chances of finishing undefeated appeared slim, and sure enough Alabama did stumble after cruising through both the Cornhuskers 20-3, thanks in part to a 99-yard touchdown drive, and Missouri 38-20.
When Southern California pulled out a 24-14 victory in Birmingham, it not only knocked Alabama from the top ranking, but would come back to haunt the Crimson Tide some more.
Led by the defense, Alabama didn’t suffer another setback, closing the regular season with a 34-16 victory against Auburn in the Iron Bowl. It set up what appeared to be a natural national championship game between No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl – a game they still regularly talk about in Tuscaloosa.
As the scoreless game approached halftime, Alabama was content to run out the clock when Penn State coach Joe Paterno called two timeouts in hopes of getting the ball back and taking a shot at some points. However, the strategy backfired when Tony Nathan broke a 30-yard run, and quarterback Jeff Rutledge found split end Bruce Bolton for a 30-yard touchdown with eight seconds remaining until the break.
An interception helped the Nittany Lions tie the game in the third quarter, but Alabama again took the lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by running back Major Ogilvie.
Penn State appeared to get a huge break with 7:57 remaining, when Joe Lally landed on a misdirected pitchout at the Alabama 19, and it wasn’t long before the Nittany Lions were on the verge of tying the game, with third-and-goal at the 1.
Paterno decided he wanted to run it in, but the Tide defense refused to yield. After the third-down play came up short, the call was a run up the gut by Mike Guman, who instead of barging into the end zone was stopped cold by first-team All-American linebacker Barry Krauss and the rest of the defense. Alabama held, but Krauss took the brunt of the collision and after a few scary seconds from not being able to move ran off the field under his own power.
Although Alabama went three-and-out on its subsequent possession, with the series-ending punt shanked, giving Peen State first down at the 30, the Nittany Lions were flagged for having too many men on the field. With a second chance, the Tide effectively drove down the field and ran out the clock. Meanwhile, the defense held Penn State to just 19 rushing yards.
With the impressive, and hard-hitting, victory, Alabama began celebrating Paul W. "Bear" Bryant’s fifth national championship, only to be surprised by the final polls.
As expected, Alabama was voted No. 1 by the Associated Press, but United Press International voters promoted Southern California up from No. 3. The argument by some was that the Trojans deserved to be ahead of the Crimson Tide after their regular-season victory, even though both teams had one loss.
The result was a split national title.
The 1978 Crimson Tide
11-1, national champions, SEC champions
Sept. 2 Nebraska Birmingham W 20-3
Sept. 16 Missouri Columbia W 38-20
Sept. 23 Southern Cal Birmingham L 14-24
Sept. 30 Vanderbilt Tuscaloosa W 51-28
Oct. 7 Washington Seattle W 20-17
Oct. 14 Florida Tuscaloosa W 23-12
Oct. 21 Tennessee Knoxville W 30-17
Oct. 28 Virginia Tech Tuscaloosa W 35-0
Nov. 4 Mississippi State Birmingham W 35-14
Nov. 11 LSU Birmingham W 31-10
Dec. 2 Auburn Birmingham W 34-16
Jan. 1, 1979 Penn State Sugar Bowl W 14-7
Total points: 345-168
Coach: Paul W. “Bear” Bryant
Captains: Marty Lyons, Jeff Rutledge, Tony Nathan
Ranking (AP): Preseason No. 1; Postseason No. 1.
All-American: First team _ Barry Krauss, linebacker; Marty Lyons, defensive tackle. Second team _ Dwight Stephenson, center.
All-SEC (first team): Mike Brock, tackle; Jim Bunch, tackle; Wayne Hamilton, defensive end; E.J. Junior, defensive end; Barry Krauss, linebacker; Murray Legg, safety; Marty Lyons, defensive tackle; Dwight Stephenson, center.
Leaders: Rushing _ Tony Nathan (770 yards, 111 carries); Passing _ Jeff Rutledge (73 of 140, 1,078 yards); Receiving _ Keith Pugh (20 catches, 446 yards).
Some of this post originated from "100 Things Crimson tide Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," published by Triumph Books
