1995 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

1995 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
AP	No. 21
1995 record	8–3 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach	Gene Stallings (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Homer Smith
Defensive coordinator	Bill Oliver (3rd season)
Captains	Shannon Brown Brian Burgdorf Tony Johnson John Walters
Home stadium	Bryant–Denny Stadium (Capacity: 70,123) Legion Field (Capacity: 83,091)
Seasons ← 1994 1996 →

1995 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Eastern Division
No. 2 Florida x$	8	–	0	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Tennessee	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Georgia	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina	2	–	5	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Kentucky	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Western Division
Arkansas x	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	5	–	0
No. 21 Alabama	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 22 Auburn	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
LSU	4	–	3	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Ole Miss	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Championship: Florida 34, Arkansas 3
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1995 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama for the 1995–96 college football season, competing in the Western Division in the Southeastern Conference. The team played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Gene Stallings led the Crimson Tide to an 8–3 record. Due to NCAA sanctions, no bowl appearance was made.

The early-season victory over Southern Miss came in dramatic fashion, as Alabama completed a 36-yard pass on 4th down for a go-ahead touchdown with under 30 seconds left in the game. The three games Alabama lost were also particularly noteworthy. The game against Arkansas featured a last-minute 4th-and-goal touchdown pass by Arkansas, giving them the win; however, replays later showed the ball was clearly trapped. This call, along with a missed twelve-men-on-the-field penalty on Arkansas' final drive led to the suspension of the officiating crew the following week. The 41–14 blowout loss to Tennessee marked the Vols first win over the Tide since 1985, ending Alabama's 9-game unbeaten streak. The season-ending loss at Auburn also featured a questionable last-minute call regarding a pass. Alabama QB Freddie Kitchens had apparently hit Curtis Brown for a late go-ahead touchdown, but officials ruled Brown out of bounds.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	7:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	No. 11	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	PPV	W 33–25	40,880	[1]
September 9	2:00 p.m.	Southern Miss*	No. 13	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	PPV	W 24–20	83,091	[2]
September 16	11:30 a.m.	Arkansas	No. 13	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	JPS	L 19–20	70,123	[3]
September 30	11:00 a.m.	at Georgia	No. 20	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	ABC	W 31–0	86,117	[4]
October 7	2:30 p.m.	NC State*	No. 16	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	W 27–11	70,123	[5]
October 14	6:30 p.m.	No. 6 Tennessee	No. 11	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October) (College GameDay)	ESPN	L 14–41	83,091	[6]
October 21	2:00 p.m.	at Ole Miss	No. 21	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)		W 23–9	44,312	[7]
October 28	2:30 p.m.	North Texas*	No. 18	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	W 38–19	70,123	[8]
November 4	2:30 p.m.	LSU	No. 16	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ABC	W 10–3	70,123	[9]
November 11	11:30 a.m.	Mississippi State	No. 16	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	JPS	W 14–9	70,123	[10]
November 18	4:30 p.m.	at No. 21 Auburn	No. 17	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (Iron Bowl) (College GameDay)	ESPN	L 27–31	85,214	[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Source: Rolltide.com: 1995 Alabama football schedule^[12]

Roster[]

1995 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 87 Dwayne Rudd Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Gene Stallings Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Coaching staff[]

Name	Position	Consecutive seasons at Alabama
Gene Stallings	Head coach	6th
Homer Smith	Offensive coordinator	2nd
Woody McCorvey	Wide receivers Coach	6th
Danny Pearman	Offensive Tackles coach/Special teams coordinator	5th
Jim Fuller	Offensive Line Coach	12th
Randy Ross	Quarterbacks coach/Recruiting Coordinator	6th
Ivy Williams	Running backs coach	2nd
Bill Oliver	Defensive coordinator/Secondary coach	6th
Mike Dubose	Defensive line coach	6th
Jeff Rouzie	Linebackers coach	5th
Reference:[13]

Game summaries[]

Vanderbilt[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Crimson Tide	7	3	0	23	33
Commodores	7	3	9	6	25

Despite seven turnovers, Alabama was able to use a 23 point 4th quarter to survive a scare against Vanderbilt.

Southern Miss[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	10	7	0	3	20
#13 Crimson Tide	0	3	14	7	24

For the second week in a row, Alabama would have to use a 4th quarter comeback to prevent an upset. Down 20–17 and facing a 4th and 16, Brian Burgdorf threw a 35 yard touchdown pass to Toderick Malone to give Alabama their first lead and the eventual win.

Arkansas[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Razorbacks	10	0	3	7	20
#13 Crimson Tide	3	14	2	0	19

Despite holding a 9 point lead in the third quarter, Alabama could not hold on and would lose to Arkansas for the first time since the join the SEC in 1992.

Georgia[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#20 Crimson Tide	3	14	0	14	31
Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0

Bama defensive lineman Shannon Brown blocked a Georgia 27-yard field goal attempt. Deshea Townsend caught the ball and ran 90 yards for a touchdown. Defensive back Cedric Samuel returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown. DB Kevin Jackson took an interception back 36 yards for another score. UGA quarterback Hines Ward completed one pass and threw an interception before being replaced.^[14]

North Carolina State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	0	0	3	8	11
#16 Crimson Tide	10	3	7	7	27

Alabama would extend their non-conference winning streak to 19 as they would beat the Wolfpack on Homecoming.

Tennessee[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#6 Volunteers	21	7	7	6	41
#11 Crimson Tide	0	7	7	0	14

For the first time since 1985, Tennessee would beat Alabama. The lose of 27 points was the largest margin of defeat at Legion Field since Tennessee replicated that score in 1969.

Ole Miss[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#21 Crimson Tide	9	7	0	7	23
Rebels	0	0	3	6	9

The Alabama defense scored the first nine points of this game. Dwayne Rudd sacked the Ole Miss quarterback who fumbled the ball out of the back end zone for a safety. Later in the first quarter, linebacker Ralph Staten would return an interception 61 yards for a touchdown.

North Texas[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mean Green	0	7	6	6	19
#18 Crimson Tide	0	10	14	14	38

After sleep walking through the first half, Alabama would use 28 points in the second half to pull away and win their 20th straight non conference game.

LSU[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	3	0	0	3
#16 Crimson Tide	0	3	0	7	10

Early in the fourth quarter, Deshea Townsend intercepted a Jamie Howard pass and returned it 17 yards to the LSU 21-yard line. A few plays later, Dennis Riddle would convert a 2-yard touchdown run that proved to be the difference in Alabama's 10-3 win.

Mississippi State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	2	7	0	0	9
#16 Crimson Tide	0	7	7	0	14

For the first time all year, Alabama would not commit a turnover in a game and would use their defense to win for the second week in a row.

Auburn[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
#17 Crimson Tide	14	0	10	3	27
#21 Tigers	14	10	0	7	31

Despite gaining a season high 478 yards of offense and a valiant comeback effort in the second half, Alabama could not score enough points to beat Auburn.

References[]