1983 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 1983 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 91st overall and 50th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Ray Perkins, in his first year, and played their home games at both Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses (8–4 overall, 4–2 in the SEC). Ray Perkins, who played as a wide receiver for Bear Bryant in the 1960s, was named as the new head coach at Alabama on December 14, 1982, to succeed Bryant after his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach.[1]
| 1983 Alabama Crimson Tide football | |
|---|---|
Sun Bowl champion | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 12 |
| AP | No. 15 |
| 1983 record | 8–4 (4–2 SEC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Captains |
|
| Home stadium | Bryant–Denny Stadium (Capacity: 60,210) Legion Field (Capacity: 75,808) |
| 1983 Southeastern Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Auburn $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Georgia | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Florida | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Alabama | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
After opening the season with four consecutive wins and rising to #3 in the AP poll, The Tide suffered a controversial 34–28 loss to Penn State. Trailing 34-7 entering the 4th quarter, Alabama rallied and seemed to be an extra point away from victory after tight end Preston Gothard appeared to catch a game-tying touchdown pass with eight seconds left in the game. One official signaled a touchdown but was overruled by the back judge who ruled Gothard was out of bounds. Video replay indicated otherwise, however instant replay in college football was still decades away.[2][3] Bama avenged the previous year's losses to LSU and Southern Miss but lost to Tennessee and Auburn again.[4] The Crimson Tide completed their season with a 28–7 victory over SMU in the Sun Bowl.[5]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech* | No. 14 | W 20–7 | 77,413 | ||
| September 17 | 1:30 p.m. | Ole Miss | No. 12 | W 40–0 | 60,210 | ||
| September 24 | 7:00 p.m. | at Vanderbilt | No. 6 | W 44–24 | 41,418 | ||
| October 1 | 1:30 p.m. | Memphis State* | No. 6 | W 44–13 | 60,210 | ||
| October 8 | 2:30 p.m. | at Penn State* | No. 3 | CBS | L 28–34 | 85,614 | |
| October 15 | 1:30 p.m. | Tennessee | No. 11 | L 34–41 | 77,237 | ||
| October 29 | 1:30 p.m. | Mississippi State | No. 18 | W 35–18 | 60,210 | ||
| November 5 | 11:30 a.m. | at LSU | No. 19 | ABC | W 32–26 | 70,606 | |
| November 12 | 1:30 p.m. | Southern Miss* | No. 16 | W 28–16 | 74,424 | ||
| November 25 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 15 Boston College* | No. 13 | CBS | L 13–20 | 58,047 | |
| December 3 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Auburn | No. 19 | ABC | L 20–23 | 77,310 | |
| December 24 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. No. 6 SMU* | CBS | W 28–7 | 41,412 | ||
| |||||||
- Source: Rolltide.com All-time Football Results: 1983 Season[6]
References
General
- "1983 Game Recaps". 1984 Alabama Football Media Guide (PDF). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: UA Athletics Media Relations Office. 1984. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
Specific
- Steve, Martin (December 15, 1982). "Giants' Ray Perkins taking coaching job". The Tuscaloosa News. Google News. p. 1A. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- Neff, Craig (October 17, 1983). "They're Lion low no more". Sports Illustrated. SI.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2013-08-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- 1983 Game Recaps, Game Nos. 6, 8, 9, 11
- 1983 Game Recaps, Game No. 12
- "All-time Football Results: 1983 Season". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Archived from the original on December 2, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.