1967 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

To open the 1967 season, Alabama played the Florida State Seminoles to a 37–37 tie and ended a 17-game unbeaten and untied streak that stretched back to their 1965 season.[9][10][11] The Seminoles opened with a pair of early touchdowns first on an 11-yard Kim Hammond pass to Ron Sellers and next on a 75-yard Walt Sumner punt return for a 14–0 lead.[9][10] The Crimson Tide then responded with touchdowns on a two-yard Ken Stabler run and a 51-yard Stabler pass to Dennis Homan coupled with a successful two-point conversion for a 15–14 lead at the end of the first quarter.[9][10] In the second quarter, Florida State scored first on a 27-yard Grant Guthrie field goal followed by Alabama with an 11-yard Ed Morgan touchdown run. The Seminoles then scored on a 13-yard Hammond touchdown pass to Larry Green for a 24–22 halftime lead.[9][10]

After Florida State scored the only third quarter points in the third quarter on a 38-yard Guthrie field goal, both teams traded fourth quarter points for the 37–37 tie.[9][10] After Stabler threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Homan, the Seminoles responded with a 23-yard Guthrie field goal. Then in the final minutes of the game, Alabama scored their final points on a three-yard Morgan run only to have Florida State tie the game at 37 with their eight-yard touchdown pass to Bill Moremen.[9][10] The tie brought Alabama's all-time record against Florida State to 1–0–1.[12]

After their tie against Florida State, Alabama dropped from the No. 2 to the No. 9 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Southern Miss.[15] In their annual game played at Mobile, Alabama defeated the Southerners 25–3 behind three Ken Stabler touchdown passes to Dennis Homan.[11][13][14] After a scoreless first quarter, Stabler threw his first touchdown to Homan on a 20-yard pass and then Southern Miss scored their only points on a 30-yard Ihor Kondrat field goal that made the halftime score 7–3.[13][14] Stabler then threw touchdowns to Homan from six-yards in the third and 33-yards in the fourth. Steve Davis then converted a 30-yard field goal late that made the final score 25–3.[13][14] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Southern Miss to 9–2–1.[16]

In their conference opener against Ole Miss, Alabama defeated the Rebels 21–7 before a nationally televised audience at Birmingham.[11][17][18] After a scoreless first quarter, the Crimson Tide took a 7–0 halftime lead when Ken Stabler threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Homan.[17][18] Stabler then scored on an eight-yard run in the second and Ed Morgan on a one-yard run that capped an 88-yard drive in the fourth for a 21–0 lead.[17][18] Down by three touchdowns, the Rebels scored their only points in the fourth when backup quarterback Terry Collier threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Mac Haik.[17][18] In the game, Homan led all receivers with 84 yards on eight catches for Alabama and Ole Miss lost five fumbles.[17] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Ole Miss 20–3–2.[19]

After their victory over Ole Miss, Alabama moved up into the No. 7 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt.[22] In an offensive shootout against the Commodores, Alabama won 35–21 at Nashville.[11][20][21] The Crimson Tide took an early 14–0 lead with a pair of Ken Stabler touchdowns in the first quarter. The first came on a 61-yard pass to Dennis Homan and the second on a one-yard run.[20][21] Vanderbilt responded in the second quarter with a pair of David Strong touchdowns that tied the game 14–14. The first came on a seven-yard run and the second on a 13-yard pass from Roger May.[20][21] The Crimson Tide then responded with a 59-yard drive, capped with a 21-yard Steve Davis field goal that gave them a 17–14 halftime lead.[20][21]

After a 31-yard Davis field goal extended the Alabama lead to 20–14, Stabler threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Homan. A successful two-point conversion on a Pete Jilleba run followed, and the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 28–14 at the end of the third quarter.[20][21] The game then closed with each squad scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Alabama scored first on a two-yard Joe Kelley run followed by a seven-yard May pass to Robert Goodridge by the Commodores that made the final score 35–21.[20][21] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 25–16–4.[23]

After their victory over Vanderbilt, Alabama moved into the No. 6 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Tennessee.[26] Against the Volunteers, the Crimson Tide lost their first game since the 1965 season and ended a 25-game unbeaten streak with this 24–13 loss.[11][24][25] After Walter Chadwick scored on a one-yard touchdown run for the Vols, Alabama responded with an eight-yard Ken Stabler touchdown that tied the game 7–7 at the end of the first quarter.[24][25] The score remained tied at the half after a scoreless second quarter.

Tennessee then took a 17–7 lead in the third quarter on an 11-yard Chadwick touchdown pass to Ken DeLong and a 47-yard Karl Kremser field goal.[24][25] Alabama responded with their final points early in the fourth quarter on a one-yard Ed Morgan touchdown run, but a Stabler pass was later intercepted by Albert Dorsey and returned 31-yards for a touchdown and a 24–13 Vols victory.[24][25] The Tennessee win was also their first over the Crimson Tide since the 1960 season.[24] In the game, Stabler threw five interceptions.[24] The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 23–20–7.[27]

As a result of their loss against Tennessee, Alabama dropped completely out of the AP Poll prior to their game against Clemson.[30] In their only non-conference road game of the season, the Crimson Tide narrowly defeated the Tigers of the Atlantic Coast Conference 13–10 at Memorial Stadium.[11][28][29] Alabama took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter on a one-yard run Ed Morgan, and Clemson responded with a 30-yard Steedley Candler field goal that made the score 7–3 at the end of the first.[28][29] Alabama then scored their final points of the game on a pair of Steve Davis field goals in the second that made the halftime score 13–3.[28][29] After a scoreless third, Clemson made the final score 13–10 with a one-yard Buddy Gore touchdown run in the fourth quarter.[28][29] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Clemson to 8–3.[31]

On homecoming in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide shutout the Mississippi State Bulldogs 13–0 at Tuscaloosa.[11][32][33] After a scoreless first quarter, Steve Davis gave Alabama a 3–0 halftime lead with his 24-yard field goal in the second quarter.[32][33] The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a one-yard Tommy Wade touchdown run in the third and a 21-yard field goal in the fourth for the 13–0 victory.[32][33] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 39–10–3.[34]

Although Steve Davis missed three field goals for Alabama in the game, the Crimson Tide defeated the LSU Tigers 7–6 at Tiger Stadium.[11][35][36] After three shutout quarters, Alabama scored their only points early in the fourth on a one-yard Ed Morgan touchdown run for a 7–0 lead.[35][36] Tommy Allen then scored the Tigers only points later in the quarter with his four-yard run. However, Roy Hurd missed the extra point attempt and LSU lost 7–6.[35][36] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 19–8–4.[37]

In the final Tuscaloosa game of the season, Alabama shutout the South Carolina Gamecocks 17–0 at Denny Stadium.[11][38][39] After a scoreless first quarter, the Crimson Tide took a 10–0 halftime lead on a 24-yard Steve Davis field goal and a 38-yard Ken Stabler pass to Dennis Homan.[38][39] Tommy Wade then made the final score 17–0 with his one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.[38][39] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against South Carolina to 7–0.[40]

In the annual Iron Bowl game, Alabama defeated the Auburn Tigers 7–3 in rainy conditions at Legion Field behind Ken Stabler's 47-yard "Run in the Mud" for the game's only touchdown in the fourth quarter.[11][41][42][43] The only other points in the game came in the third quarter on a 38-yard John Riley field goal for the Tigers.[41][42] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 17–14–1.[44]

After Texas A&M upset Alabama 20–16 in the Cotton Bowl Classic, Bear Bryant carried the Aggies head coach Gene Stallings off the field to celebrate the victory as he was both a former player and assistant coach under him Bryant.[45][46] After Alabama scored first on an eight-yard Ken Stabler touchdown run, A&M responded with a 13-yard Edd Hargett touchdown pass to Larry Stegent that tied the game 7–7 at the end of the first quarter.[45][46] In the second quarter, the Crimson Tide scored first on a 34-yard Steve Davis field goal and the Aggies followed with a seven-yard Hargett touchdown pass to Tommy Maxwell that made the halftime score 13–10.[45][46] Each team then scored their final points in the third quarter. A&M scored first on a 20-yard Wendell Housley touchdown run followed by Stabler on an eight-yard touchdown run that made the final score 20–16.[45][46] The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Texas A&M to 1–1.[47]