1969 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

To open the 1968 season, Alabama defeated the Virginia Tech (also then known as VPI) Gobblers 17–13 at Lane Stadium in a back-and-forth game between the teams.[3][4][5] After VPI took an early 3–0 lead on a 19-yard Jack Simcsak field goal, Alabama responded later in the first with a 40-yard Richard Ciemny field goal that tied the game 3–3.[3][4] Alabama then took a 10–3 lead on a one-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run in the second quarter. The Hokies were then able to tie the game 10–10 at halftime with a five-yard Al Kincaid touchdown run.[3][4]

In the third quarter, George Ranager scored what was the game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard run and a 45-yard Simcsak field goal in the fourth provided for the final margin in the 17–13 Crimson Tide victory.[3][4] The 42,000 in attendance was the largest crowd to date to witness a football game in the commonwealth of Virginia and required the addition of 7,000 temporary seats to accommodate demand.[4] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Virginia Tech to 5–0.[6]

After their close victory over Virginia Tech, Alabama dropped into the No. 15 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Southern Miss.[9] In their home opener, Alabama defeated the Southerners 63–14 behind a ten-point rally in the fourth quarter.[5][7][8] Alabama took a 9–0 first quarter lead on a five-yard Scott Hunter touchdown pass to Pete Jilleba and a 25-yard Richard Ciemny field goal.[7][8] After Frank Johnston cut the Crimson Tide lead to 9–7 with his one-yard touchdown run, Alabama scored 26 second quarter points that extended their lead to 35–7 at halftime.[7][8] The four second-quarter touchdowns were scored on runs of 11-yards by George Ranager, one-yard by Hunter, six-yards by Johnny Musso and nine-yards by Bubba Sawyer.[7][8]

Alabama opened the third quarter with a two-yard Musso touchdown run, and then Southern scored their other touchdown on a six-yard Danny Palmer pass to Billy Mikel that made the score 42–14.[7][8] The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a pair of Neb Hayden touchdown runs from one and four-yards and by Benny Rippetoe on a four-yard run that made the final score 63–14.[7][8] The game was the first played on an AstroTurf surface between Denny Field opponents as it was installed during the previous spring.[10] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Southern Miss to 11–2–1.[11]

After their blowout victory over Southern Miss, Alabama retained their No. 15 position in the AP Poll prior to their game at Ole Miss.[14] Before a nationally televised, prime time audience, Alabama defeated the Rebels 33–32 in an offensive shootout that saw the offenses combined to set one NCAA and nine SEC records.[5][12][13] After the teams traded first-quarter touchdown runs of one-yard by Johnny Musso and two-yards by Archie Manning, Alabama took a 14–7 halftime lead on a 17-yard Bubba Sawyer touchdown run.[12][13]

At the end of the third quarter, Alabama retained a 21–20 lead after the teams again traded touchdowns. The Rebels scored first on an 11-yard Manning pass to Floyd Franks, followed by a one-yard Musso run and a 17-yard Manning run.[12][13] Both teams then traded fourth-quarter touchdowns with the Crimson Tide coming out on top 33–32. Ole Miss touchdowns were scored on a two-yard Manning pass to Riley Myers and a one-yard Manning run, and Alabama touchdowns were scored on a one-yard Scott Hunter run and 14-yard Hunter pass to George Ranager.[12][13]

Records set in this game included a new national record for passes completed between both teams with 55.[15] Conference records set in the game by Rebels quarterback Archie Manning included most passing yards, attempts and completions in a single game by going 33 of 52 for 436 yards in addition to most total offense by a single player with 540 yards.[15] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Ole Miss to 21–4–2.[16]

After their victory over the Rebels, Alabama moved into the No. 13 position of the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt.[19] At Nashville the Commodores upset Alabama 14–10 and ended a nine-game losing streak against the Crimson Tide.[5][17][18] After Alabama took a 3–0 first quarter lead on a 19-yard Mike Dean field goal, Vanderbilt responded in the second quarter with an unexpected halfback pass by Doug Mathews from six yards out, to wingback David Strong, who was standing all alone in the end zone, giving them the halftime lead 7–3.[17][18]

Vanderbilt opened the second half with possession of the football. Mathews fumbled the ball and Alabama's defensive end, Wayne Rhodes made the recovery at the Vanderbilt 19-yard line. On the first play, George Ranger swept around the right end for a Crimson Tide touchdown. With just 1:35 elapsed in the third quarter, Dean's conversion gave Alabama a 10-7 margin. In the third quarter, Vanderbilt, chewed up the clock, combining on short passes and running the ball, cutting nine minutes off the clock in a 25-play drive. With the ball on the 1-yard line, the Commodores failed to get the ball into the end zone. Vanderbilt's field goal attempt, sailed to the left of the uprights.[20][21] The Commodores defense, led by Pat Toomay, put pressure on Alabama throughout the game. Vanderbilt began its march to the winning touchdown with 7:30 left in the game. Denny Painter began the drive at quarterback for Vanderbilt and hit Curt Chesley on passes of 18, 6, and 17 yards to get the drive rolling, then a key pass to David Strong of 19 yards extended the drive. Watson Brown, who turned down a scholarship from Bryant, came into the game for Painter in a first-down situation at the Tide's 21-yard line. On Brown's first play, he handed off to Mathews who bulled his way for 11 yards down to the 10, but on the next play, Daniel Lipperman failed to gain a yard on a running play, setting up a second-and-long situation. Brown turned to his right, faked a hand-off, quickly turned and threw a strike to tight end Jim Cunningham. Cunningham, stayed on the line of scrimmage, caught the ball and ran into the end zone. Pandemonium broke out in the stands as the crowd reacted to the dramatic finish. The conversion was successful and Vanderbilt took the lead, 14–10.[20][21]

However, there were still two minutes on the clock, plenty of time for gunslinger Scott Hunter (American football) to move the ball into scoring range. Vandys' defense forced Alabama into a fourth down situation on its own 21-yard line. On Alabama's final desperation pass attempt, Commodore defender Les Lyle broke through the line and slammed Hunter to the ground for a sack. Vanderbilt fans believed the game over, yet a flag was thrown on Lyle for being offsides. Alabama still needed two more yards for a first down, since the offsides penalty did not give Alabama the much-needed first down. The next play, defensive tackle, Buzz Hamilton exploded through the line hitting Hunter and forcing him to throw an underhanded pass that landed untouched on the ground. Vanderbilt won the game, 14–10. This would be the last time that Vanderbilt has won a game against Alabama in Nashville as of 2017.[22][23][24]

Years later Watson Brown said in a 2007 interview of coach Bryant. “Coach Bryant, before the game, walked by and was cutting up with me.” “He said, ‘you couldn’t throw when I recruited you, you can’t throw now and you’ll never be able to throw.’ He just kept walking and patted me on the head. Then after we won the game, he found me in all the melee and it was melee. He gave me a hug and didn't say anything and strolled into the locker room.”

“When I couldn’t play anymore and decided I wanted to coach, Coach Bryant really got me started and I called him for advice on every job I was offered until the day he died. He kind of took me under his wing and said, ‘I’ll help you go here, maybe don’t go here.’ It was real neat that I didn't play for him, but he took care of me until he passed away.”[23]

The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 26–17–4.[25]

After their loss at Vanderbilt, Alabama dropped from the No. 13 to No. 20 position of the AP Poll prior to their game against Tennessee.[28] Against Tennessee, the Volunteers took a 34–0 lead into the fourth quarter en route to a 41–14 victory at Legion Field.[5][26][27] Tennessee took a commanding 21–0 first quarter lead with three touchdowns. The first was scored on a five-yard Bobby Scott pass to Gary Kreis, the second on a 71-yard Bobby Majors punt return and the third on a 27-yard Jackie Walker fumble return.[26][27] George Hunt made the halftime score 24–0 with his 22-yard field goal in the second and extended it to 27–0 with his 31-yard field goal in the third.[26][27]

After Scott brought the Volunteers' lead to 34–0 with his two-yard touchdown run in the fourth, Alabama scored their first points on a one-yard Johnny Musso run.[26][27] The game then closed with a six-yard Richard Callaway run for Tennessee and a six-yard Musso run for a touchdown that made the final score 41–14.[26][27] The loss was the first time Coach Bryant lost three consecutive games to the same opponent as Alabama's head coach.[27] The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Tennessee to 23–22–7.[29]

After their blowout loss at home against Tennessee, Alabama dropped from the No. 20 position out of the AP Poll altogether prior to their game at Clemson.[32] At Memorial Stadium, the Crimson Tide ended their two-game losing steak with this 38–13 win over the Tigers of the Atlantic Coast Conference.[5][30][31] Alabama managed to take a 28–0 lead late into the second quarter before Clemson scored their first points of the game. The Crimson Tide scored first-quarter touchdowns on runs of 36-yards by George Ranager and nine-yards by Johnny Musso, and they scored second-quarter touchdowns on receptions of 40-yards by Ranager from Neb Hayden and 20-yards by Bubba Sawyer from Scott Hunter.[30][31] Clemson then made the halftime score 28–7 after John McMakin caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Kendrick.[30][31]

After a scoreless third quarter, the Crimson Tide extended their lead to 38–7 on a one-yard Musso touchdown run and a 39-yard Oran Buck field goal.[30][31] The Tigers then closed the game with a two-yard Ray Yauger touchdown run that made the final score 38–13.[30][31] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Clemson to 10–3.[33]

The win was Bryant's 100th win at Alabama, making him only the second coach to win 100 games as head coach of the Crimson Tide.

At Jackson, Alabama defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 23–19 in Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.[5][34][35] After Richard Ciemny gave the Crimson Tide an early 3–0 lead with his 30-yard field goal, Don Dudley gave State a 7–3 lead with his 16-yard touchdown run.[35] Pete Jilleba then scored for Alabama on a three-yard run that made the score 10–7 in favor of the Crimson Tide that held through the fourth after scoreless second and third quarters.[34][35]

In the fourth, both teams traded a pair of touchdowns with Alabama eventually winning the game 23–19. Crimson Tide touchdowns were scored on Johnny Musso runs of four and 25-yards and State touchdowns were scored on a six-yard Tommy Pharr run and a two-yard Pharr pass to Bob Young.[34][35] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi State to 41–10–3.[36]

Playing at night before a sold-out Tiger Stadium, Alabama was defeated by the LSU Tigers 20–15.[5][37][38] After a scoreless first quarter, field goals of 30-yards by Mark Lumpkin for LSU and 26-yards by Oran Buck for Alabama made the halftime score 3–3.[37][38] LSU then took a 13–3 lead in the third quarter after a one-yard Allen Shorey touchdown run and a 25-yard Lumpkin field goal.[37][38]

In the fourth, the teams traded touchdowns with the Tigers' ultimately winning 20–15. Fourth-quarter touchdowns were scored by LSU on a second one-yard Shorey run and by Alabama on Scott Hunter passes of 37-yards to Hunter Husband and 34-yards to David Bailey.[37][38] The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 20–9–4.[39]

On homecoming in Tuscaloosa, Alabama defeated the Miami Hurricanes 42–6 and with their sixth victory of the season became bowl eligible.[5][40][41] The Crimson Tide took a 7–0 lead in the first on a two-yard Scott Hunter touchdown run before they scored three in the second quarter.[40][41] Alabama led 28–0 at halftime after a one-yard Johnny Musso touchdown run and Neb Hayden touchdown passes of 21-yards to Musso and 16-yards to George Ranager.[40][41]

After Miami scored their only points of the game early in the third on an eight-yard Kelly Cochrane touchdown pass to Joe Schmidt that made the score 28–6.[40][41] Alabama then closed the game with a three-yard Phil Chaffin touchdown run in the third and on an 18-yard Stephen Doran touchdown reception from Benny Rippetoe in the fourth that made the final score 42–6.[40][41] The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Miami to 7–2.[42]

In their final regular season game, Alabama was defeated by the Auburn Tigers in the annual Iron Bowl game 49–26 at Legion Field.[5][43][44] After Alabama took a 3–0 lead on a 32-yard Oran Buck field goal in the first quarter, Auburn went on to outscore the Crimson Tide 49 to 23 over the final three quarters of the game.[43][44] In the second, Wallace Clark scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of one and three-yards for the Tigers and Hunter Husband scored for Alabama on a four-yard run that made the halftime score 14–10.[43][44]

In the third quarter, Auburn extended their lead to 28–10 on touchdown runs of four-yards by Pat Sullivan and one-yard by Mickey Zofko before George Ranager had a 100-yard kickoff return that made the score 28–17 as they entered the fourth quarter.[43][44] After Buck connected on a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth for Alabama, Auburn scored three consecutive touchdowns that extended their lead to 49–20. These were scored by Zofko on a nine-yard run, by Clark on a three-yard run and by Connie Frederick on an 84-yard run.[43][44] The Crimson Tide closed the game with a seven-yard Scott Hunter touchdown pass to David Bailey that made the final score 49–26.[43][44] The loss brought Alabama's all-time record against Auburn to 18–15–1.[45]

On November 17, Alabama accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl against an unnamed opponent at the time of its announcement.[48] The next week, Colorado of the Big Eight Conference defeated Kansas State in their regular season finale and accepted an invitation to play the Crimson Tide at the Liberty Bowl.[49] Against the Buffaloes, Alabama lost 47–33 and completed the first five loss season during Bryant's tenure as head coach in the first all-time meeting between the schools.[46][47][50]

The Buffaloes took a 10–0 first quarter lead on a 13-yard Ward Walsh touchdown run and 30-yard Dave Haney field goal.[46][47] After they extended their lead further to 17–0 on a three-yard Bobby Anderson touchdown run early in the second, Alabama responded with a pair of touchdown runs that cut the Colorado lead to 17–13. The first was on a 31-yard Scott Hunter run and the second on a six-yard George Ranager run.[46][47] The teams then traded two more touchdowns on runs of 15-yards by Walsh for Colorado and two-yards by Johnny Musso before Steve Engel had 91-yard kickoff return that made the halftime score 31–19.[46][47]

The Crimson Tide then rallied and took a 33–31 lead in the third quarter on a pair of Neb Hayden touchdown throws. The first was to Griff Langston from 51-yards and the second to Musso from ten-yards.[46][47] Colorado then responded with a pair of unanswered touchdowns and a safety in the fourth quarter and won the game 47–33. Touchdowns were scored on Anderson runs of two and three-yards with a combined quarterback sack of Hayden for a safety by Bill Brundige and Herb Orvis providing the final margin.[46][47]