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 89th 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 (8–2 overall, 4–1 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 26-year tenure as Alabama's head coach.[1]

1983 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 28–7 vs. SMU
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 15
Record8–4 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGeorge Henshaw (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorKen Donahue (1st as DC, 20th overall season)
Captains
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
(Capacity: 60,210)
Legion Field
(Capacity: 75,808)
1983 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Auburn $ 6 –0 –011 –1 –0
No. 4 Georgia 5 –1 –010 –1 –1
No. 6 Florida 4 –2 –09 –2 –1
Tennessee 4 –2 –09 –3 –0
No. 15 Alabama 4 –2 –08 –4 –0
Ole Miss 4 –2 –06 –6 –0
Kentucky 2 –4 –06 –5 –1
Mississippi State 1 –5 –03 –8 –0
LSU 0 –6 –04 –7 –0
Vanderbilt 0 –6 –02 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

After opening the season with four consecutive wins and rising to #3 in the AP poll, The Tide suffered a controversial 34–29 loss to Penn State. Trailing 34-6 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
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 101:30 p.m.Georgia Tech*No. 14
W 20–777,413[6]
September 171:30 p.m.Ole MissNo. 12
W 40–060,210[7]
September 247:00 p.m.at VanderbiltNo. 6
W 44–2441,418[8]
October 11:30 p.m.Memphis State*daggerNo. 6
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
W 44–1360,210[9]
October 82:30 p.m.at Penn State*No. 3
CBSL 28–3485,614[10]
October 151:30 p.m.TennesseeNo. 11
L 34–4177,237[11]
October 291:30 p.m.Mississippi StateNo. 18
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)
W 35–1860,210[12]
November 511:30 a.m.at LSUNo. 19
ABCW 32–2670,606[13]
November 121:30 p.m.Southern Miss*No. 16
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
W 28–1674,424[14]
November 2512:30 p.m.at No. 15 Boston College*No. 13
CBSL 13–2058,047[15]
December 32:30 p.m.vs. No. 3 AuburnNo. 19
ABCL 20–2377,310[16]
December 242:00 p.m.vs. No. 6 SMU*
CBSW 28–741,412[17]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[18]

References

General

  • "1983 Game Recaps". 1984 Alabama Football Media Guide (PDF). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: UA Athletics Media Relations Office. 1984. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2012.

Specific

  1. 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.
  2. Neff, Craig (October 17, 1983). "They're Lion low no more". Sports Illustrated. SI.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  3. Kausler, Don Jr. (September 8, 2011). "Preston Gothard and Thomas Rayam: two Alabama players, two everlasting plays". The Birmingham News. AL.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. 1983 Game Recaps, Game Nos. 6, 8, 9, 11
  5. 1983 Game Recaps, Game No. 12
  6. "Tide rolls stubborn Tech". The Atlanta Constitution. September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Error-prone Rebels swelter under Tide". The Clarion-Ledger. September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Vandy overcome by Tide". The Tennessean. September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Tide's big second half buries Tigers". The Jackson Sun. October 2, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Penn State holds off furious Alabama rally, 34–28". The Pittsburgh Press. October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Last quarter surge lifts Vols past Tide". Johnson City Press. October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Slow recovery brings Tide win". The Anniston Star. October 30, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Crimson Tide holds off Tigers". The Daily Advertiser. November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Tide downs Eagles in classic meeting". Hattiesburg American. November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Turnovers turn back Tide; BC finishes with 9–2 record". The Boston Globe. November 26, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Bo goes, AU wins 23–20". The Montgomery Advertiser. December 4, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Alabama leaves Sun shining 28–7". El Paso Times. December 25, 1983. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "1983 Alabama football archives". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
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