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]

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 34–6 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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	1:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech*	No. 14	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)		W 20–7	77,413	[6]
September 17	1:30 p.m.	Ole Miss	No. 12	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)		W 40–0	60,210	[7]
September 24	7:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN		W 44–24	41,418	[8]
October 1	1:30 p.m.	Memphis State*	No. 6	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL		W 44–13	60,210	[9]
October 8	2:30 p.m.	at University Park, PA (rivalry)	CBS	L 28–34	85,614	[10]
October 15	1:30 p.m.	Tennessee	No. 11	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)		L 34–41	77,237	[11]
October 29	1:30 p.m.	Mississippi State	No. 18	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)		W 35–18	60,210	[12]
November 5	11:30 a.m.	at ABC	W 32–26	70,606	[13]
November 12	1:30 p.m.	Southern Miss*	No. 16	Legion Field Birmingham, AL		W 28–16	74,424	[14]
November 25	12:30 p.m.	at No. 15 Foxboro, MA	CBS	L 13–20	58,047	[15]
December 3	2:30 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Auburn	No. 19	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)	ABC	L 20–23	77,310	[16]
December 24	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 6 Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	W 28–7	41,412	[17]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[18]

References

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