2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Alabama Crimson
Consensus national champion
SEC Western Division co-champion
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal), W 24–6 vs. Clemson
CFP National Championship
W 26–23 OT vs. Georgia
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record13–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBrian Daboll (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorMike Locksley (1st as co-OC; 2nd overall season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorJeremy Pruitt (2nd as DC; 9th overall season)
Co-defensive coordinatorTosh Lupoi (1st as co-DC; 3rd overall season)
Base defense3–4
CaptainMinkah Fitzpatrick
Rashaan Evans
Shaun Dion Hamilton
Bradley Bozeman
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 2 Georgia x$^   7 1     13 2  
South Carolina   5 3     9 4  
Kentucky   4 4     7 6  
Missouri   4 4     7 6  
Florida   3 5     4 7  
Vanderbilt   1 7     5 7  
Tennessee   0 8     4 8  
West Division
No. 10 Auburn xy   7 1     10 4  
No. 1 Alabama x#^   7 1     13 1  
No. 18 LSU   6 2     9 4  
No. 19 Mississippi State   4 4     9 4  
Texas A&M   4 4     7 6  
Ole Miss*   3 5     6 6  
Arkansas   1 7     4 8  
Championship: Georgia 28, Auburn 7
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • * Ole Miss ineligible for postseason due to NCAA sanctions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This season marked the Crimson Tide's 123rd overall season, its 84th as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and its 26th within the SEC Western Division. They played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and were led by eleventh-year head coach Nick Saban.

Alabama ended the season as national champions by winning their second College Football Playoff national championship. This was their 17th claimed national title in school history and fifth under head coach Nick Saban.

Alabama, coming off a national title game loss to Clemson in 2016, began the year ranked first in the AP Poll. The team opened the year with a victory over then-No. 3 Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, which was the highest ranked season-opening match-up in the history of the AP Poll.[1] Alabama won their first 11 games convincingly, but fell on the road to rival Auburn in the regular season finale, and since the two teams were tied atop the SEC West Division at 7–1, Auburn advanced to the 2017 SEC Championship Game on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Alabama fell to number six in the rankings leading up to conference championship weekend. In the final College Football Playoff rankings of the year, 11–1 Alabama rose to number four after sitting idle, ahead of 12–1 Wisconsin, 11–2 Big Ten Conference champion Ohio State and 12–0 American Athletic Conference champion UCF. This earned Alabama a place in the national semi-final to be played at the Sugar Bowl against first-seeded Clemson, the third consecutive playoff meeting between the two schools. Alabama won by a score of 24–6 and advanced to the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship against SEC champion Georgia. The Crimson Tide pulled off an overtime victory to win the game 26–23 and the national title.

Alabama's offense was led by sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts, who finished with 2,081 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns and just one interception. He added 855 rushing yards and 8 rushing touchdowns on the ground. Freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa served as the backup and was named game MVP of the national championship game after Hurts was benched at halftime. Running back Damien Harris led the rushing attack with exactly 1,000 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the year. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley and offensive tackle Jonah Williams were named first-team All-SEC. The Crimson Tide defense, which led the country in scoring and yards allowed, was led by consensus first-team All-American and Chuck Bednarik Award-winning safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. He was joined on the All-SEC team by defensive tackles Daron Payne and Raekwon Davis, linebacker Rashaan Evans, and safety Ronnie Harrison.

  1. ^ Bonesteel, Matt (September 2, 2017). "College football Week 1 TV schedule: Alabama vs. Florida State is a pretty, pretty good kickoff". Washington Post.

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