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2001 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

2001 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Independence Bowl champion
Independence Bowl, W 14–13 vs. Iowa State
Conference Southeastern Conference
Division Western Division
2001 record 7–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach Dennis Franchione (1st year)
Offensive coordinator Les Koenning
Defensive coordinator Carl Torbush
Captain
Home stadium Bryant–Denny Stadium
(Capacity: 83,818)
Legion Field
(Capacity: 83,091)
Seasons
« 2000 2002 »
2001 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Eastern Division
#4 Tennessee x   7 1         11 2  
#3 Florida  %   6 2         10 2  
#13 South Carolina   5 3         9 3  
#22 Georgia   5 3         8 4  
Kentucky   1 7         2 9  
Vanderbilt   0 8         2 9  
Western Division
#7 LSU xy$   5 3         10 3  
Auburn x   5 3         7 5  
Ole Miss   4 4         7 4  
Alabama   4 4         7 5  
Arkansas   4 4         7 5  
Mississippi State   2 6         3 8  
Championship: LSU 31, Tennessee 20
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2001 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama during 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. They began their season trying to improve upon a 3–8 (3–5) record during the 2000 season. This was the team's 69th season in the SEC. This marked Dennis Franchione's first season as head coach of the Crimson Tide following the dismissal of Mike DuBose. The team finished with a victory in the 2001 Independence Bowl and an overall record of 7–5.

Sources:

Dennis Franchione's first game as Alabama's head coach pitted the Crimson Tide against the Bruins of the Pacific-10 Conference. ESPN's College Gameday was in Tuscaloosa for the first time ever (they had previously visited Alabama home games at Legion Field in Birmingham). Although Alabama outgained UCLA in total offense 458–291, the Bruins were victorious by a final score of 20–17 before a sold-out home crowd. The Tide took an early 10–0 lead on a 78-yard Antonio Carter touchdown reception from Tyler Watts and 30-yard Neal Thomas field goal. UCLA responded with 20 consecutive points to take a lead that would not be relinquished. The final Alabama score came late in the fourth on a 71-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Zow to Freddie Milons.

Dennis Franchione notched his first win as head coach of the Crimson Tide, in a game of field goals, and defeated Vanderbilt 12–9.

As a result of the September 11 Attacks, the September 15, 2001, contest with Southern Miss was postponed, resulting in the Razorbacks being the Tide's third opponent on the season. Although outgained in total offense, a pair of defensive touchdowns put the Tide over the top before an emotional home crowd 31–10. Bama would score its first points on an 11-yard Ahmaad Galloway touchdown run to take a 7–3 lead in the first quarter. In the second, the teams would alternate touchdowns with Reggie Myles scoring on a 42-yard fumble recovery for the Tide and Brandon Holmes scoring on a 1-yard run to have Bama leading 14–10 at the half. The Tide would open their second half scoring with a 36-yard Neal Thomas field goal followed by a 39-yard Freddie Milons touchdown reception from Tyler Watts. The final points of the evening would come with only 00:20 remaining in the game when Thurman Ward returning an interception 60-yards for a touchdown.


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