When the Crimson Tide take on the Texas Longhorns in the BCS National Championship game on Thursday night; Alabama will play for SEC Football’s 19th national title. 36 gold. 53 gold. Or whatever you want. It depends on how we determine “national championship” as to what this total can be.
One thing that is positive is that if the Crimson Tide beat Texas, SEC Football can win at least 2 of the top 4 “national championship” trophies for the fourth straight season. The victor of the game is legally promised the AFCA National Championship Trophy and the MacArthur Bowl from the National Football Foundation. The victor will almost certainly win the AP’s Paul “Bear” Bryant Trophy and the FWAA’s Grantland Rice Award, as well.
The following are the SEC football colleges that were recognized as the No. 1 finish in all three major polls. (The AP Poll started at 36, the Coaches at 50, and the FWAA at 54.)
University of Tennessee Volunteers, 1951 – The University of Tennessee opened as the No. 1 group in the AP preseason poll, though they were not SEC Football outright winners.
Auburn University, ’51- Auburn University finished 10-0 by overwhelming their opponents 207-28, with SEC Football All-American Jimmy Phillips anchoring the nation’s number one defense.
Louisiana State University Tigers, 58: The LSU Fighting Tigers won the second game of their standard season 10-0 13-3 over the University of Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.
The Rebels, 1960- Behind the back of All-American quarterback Jake Gibbs, the University of Mississippi Rebels went 10-0-1 by beating the Rice University Owls 14-6 in the Sugar Bowl.
Alabama, 1961: The first of six SEC football University of Alabama teams led by Paul “Bear” Bryant to top the final AP poll outscored their opponents 287-22 in the stalemate year to finish as the number one in all-around defense and in the same place in the final AP and coaches polls.
The Crimson Tide, ’64: Alabama’s 10-0 standard season campaign included a 36-6 win over the Tulane Green Wave in Mobile, AL.
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide, ’65: The University of Alabama finished the regular season of SEC football with an 8-1-1 record, having lost its season opener by 1 point to The UGA Bulldogs and tied with The University of Tennessee Volunteers on the 3rd Saturday of October.
University of Alabama, ’73: The highest-scoring team in Crimson Tide history and SEC Football’s past most productive rushing team competed in eleven regular-season games to earn the final No. trainers.
the Crimson Tide, 78: The University of Alabama led the first three AP polls of the year, then failed to return to first place until the last: landing No. 1 by topping the previously undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions 14-7 in the Sugar Bowl with the famous goal line play.
the Crimson Tide, 79: The Alabama Crimson Tide became the first SEC football team to be ranked number one in each of the three major polls.
University of Georgia, 1980 – The University of Georgia beat the University of Notre Dame 17-10 in the Sugar Bowl behind SEC Football freshman genius Herschel Walker.
University of Alabama, ’92: The Alabama Crimson Tide capped all three terminal polls, but not until they topped the heavily favored and previously undefeated Miami Hurricanes 34-13 in the Sugar Bowl.
University of Florida, 1996- It seemed the Florida Gators’ championship ambitions perished when they lost the final game of the SEC Football regular season 24-21 at Florida State.
Tennessee, 98: The University of Tennessee Volunteers won the first BCS title game, which was played like the Fiesta Bowl and introduced the two-team “playoff” that is still used to choose a national champion today.
The LSU Bayou Bengals, 2003- Under the leadership of current Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, The Loisiana State University Fighting Tigers defeated The Oklahoma Sooners 21-14 in the BCS Championship game, which was also the Sugar Bowl.
Florida Gators, 06- 12-1 Florida grabbed all three No. 1 rankings by beating Ohio State 41-14 in the first BCS national championship game that wasn’t also an existing bowl game.
Louisiana State University Tigers, 2007- LSU followed the Florida Gators recipe to the top by crushing Ohio State in the BCS National Championship game.
Florida, 08: The University of Florida Gators rebounded from a one-point loss in September to The Ole Miss Rebels to finish 13-1, in the process giving the Crimson Tide their first loss in a major football championship game of the SEC and beating The Sooners 24-14 in the BCS championship game.