Poll: Best 1980s Bama Team?
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I say 1989. Having to play a great Auburn team in the first Iron Bowl at JHS was a tough set of circumstances. Had they won that one (and they had their chances) the Sugar Bowl would have been for the national title. I think Homer Smith's coaching job with that '89 offense was splendid.
It was 89 hands down in my opinion. However, had Perkins first team (83?) not gotten totally screwed at Penn State after starting the season 5-0 I think they would have really turned out to be something special. That one loss was so disheartening that they never recovered.
I went with 1980. A goal line fumble at Mississippi State ends a 28 game winning streak. If we win that, surely we are more up for the home game against Notre Dame two weeks later. Win that and we have a showdown in New Orleans against Georgia going for a threepeat.
Frankly, I don't think there is any real argument to be had here, and the nod goes to the 1980 team. Coming off back-to-back national championships, still a lot of top talent, Bryant was still near his peak and before his dwindling health really took him down, and we basicaly went scorched-earth through the entire schedule. We just happened to lose in heartbreakers in the only two remotely close games we played that year (MSU and Notre Dame, both of whom were good football teams). Frankly, I've always thought that the 1980 team was as good as the '78 team, but the cards just didn't fall their way.
To me the real discussion here is which is the best non-Bryant team of the 80s, and that's a tough debate. If you look at overall talent, I think the 1986 team probably takes the cake, but good grief did that team ever underachieve and fail to live up to its potential, so that's something to be taken into consideration. The problem is that there really isn't another team that's an obvious candidate to overtake them. 1989 will get a lot of discussion, but that's somewhat hard to justify in some ways. That was a nice run, but obviously you end the year on a sour note against the two best teams we played (just as in 2005, for example), and even while that team was winning, good grief did we ever win a lot of close, ugly games. I still have no idea how we beat Penn State that year, and the wins we had that year over Vandy and ULL were rough to watch, to put it mildly.
In the end, I guess I would go with 1986, but again it's a reserved choice. We had a lot of good-but-not-really-great teams in the 1980s, and a lot of them kind of muddle together in standing with no clear frontrunner.
To me the real discussion here is which is the best non-Bryant team of the 80s, and that's a tough debate. If you look at overall talent, I think the 1986 team probably takes the cake, but good grief did that team ever underachieve and fail to live up to its potential, so that's something to be taken into consideration. The problem is that there really isn't another team that's an obvious candidate to overtake them. 1989 will get a lot of discussion, but that's somewhat hard to justify in some ways. That was a nice run, but obviously you end the year on a sour note against the two best teams we played (just as in 2005, for example), and even while that team was winning, good grief did we ever win a lot of close, ugly games. I still have no idea how we beat Penn State that year, and the wins we had that year over Vandy and ULL were rough to watch, to put it mildly.
In the end, I guess I would go with 1986, but again it's a reserved choice. We had a lot of good-but-not-really-great teams in the 1980s, and a lot of them kind of muddle together in standing with no clear frontrunner.
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Though the other 80's years did have some interesting teams and some very exciting games (ND win, IB wins in 85 and the Kick of course), the contest has to go to 1980 -- hands down. Though we won that year probably out of habit, that team had the most talent by far.
BET, I'm in agreement with 1980. We were a great QB away from another title. I disagree with 1986. Penn St beat us badly in BDS, and we choked another one to Auburn. Yes, it was a choke. I only go with 1989 because of the SEC title and they were very competitive in the 2 losses. Remember, au scored there first td with 12 men on the field plus we played well against a great Miami team. Overall, it was not a great period for Bama football. There were some great moments, however.
I will go with 1980, 1985, 1989, 1986, and 1983 in that order. The worst were in order: 1984, 1987, 1988, 1982, and 1981, however I was a bit too young to remember much of the 1980 - 1982 seasons although I do remember a few things of those years. An interesting follow-up question is how good would the 1984 team have been if Kerry Goode had not been injured in the first game against Boston College? The defense was good enough to keep them in every game but the offense was lost when Goode went down.
The 86 team was a major disappointment. I always wondered if Perkins was already planning his departure and lost his focus during the season. We had a lot of weapons on offense but by the end of the season they only 2 plays in the playbook were Humphrey-right and Humphrey-left. He had a great season and almost single-handedly won the AU game but wore down in the second half.
If Kerry Goode had stayed healthy, he would be our greatest running back ever. He was that good. One of the worst nights for me when we lost a big lead to Flutie, and lost our best player.
The 80's teams didn't and don't excite me, maybe because Perkins and Curry were the coaches for most of the decade.
In 1986, Penn State, the eventual national champs, beat us bloody before our own crowd. How we lost to LSU and Auburn that season is beyond me. Humphrey fumbled three times inside the 10 yard line against LSU, and that Auburn game, even more so than last year's debacle, may retire the trophy for more fluke plays, bad officiating and preposterous turn of events ganging up against us in one Iron Bowl game.
As much talent as we had in 1980, we played two good defenses and they both stoned us. Hard for me to put them at the top when we really had trouble moving the ball against quality opponents all year.
Favorite team? 1989. Homer and Hollingsworth, like Coke and Golden Flake, were a memorable pair.
They both weren't bad guys BUT it just didn't feel like Bama football until we got CGS :-D and it wasn't like CGS had to win the NC before we gained some confidence. For me, he was like the Second Coming of Coach Bryant.
My case for 1986...
That team played Ohio State, Notre Dame, Southern Miss, and eventual National Champ and undefeated Penn State. I think that may have been Paterno's best defensive team ever.
Bama opened by beating Ohio State at The Meadowlands, and won back to back games @ Florida and home to ND. After the trip to Knoxville and emotional 56-28 win, the first in 5 years over the vols, Bama came home to host undefeated Penn State. The Tide was up to #2, and Tuscaloosa was giddy. I just think that team was nowhere near ready, especially mentally, and Penn State was just probably fresher, as we were their first ranked opponent. PSU also was coming South after a FOUR GAME Homestand.
Penn State played great that day, and our offense could get nothing going. I remember DJ Dozier running for one TD that I do not think we would have had a prayer of getting him down if it were FLAG Football. But I still believe our team hit a wall, of sorts, that day, and provided nowhere near our best effort.
Our other 2 losses were against SEC Champ LSU, 14-10, in a game where Humphrey had a rare fumbling issue. Bobby gave one up in the second half on the LSU 20 or so, ending a promising Bama drive, and then again on the goal line as he attempted to go over the top for the lead.
The auburn game was a typical Perkins-Dye war, and I remember 2 penalties hurt us in the second half. A personal foul against Wayne Davis for a late hit when I am not sure he made any contact kept an aub drive alive, and in the 4th a long Jelks run inside the 20 was called back for a hold. The Tillman ran the reverse , and we lost by 4.
All 3 losses were to teams that finished in the Top 10, including the eventual National Champ. I think we were very close to a National Championship appearance, if we had had a week off before Penn State or maybe not quite such a daunting Non-Conference schedule, maybe it would have ended better.
Plus - worth noting 1986 had BOTH Cornelius Bennett and Derrick Thomas on the field at the same time, and combined with the oft forgotten Wayne Davis, still the UA career tackle leader, I think the 1986 linebacking corp was the best ever at The University
.
That team played Ohio State, Notre Dame, Southern Miss, and eventual National Champ and undefeated Penn State. I think that may have been Paterno's best defensive team ever.
Bama opened by beating Ohio State at The Meadowlands, and won back to back games @ Florida and home to ND. After the trip to Knoxville and emotional 56-28 win, the first in 5 years over the vols, Bama came home to host undefeated Penn State. The Tide was up to #2, and Tuscaloosa was giddy. I just think that team was nowhere near ready, especially mentally, and Penn State was just probably fresher, as we were their first ranked opponent. PSU also was coming South after a FOUR GAME Homestand.
Penn State played great that day, and our offense could get nothing going. I remember DJ Dozier running for one TD that I do not think we would have had a prayer of getting him down if it were FLAG Football. But I still believe our team hit a wall, of sorts, that day, and provided nowhere near our best effort.
Our other 2 losses were against SEC Champ LSU, 14-10, in a game where Humphrey had a rare fumbling issue. Bobby gave one up in the second half on the LSU 20 or so, ending a promising Bama drive, and then again on the goal line as he attempted to go over the top for the lead.
The auburn game was a typical Perkins-Dye war, and I remember 2 penalties hurt us in the second half. A personal foul against Wayne Davis for a late hit when I am not sure he made any contact kept an aub drive alive, and in the 4th a long Jelks run inside the 20 was called back for a hold. The Tillman ran the reverse , and we lost by 4.
All 3 losses were to teams that finished in the Top 10, including the eventual National Champ. I think we were very close to a National Championship appearance, if we had had a week off before Penn State or maybe not quite such a daunting Non-Conference schedule, maybe it would have ended better.
Plus - worth noting 1986 had BOTH Cornelius Bennett and Derrick Thomas on the field at the same time, and combined with the oft forgotten Wayne Davis, still the UA career tackle leader, I think the 1986 linebacking corp was the best ever at The University
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| August 27 | vs. #9 Ohio State* | #5 | Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic) | W 16–10 | 68,296 |
| September 6 | Vanderbilt | #5 | Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL | W 42–10 | 58,168 |
| September 13 | Southern Miss* | #4 | Legion Field • Birmingham, AL | W 31–17 | 73,687 |
| September 20 | at #13 Florida | #4 | Florida Field • Gainesville, FL | W 21–7 | 74,685 |
| October 4 | Notre Dame* | #2 | Legion Field • Birmingham, AL | W 28–10 | 75,808 |
| October 11 | Memphis State*
| #2 | Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL | W 37–0 | 60,210 |
| October 18 | at Tennessee | #2 | Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October) | W 56–28 | 95,116 |
| October 25 | #6 Penn State* | #2 | Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL (Rivalry) | L 3–23 | 60,210 |
| November 1 | at #19 Mississippi State | #8 | Scott Field • Starkville, MS (Rivalry) | W 38–3 | 42,700 |
| November 8 | #18 LSU | #6 | Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Rivalry) | L 10–14 | 75,808 |
| November 15 | Temple* | #11 | Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL | W 24–14 | 60,210 |
| November 29 | vs. #14 Auburn | #7 | Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) | L 17–21 | 75,808 |
| December 25 | vs. #12 Washington* | #13 | Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl) | W 28–6 | 48,722 |
For any non-homer, I think the answer is "not particularly."
You are right that the defense did enough to keep us in games, but even it wasn't anything particularly special. That unit gave up 24+ several times -- and, of course, that was in an environment with far less scoring than you have today -- and while it was respectable enough more often than not, it wasn't good enough to win games on its own. And offensively, that was just a nightmare. Truly horrendous QB play, and really production of note from any of the skill players outside of Carruth. A healthy Goode would have certainly helped things, but even so, what's the upside there? Even with good health and breaks in close games, I'm not sure that team was good enough to get above 8-4.
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No disputing the fact that the three losses were in tight games against very good teams, but it's still just overwhelming disappointment because with the talent we had we should have been able to win at least one of those games, and perhaps even two or three. Point blank: No team with that much talent should ever be playing in the Sun Bowl come Christmas Day. That season as a whole just left a rancid taste... after the win over Tennessee everyone thought we were going to win the national championship, and then we go .500 in the final six weeks and end up in El Paso.
Re: the LB corps, you may be right. Bennett was probably the most physically impressive linebacker we've ever heard, and Davis was an extremely productive player, even if his measurables weren't particularly special. Will add, though, that you're a bit off with Thomas. That was his freshman year, and while he contributed a bit, he didn't exactly stand out (his breakout season wasn't until 1987). The one you're leaving out is Greg Gilbert, who I think actually led the team in tackles that year.
I know I'm in the vast vast minority here but I'm going to say it anyway---I thought Perkins was average to below average as a coach at Bama. Several people have mentioned the potential of the 1986 team. They're right, that team was absolutely loaded with talent, and Perkins had a pretty weak year considering that fact. I just fail to see what he accomplished during his tenure other than to become notorious, at least to me, for his continually saying, "They just didn't get it done", when Bama lost, and "We played well today", when Bama won. That used to drive me insane.
Curry was 26-8 at Bama heading into the Auburn game in Jordan-hare in 89. At that time I believe it was the best three year record of any coach in Bama history. He also won an SEC title, which Perkins never did.
I know Curry wasn't a "Bama man", but the record doesn't lie, and from that perspective, Bill Curry greatly outperformed Ray Perkins as a Bama football coach.
The only thing they have in common is that neither one of them could take the heat of the expectations that being the coach at Bama demands.
The 80's in general just kinda stunk if you're a Bama fan. It's the only decade since the 1950's that we haven't won a national title.
sip
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