In what order would you list these six one-loss Alabama teams in terms of their dominance, one through six:

[saturdaysarebet]

In what order would you list these six one-loss Alabama teams in terms of their dominance, one through six:

1971 - 11-1 lost to Nebraska by 32 in the Orange Bowl
1974 - 11-1 lost to Notre Dame by 9 in the Orange Bowl
1975 - 11-1 lost to Missouri by 13 in season opener, beat Penn State in the Sugar Bowl 13-6
1977 - 11-1 lost at Nebraska by 7 second game of the season, beat Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl 35-6
2016 - 14-1 lost to Clemson by 3 - cfb final
2018 - 14-1 lost to Clemson by 28 - cfb final

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I feel ill equipped to rank the 70s teams.

I think the 2016 team would beat the 2018 team every time.

Kiffin or Sark would consistently get the best of Lupoi and Golding and on the flip side Pruitt and that 2016 Defense (One of the Best ever) would be able to shut down Locksley like Clemson did.

I’d give an Honorable mention to the 12-1 team from 1994 too since they lost 1 game by 1 point.

They might have gone 13-0 if Palmer had played that year.

Barker was really good that year and Sherman had like 1,500+ All Purpose yards and the Defense was Top 10.

 

[64 Grad]

If you are asking what the best one lost team was, it was the 1962 team.

 

[uafan4life]

Here's how I'd tier and rank all of Alabama's SEC-era 1-loss teams:

National & SEC Champions
2012*^
2011*^
2015*^
2017*^
1978*^
1973*^
1964*^
1965*^

SEC Champions
2016*
1974*
1977*
1975*
1971*
2018*
1937*
1933*

No Championships
1994
1962
1991
1938
1960

I don't think it's fair to even try to compare - given the metric of dominance, which can only be measured against teams of the same season - teams that won National Championships against those that didn't, and likewise for SEC Championship winning teams.

Now, if we were going to go for a video-game style team versus team competition to rank these teams against each other, that would lead for some interesting results. Much of it would depend on rules - and the only fair way would be for two matches to be "played" under each of the teams respective rules. For some teams, like 2011 and 2011, that's an easy simulation. For others, such as 1965 and 2018, that becomes a much more difficult prospect.

Of course, if you're going to make that kind of comparison, you can't leave out the undefeated teams - which includes what was arguably Coach Bryant's best team that got robbed of a National Championship in 1966. That team went undefeated, beating three bowl teams (back when there were only single-digit bowl games in existence) and two conference champions, while allowing only 4.0 points per game and scoring 27.4 points per game.

That team and Coach Stallings' 1994 team would likely end up ahead of some National-Championship-winning teams in such a scenario, which just goes to show how up-and-down the quality of the top-tier teams in any given season of college football can be...

 

[uafan4life]

If you are asking what the best one lost team was, it was the 1962 team.

I waffled between 1962 and 1994 in that tier in my rankings. I still think Coach Stallings likely cost himself a second National Championship with his game plan going into that game. He couldn't seem to bring himself to allow the offense to be aggressive and risky enough to fulfill its potential. Meanwhile, his yanking back on the offense's leash caused the defense to be put in bad situations more often than they should have been by not allowing the offense the opportunity to dig itself out of a hole. I think we would have matched up better against Nebraska than either Miami did against them or we actually did against Florida...

 

[DzynKingRTR]

Still mad at Stallings for not going for 2 in 1994.

 

[saturdaysarebet]

If you are asking what the best one lost team was, it was the 1962 team.

That defense that year was incredible, but I was too young to see it.

 

[saturdaysarebet]

I feel ill equipped to rank the 70s teams.

I think the 2016 team would beat the 2018 team every time.

Kiffin or Sark would consistently get the best of Lupoi and Golding and on the flip side Pruitt and that 2016 Defense (One of the Best ever) would be able to shut down Locksley like Clemson did.

I’d give an Honorable mention to the 12-1 team from 1994 too since they lost 1 game by 1 point.

They might have gone 13-0 if Palmer had played that year.

Barker was really good that year and Sherman had like 1,500+ All Purpose yards and the Defense was Top 10.

Hi Tusks. I didn't list the '94 team even though they lost only one game, I didn't see them as dominate. They averaged only 23.4 points per game, which was 60th in the country that year, and they had six one-score victories. On offense, they had only two games in which they scored more than 29 points, and on defense, they kept only three teams to single digits.

 

[TideEngineer08]

In what order would you list these six one-loss Alabama teams in terms of their dominance, one through six:

1971 - 11-1 lost to Nebraska by 32 in the Orange Bowl
1974 - 11-1 lost to Notre Dame by 9 in the Orange Bowl
1975 - 11-1 lost to Missouri by 13 in season opener, beat Penn State in the Sugar Bowl 13-6
1977 - 11-1 lost at Nebraska by 7 second game of the season, beat Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl 35-6
2016 - 14-1 lost to Clemson by 3 - cfb final
2018 - 14-1 lost to Clemson by 28 - cfb final

1. 2016. IMO, this was one of Coach Saban's best teams, period. Off the top of my head, the only team I would rank ahead of it would be 2020, and a game between those two would have been an epic clash between Coach Saban's best offense and his best defense (yes, IMO 2016 D was better than 2011).
2. 1977. This team should have won at least a share of the NC. They destroyed Ohio State in that Sugar Bowl.
3. 2018. This team was too one-dimensional on offense.
4. 1975
5. 1974
6. 1971. Not much to say about these last 3 teams. Coach Bryant always seemed to drop an opener to Mizzou or Nebraska and finish on a tear, or had great teams that laid eggs in the bowl game.

 

[arthurdawg]

Hi Tusks. I didn't list the '94 team even though they lost only one game, I didn't see them as dominate. They averaged only 23.4 points per game, which was 60th in the country that year, and they had six one-score victories. On offense, they had only two games in which they scored more than 29 points, and on defense, they kept only three teams to single digits.

Smoke and mirrors... But a very fun year.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Here's how I'd tier and rank all of Alabama's SEC-era 1-loss teams:

National & SEC Champions
2012*^
2011*^
2015*^
2017*^
1978*^
1973*^
1964*^
1965*^

SEC Champions
2016*
1974*
1977*
1975*
1971*
2018*
1937*
1933*

No Championships
1994
1962
1991
1938
1960

I don't think it's fair to even try to compare - given the metric of dominance, which can only be measured against teams of the same season - teams that won National Championships against those that didn't, and likewise for SEC Championship winning teams.

Now, if we were going to go for a video-game style team versus team competition to rank these teams against each other, that would lead for some interesting results. Much of it would depend on rules - and the only fair way would be for two matches to be "played" under each of the teams respective rules. For some teams, like 2011 and 2011, that's an easy simulation. For others, such as 1965 and 2018, that becomes a much more difficult prospect.

Of course, if you're going to make that kind of comparison, you can't leave out the undefeated teams - which includes what was arguably Coach Bryant's best team that got robbed of a National Championship in 1966. That team went undefeated, beating three bowl teams (back when there were only single-digit bowl games in existence) and two conference champions, while allowing only 4.0 points per game and scoring 27.4 points per game.

That team and Coach Stallings' 1994 team would likely end up ahead of some National-Championship-winning teams in such a scenario, which just goes to show how up-and-down the quality of the top-tier teams in any given season of college football can be...

Crimson Coronation by Al Browning does that for the teams of Wade, Thomas, Bryant and Stallings, pitting the 1925, '30, '34, '61, '66, '73, '79 and '92 teams in a tournament. It's been a while since I read it, but it's a decent read.

 

[TraskiTideFan]

1. 2016. IMO, this was one of Coach Saban's best teams, period. Off the top of my head, the only team I would rank ahead of it would be 2020, and a game between those two would have been an epic clash between Coach Saban's best offense and his best defense (yes, IMO 2016 D was better than 2011).
2. 1977. This team should have won at least a share of the NC. They destroyed Ohio State in that Sugar Bowl.
3. 2018. This team was too one-dimensional on offense.
4. 1975
5. 1974
6. 1971. Not much to say about these last 3 teams. Coach Bryant always seemed to drop an opener to Mizzou or Nebraska and finish on a tear, or had great teams that laid eggs in the bowl game.

I think the story goes on the '77 team in the Sugar Bowl, Coach Bryant had the option to boat race OSU and possibly flip the NC narrative back in their direction, but instead chose to play as many as they could from the sidelines to reward the team in the second half instead. Seems like Coach Moore told that story in one of the big group meetings they did years ago.

And yes, the 2016 team was probably the best defense fielded since '92. They will never get that credit because of the loss, BUT....that was complimentary football pretty much at its finest that season.