What are some games that Alabama was lucky or very fortunate to win?

[crimsonaudio]

All of them.

Signed,
A barner

 

[PA Tide Fan]

To quote Saban after 4th and 31 in the Auburn game:

"That is a play we actually work on but I must admit that you need a little luck,"

 

[selmaborntidefan]

So, you are telling me you were absolutely confident we were going to win that game looking at a 2nd and 26? No.

That's not the question.

"Lucky or fortunate to win" - I thought we'd win when he came up for the snap on first down.
Okay, he didn't. But that's not the question here.

Alabama SHOULD have won the game in regulation.
We weren't hanging around like 2013 Auburn in the IB and then hitting the inside straight.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I'd say UGA was lucky that we didn't put Tua in the game earlier.

He electrified our entire team and had Kirby and Uga backpedaling the rest of the game.

Saban did a lot of mismanagement in 2017, quite frankly.

Given what Tua did to UGA, it's worth asking why he didn't do it in the Auburn game tbh with you.

But Hurts....liked him but just plain awful in that UGA game. Cost us an early TD.

In all honesty, I've long wondered whether or not the score to put us in a 13-0 hole wasn't the blessing we needed to push Saban into the move. If it's 6-0....does he?

 

[selmaborntidefan]

To quote Saban after 4th and 31 in the Auburn game:

"That is a play we actually work on but I must admit that you need a little luck,"

That's a fair assessment. Even if everyone does their assignment correctly, you need a bit of luck.

 

[B1GTide]

Maybe 2nd and 26 wasn't luck, but at the time it felt like a miracle. It is the closest that I have come to tears of joy over a sporting event in my adult life.

 

[BamaMoon]

I can’t comment on the other old threads, but I revived this one because I thought it would be fun to discuss the lucky wins of the past 3 seasons instead of participating in the anxiety about the future of the team.

I listed the 4th and 31 game in my last post in this discussion. Which game vs. Auburn was a luckier win: 2023 or 2021? ESPN gave us a 0.1% chance to win late in the 4th in both games. 😃 I thought we had lost in 2021 after our offense failed on 4th and short near the end of regulation. We were lucky to have Bigsby go out of bounds (which Jordan Battle was partially responsible for 👍), convert the 4th downs on the final drive in regulation, connect on the long TD pass to force OT, have Reichard kick a high pressure FG in OT to extend the game, and then win the 2 pt conversion contest!

All I can tell you is sitting threw both games I remember having the sinking feeling that, although we were the better team, we were going to let the Barners do what they do best and live to beat us again.

The biggest difference for me is who we had at QB in 2021 and last year. I always had supreme confidence in BY to pull of a miracle. And maybe it's because it was most recent, but what led to 4th and 31 AND considering how JM struggled the whole game made me feel hopeless as that play unfolded.

 

[BamaMoon]

I'd say UGA was lucky that we didn't put Tua in the game earlier.

He electrified our entire team and had Kirby and Uga backpedaling the rest of the game.

Exactly my thoughts. We basically beat them with one half of football after we mashed the Tua button.

If we had lost that game, to me it would have been because we ran out of time.

Also, the pass Tua threw was actually pretty routine for his talent and remember how "wide open" Smitty was? Not really luck on that IMO.

 

[B1GTide]

Exactly my thoughts. We basically beat them with one half of football after we mashed the Tua button.

If we had lost that game, to me it would have been because we ran out of time.

Also, the pass Tua threw was actually pretty routine for his talent and remember how "wide open" Smitty was? Not really luck on that IMO.

Agreed, but I remember a feeling close to despair when the kicker missed the FG to win the game at the end of regulation. It just felt like it wasn't going to be Alabama's day. Then Georgia hits the very long FG, then the sack. Yeah, I was pretty down when Tua took the snap on 2nd and 26.

I still get goosebumps when I watch that play.

 

[BamaMoon]

Agreed, but I remember a feeling close to despair when the kicker missed the FG to win the game at the end of regulation. It just felt like it wasn't going to be Alabama's day. Then Georgia hits the very long FG, then the sack. Yeah, I was pretty down when Tua took the snap on 2nd and 26.

I still get goosebumps when I watch that play.

And wasn't the FG hooked so badly it wasn't even close?

 

[TopBamaBloke]

2002 vs. Hawaii - Another game where the opponent’s comeback bid fell short after a failed onside kick late in the 4th quarter. Also amazing we won considering XCDF had abandoned the team by then. Final score was 21-16.

2024 vs. UGA - We squandered a 28 point lead and the defense allowed an unconscionable amount of 4th down conversions, but Zabien Brown came through when it mattered most. The circus style catch and run by Hollywood to take the lead for good will be my abiding memory of this one.

2024 vs. South Carolina - One of the wildest endings to Bama game I’ve ever seen. We stopped a 2 point conversion attempt which would have tied the game late in the 4th, fail to recover the ensuing onside kick, yet manage to keep them out of FG range thanks to great D and a pick by Domani Jackson on a desperation pass. Jackson also had the presence of mind to avoid giving up a safety after he caught the ball! I like how we decided to rush the QB instead of drop back in zone coverage. Full credit to CKW and the entire defense for the strategy and execution on defense at the end. None of that drama would have happened if Bernard had fallen down before scoring the TD that put us up by 8!

 

[bamaga]

The 8-7 win over Florida State in 1974.

Oh my, thank you Bucky Berry

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Agreed, but I remember a feeling close to despair when the kicker missed the FG to win the game at the end of regulation. It just felt like it wasn't going to be Alabama's day. Then Georgia hits the very long FG, then the sack. Yeah, I was pretty down when Tua took the snap on 2nd and 26.

I still get goosebumps when I watch that play.

Miss having you around.

That Tua to Smith play...that to me is still the most scintillating moment in the history of Alabama football. The one that still sends chills down my spine, the one that took us from losing the national championship to winning it on the very last play of the game.

It was the Bobby Thompson's home run of Alabama college football. In our other national title games where we won, not once did we have a game in overtime where we were trailing and anything less than a score meant a loss. Of course that's partly because there was no overtime until 1996, but our other national title games weren't head-to-head matchups (1961/1964), we were leading (1978/2015), we'd already won the championship (1961/1964/1973) or weren't close (1965/1979/1992/2009/2011/2012).

 

[TopBamaBloke]

I feel like I could simply say most games we played during the Mike's coaching era...especially under Shula. So many of the wins were just outlasting another team who made more mistakes than we did!

Under Shula we certainly played down to the level of our competition on most Saturdays.

2006 vs. Duke we trailed at the half. They had the nation’s longest losing streak.

2006 vs. Hawaii we intercept a pass in the end zone to preserve an 8 point win. I may be wrong, but I think that was the game’s final play.

We played uninspired vs. FIU in 2006. A significant amount of their roster was suspended after a brawl with the Miami Hurricanes from the week before. I shudder to think what would have happened if they had their full complement of players.

When are we going to get our “vacated” wins back? If Penn State got theirs, why not us?

 

[CB4]

1989 Penn State - God bless Thomas Rayam's mother

The last drive Penn State gave the ball to Blair Thomas ELEVEN straight times and we could not stop him. We were lucky he lost his footing and went down inside the one yard line.

Give it to Thomas a 12th time and he walks into the end zone.

 

[bamaga]

Under Shula we certainly played down to the level of our competition on most Saturdays.

2006 vs. Duke we trailed at the half. They had the nation’s longest losing streak.

2006 vs. Hawaii we intercept a pass in the end zone to preserve an 8 point win. I may be wrong, but I think that was the game’s final play.

We played uninspired vs. FIU in 2006. A significant amount of their roster was suspended after a brawl with the Miami Hurricanes from the week before. I shudder to think what would have happened if they had their full complement of players.

When are we going to get our “vacated” wins back? If Penn State got theirs, why not us?

The 1974 FSU team had the nation’s longest losing streak and the lead with less than 2 minutes to go. Maybe it’s a theme with lucky Bama wins.

Zombie threads are fun!