1990 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1990 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama for the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Crimson Tide was led by first-year head coach Gene Stallings,^[1][2] replacing Bill Curry who left for the University of Kentucky.^[3]

1990 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Fiesta Bowl, L 7–34 vs. Louisville
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	7–5 (5–2 SEC)
Head coach	Gene Stallings (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Mal Moore
Captains	Efrum Thomas Gary Hollingsworth Philip Doyle
Home stadium	Bryant–Denny Stadium (Capacity: 70,123) Legion Field (Capacity: 75,962)
Seasons ← 1989 1991 →

1990 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Florida	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Tennessee $	5	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	2
No. 21 Ole Miss	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Alabama	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Auburn	4	–	2	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
LSU	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Georgia	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Florida ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Rankings from AP Poll

Early in the 1990 season, the Tide and new coach Gene Stallings lost three games by a combined total of eight points. In the opener against Southern Miss, star tailback Siran Stacy tore ligaments in his knee and missed the rest of the season. Against Florida, Alabama lost another star player for the year in wide receiver Craig Sanderson and quarterback Gary Hollingsworth threw three interceptions to Florida safety Will White, and the Gators scored the winning touchdown on a blocked punt.^[4]

After wins over lightly regarded Vanderbilt and SW Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette), Bama traveled to Knoxville to face undefeated, third-ranked Tennessee. The result was a shocking 9–6 upset victory, Alabama's fifth in a row in the Third Saturday in October rivalry. The game was a defensive struggle and a field goal duel. UT's kicker Greg Burke, who hit a 51-yard field goal try to tie the game with ten minutes left, attempted a 50-yarder for the win with 1:35 to go, but Alabama's Stacy Harrison blocked the kick and the ball bounced to the Tennessee 37-yard line. The Crimson Tide advanced the ball seven yards on three running plays, setting up Philip Doyle's third field goal, a game-winning 48-yarder as time expired.^[5]

The next game was a 9–0 loss to Penn State in which Hollingsworth threw five interceptions and Bama rushed for only six yards.^[6] However, Alabama bounced back to win four in a row and salvage a winning season after the 0–3 start. Alabama won its first Iron Bowl in five years, dominating Auburn defensively and winning 16–7. It was the seventh game in a row in which the Alabama defense held the opposition to single digits. The season ended with a lopsided 34–7 bowl loss to Louisville, and Alabama finished 7–5.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	1:30 p.m.	Southern Mississippi*	No. 13	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)	PPV	L 24–27	75,962	^[7]
September 15	11:30 a.m.	No. 24 Florida		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	WTBS	L 13–17	70,123	^[8]
September 22	2:00 p.m.	at Georgia		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	L 16–17	82,122	^[9]
September 29	1:30 p.m.	Vanderbilt		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	W 59–28	70,123	^[10]
October 6	4:00 p.m.	at Southwestern Louisiana*		Cajun Field Lafayette, LA	PPV	W 25–6	36,133	^[11]
October 20	3:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Tennessee		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	ESPN	W 9–6	96,732	^[12]
October 27	4:00 p.m.	Penn State*		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 0–9	70,123	^[13]
November 3	11:30 a.m.	at Mississippi State		Scott Field Starkville, MS (rivalry)	WTBS	W 22–0	39,252	^[14]
November 10	1:30 p.m.	LSU		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	PPV	W 24–3	70,123	^[15]
November 17	1:30 p.m.	Cincinnati*		Legion Field Birmingham, AL		W 45–7	71,327	^[16]
December 1	2:00 p.m.	No. 20 Auburn		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)	CBS	W 16–7	75,962	^[17]
January 1, 1991	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 18 Louisville*	No. 25	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	L 7–34	69,098	^[18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Source: Rolltide.com: 1990 Alabama football schedule^[19]

Personnel

1990 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Gary Hollingsworth	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Philip Doyle	Head coach Gene Stallings Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Season summary

Southern Mississippi

Florida

See also: Alabama–Florida football rivalry

#24 Florida Gators (1–0) at Alabama Crimson Tide (0–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	0	0	10	7	17
Alabama	7	0	3	3	13

at Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

• Date: September 15, 1990
• Game attendance: 70,123
• TV: TBS
• Recap/Box

Game information

First quarter UA – Craig Sanderson 15-yard pass from Gary Hollingsworth (Philip Doyle kick), 3:55. Alabama 7–0. Second quarter No scoring Third quarter UA – Philip Doyle 41-yard field goal, 11:21. Alabama 10–0. UF – Terence Barber 6-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Arden Czyzewski kick), 7:48. Alabama 10–7. UF – Arden Czyzewski 23-yard field goal, 1:28. Tie 10–10. Fourth quarter UF – Richard Fain recovered blocked punt in end zone (Arden Czyzewski kick), 14:45. Florida 17–10. UA – Philip Doyle 46-yard field goal, 7:22. Florida 17–13.

External video
Game highlights

Statistics

Note: Does not include Fiesta Bowl.

Overall

Statistics	Alabama	Opponents
Touchdowns	26	13
Points Scored	253	127
Total First Downs	194	139
Rushing	111	62
Passing	72	65
Penalty	11	12
Total Yards	3,673	2,523
Rushing	2,144	1,007
Passing	1,529	1,519
Punts–Yards	64–2,473	79–3,105
FG Made–Att	24–29	12–17
XP Made–Att	25–25	11–11

Scoring

	1	2	3	4	Total
Alabama	89	74	42	48	253
Opponents	15	24	34	54	127

Passing

Name	Comp–Att	Pct.	TD	INT	Yards	Rating	Long
Hollingsworth	140–282	49.7	4	13	1,463	88.7	60
Woodson	2–11	18.2	0	3	66	14.0	35
Lee	0–1	0.0	0	0	0	0.0	0

References

1. "Stallings Hopes To Bring Alabama Program Home". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 14, 1990.
2. "Alabama set to name Stallings". St. Petersburg Times. January 11, 1990. p. 1C. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
3. "Alabama's Curry quits, reportedly for Kentucky job". The Dallas Morning News. January 8, 1990.
4. "Loaded For Bear", S. Looney, Douglas. Sports Illustrated, September 24, 1990
5. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Alabama Stuns Tennessee, 9–6", New York Times, October 21, 1990
6. "Lions' defense smothers Tide in 9–0 win" 2008-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Collegian (Penn State University), October 29, 1990
7. "USM victory: 'A great feeling'". Hattiesburg American. September 9, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Gatorball rally humbles Tide". The Tampa Tribune. September 16, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "'Dogs get off deck to beat Tide". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 23, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "VU self-destructs in 59–28 loss". The Tennessean. September 30, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Alabama turns the tide on Ragin' Cajuns". The Daily Advertiser. October 7, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Crimson Tide does it again". Johnson City Press. October 21, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Alabama shut out by Penn State 9–0". Sunday News. October 28, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Bama blanks MSU". The Clarion-Ledger. November 4, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "No offense, but LSU loses again". The Shreveport Times. November 11, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Bearcats bow out at Bama battered but still game, 45–7". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 18, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Cardinals turn it into 'Fiasco Bowl'". The Courier-Journal. January 2, 1991. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Alabama does it! Crimson Tide topples Tigers 16–7". The Montgomery Advertiser. December 2, 1990. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "1990 Alabama football archives". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved February 20, 2021.