Never had a team been in such a position to threepeat prior to the 2013 Alabama Crimson Tide. They returned the bulk of their star players from the dominant season of 2012 and had a burning fire to accomplish what had previously been improbable. However, as we all know, one of the craziest plays in college football history in the final game of the regular season brought those hopes and dreams crashing down. Nevertheless, there are a lot of positive things to remember about the 2013 version of the Alabama Crimson Tide as we shall see.

2013 Alabama Crimson Tide

Overall Record: 11 wins, 2 losses
SEC Record: 7 wins, 1 loss (2nd in SEC West)
AP Poll Finish: #7
Coaches Poll Finish: #8

Offensive Coordinator: Doug Nussmeier
Defensive Coordinator: Kirby Smart
Permanent Captains: A.J. McCarron, C.J. Mosley, and Kevin Norwood
Consensus 1st Team All-Americans: C.J. Mosley (LB), Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (S), and Cyrus Kouandjio (T)
1st Team All-SEC: Cyrus Kouandjio (T), Anthony Steen (G), C.J. Mosley (LB), and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (S)
Heisman Trophy: A.J. McCarron (FINALIST - #2)

Total Offense: 454.1 YPG (#33)
Total Defense: 286.5 YPG (#5)
Average Talent Ranking on Roster: #2 (Per Rivals)

Schedule

vs. Virginia Tech (W) 35-10 [Atlanta, GA]
@ #6 Texas A&M (W) 49-42
vs. Colorado State (W) 31-6
vs. #21 Ole Miss (W) 25-0
vs. Georgia State (W) 45-3 [Homecoming]
@ Kentucky (W) 48-7
vs. Arkansas (W) 52-0
vs. Tennessee (W) 45-10
vs. #10 LSU (W) 38-17
@ Mississippi State (W) 20-7
vs. UT-Chattanooga (W) 49-0 [Senior Day]
@ #4 Auburn (L) 28-34
vs. #11 Oklahoma (L) 31-38 [2014 Sugar Bowl]

Leading Passer
A.J. McCarron
226-336 67.3 Pct 3,063 Yds 28 TDs 7 INTs

Leading Rusher
T.J. Yeldon
207 Att 1,235 Yds 6.0 Avg 14 TDs

Leading Receiver
Amari Cooper
45 Rec 736 Yds 16.4 Avg 4 TDs

Note: With 3,063 passing yards, A.J. McCarron became the first QB in the history of Alabama to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a season.

This post was edited on 4/20/24 at 10:36 am

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Posted by Diego Ricardo

Alabama

Member since Dec 2020

5982 posts

Posted on 4/20/24 at 10:48 am to RollTide1987

I never felt like this team really full came together but they had all the talent to do the 3peat. The VT opener was closer than it seemed if not for special teams touchdowns. Winning at College Station was great but Manziel and Evans torched the defense worse than 2012. The Ole Miss game was a sloppy game but Bo Wallace was overwhelmed by the defense. LSU was their first complete game against a quality opponent all season. Unfortunately, they played a sloppy game against MSU then basically begged Auburn to stay in the game the entire second half despite Auburn essentially falling apart on defense.

I have a sour opinion of this team. They seemed a bit too confident, to the point of hubris, and less focused than the 2011 and 2012 teams. They treated the LSU game like a coronation that would put them into SECCG and BCSCG.

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Posted by mistaken4193

Member since Jan 2017

25589 posts

Posted on 4/21/24 at 9:25 pm to RollTide1987

The scores said blowouts in all these games but I just remember us being sloppy all season. Still would have won the Natty tho if Cade Foster makes one of his 30FG attempts at Auburn.

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Posted by JoeKinesKhakis

Birmingham

Member since Jun 2020

313 posts

Posted on 4/23/24 at 4:34 pm to RollTide1987

People forget after this season was when Saban almost called it quits. I think it was after the Iron Bowl loss that genuinely had him thinking about it. I was at the 2010 and 2013 Iron Bowl and 2013 was 10000000x worse given what we had at stake. Bama would've stomped FSU in the BCS Champ btw...

It can't be said enough, but Saban powering through after 2013 and winning 3 more nattys after that nightmare IB only shows the drive that man had. There will never be another CNS.

Bonus: It took me until we beat AU in 2015 at JHS the courage to watch the Kick Six again.