The 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by second-year head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide compiled an overall record of 12–2 with a mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the SEC's Western Division title. Alabama advanced to the SEC Championship Game, where the Crimson Tide lost to the eventual national champion, Florida. Alabama was then invited to the Sugar Bowl, losing to Utah. The team played home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The Crimson Tide opened the season with an upset victory over No. 9 Clemson in the inaugural Chick-fil-A College Kickoff. After the win, Alabama returned home where they defeated non-conference opponents Tulane and Western Kentucky before they traveled to Fayetteville and defeated Arkansas for their first conference win of the season. The next week, The Crimson Tide upset No. 3 Georgia at Athens and moved into the No. 2 ranking. Alabama then defeated Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Arkansas State prior to Saban's return to Baton Rouge as an opposing head coach.
In Week 10 of the season, Alabama became the No. 1 team in both the AP and Coaches polls as well as the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings. It was the first time the Crimson Tide had been ranked No. 1 in the regular season since November 1, 1980, when the top-ranked Tide fell to Mississippi State. It was also the first time Nick Saban had ever achieved the No. 1 position in the AP Poll and the first time in school history Alabama had reached No. 1 in the BCS standings. With their 27–21 overtime win over LSU, Alabama clinched a berth in the SEC Championship Game. The Crimson Tide finished their regular season undefeated with a 36–0 shutout victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl. This was the Crimson Tide's first undefeated regular season since 1994 and the program's first SEC Western Division championship since the 1999 season. The Tide lost SEC Championship Game to Florida, 31–20. A month later, the Alabama concluded the season with a 31–17 upset loss in the Sugar Bowl against Utah, a game in which the Tide were favored by 10 points.
Schedule The Sagarin computer ratings calculated Alabama's strength of schedule to be the sixth most difficult out of the 120 Division I teams. The Cosgrove Computer Rankings calculated it as the eighth most difficult out of the 120 Division I FBS teams in its rankings. Alabama's 2008 schedule was officially released on January 4, 2008. It featured six pre-season AP Top 25 teams, five of which were ranked in the top 10, eight of which made bowl games in 2007.
In accordance with conference rules, Alabama faced all five Western Division opponents: Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss. They also faced three Eastern Division opponents: official SEC rival Tennessee, Georgia, and Kentucky. Alabama did not play SEC opponents South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Although not on the regular season schedule, Bama met Florida in the SEC Championship Game. Alabama also played four non-conference games. The non-conference schedule included games against Clemson of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Tulane of Conference USA and both Western Kentucky and Arkansas State of the Sun Belt Conference. For the 2009 Sugar Bowl, Alabama played Utah.
Rankings
Entering the 2008 season, the Crimson Tide was ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll and was not ranked in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. After their upset victory over Clemson in week one, Alabama moved into the No. 13 position in the AP and No. 17 in the Coaches' Poll. The Crimson Tide continued to move up in both polls each week through week seven when they reached the No. 2 position in both polls after their victory at Georgia. The Crimson Tide remained in the No. 2 position over the next four weeks until No. 1 Texas was upset by Texas Tech in week nine. In the polls released after the Texas loss, the Crimson Tide moved into the No. 1 position in both polls. Alabama remained in the No. 1 position until their loss in the SEC Championship Game to Florida when they dropped into the No. 4 position prior to their bowl game appearance. They then ended the season with a final ranking of No. 6 in both polls after their loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl.
Before the season During the 2007 campaign, the Crimson Tide completed a 6–6 regular season record with their most notable wins coming over No. 16 Arkansas and longtime rival Tennessee. The Tide went on to win their final game against Colorado (30–24) in the Independence Bowl to finish with a 7–6 record. In June 2009, the NCAA Committee on Infractions sanctioned Alabama for "major violations" of NCAA policies as a result of athletes who received improper benefits in 16 of 19 NCAA sports, including football. As part of the penalties imposed, the football program was forced to vacate five victories from the 2007 season making the official 2007 record 2–6.
In February 2008, Alabama signed the No. 1 recruiting class according to both Rivals and Scout. Spring practice began on March 13 and concluded with the annual A-Day game on April 12. Before a crowd of 78,200, the Crimson team defeated the White team by a score of 24–14 in Bryant–Denny Stadium. For their performances, Alfred McCullough earned the Dwight Stephenson Lineman of the A-Day Game Award and Terry Grant earned the Dixie Howell Memorial Most Valuable Player of the A-Day Game Award.
Returning starters Alabama had 18 returning starters from the previous season,2008 University of Alabama Football Recruiting and Media Guide, p. 10 including nine on offense, five on defense, and all of the special teams. The most notable departures from the previous year were D. J. Hall and Justin Britt on offense and Wallace Gilberry, Darren Mustin, Keith Saunders, Ezekial Knight, Simeon Castille and Marcus Carter on defense.
Offense Player Class Position John Parker Wilson Senior Quarterback Terry Grant Sophomore Running back Mike McCoy Junior Wide receiver Travis McCall Senior Tight end Nick Walker Senior Tight end Antoine Caldwell Senior Center Marlon Davis Senior Offensive tackle Andre Smith Junior Offensive tackle Mike Johnson Junior Offensive guard
Defense Player Class Position Brandon Deaderick Junior Defensive end Lorenzo Washington Junior Nose tackle Rolando McClain Sophomore Linebacker Rashad Johnson Senior Safety Kareem Jackson Sophomore Cornerback
Special teams Player Class Position P. J. Fitzgerald Junior Punter Leigh Tiffin Junior Placekicker Javier Arenas Junior Return specialist Brian Selman Junior Long snapper
Game summaries Clemson
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In January 2008, officials from both Clemson and Alabama announced they would open the 2008 season against each other in the inaugural Chick-fil-A College Kickoff at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. With ESPN's College GameDay in town, and Clemson, selected as the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Crimson Tide upset the Tigers 34–10 to open the season.
After opening the scoring on a 54-yard Leigh Tiffin field goal, Cory Reamer forced a Jamie Harper fumble recovered by Dont'a Hightower at the Clemson 31. The ensuing drive resulted in a 21-yard Tiffin field goal and a 6–0 lead. After holding the Tigers to a three and out, the Tide reached the end zone for the first time on the evening on a one-yard John Parker Wilson touchdown run to extend the lead to 13–0. After Mark Buchholz hit a 33-yard field goal early in the second quarter, Alabama extended their lead to 20–3 after Wilson hit Nick Walker for a four-yard touchdown reception on the following drive. After a missed 52-yard Tiffin field goal, Marquis Johnson intercepted a Cullen Harper pass on the next Clemson possession to set up a 34-yard Tiffin field goal as time expired to give Alabama a 23–3 halftime lead. Clemson opened the second half with C. J. Spiller returning the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 23–10. Alabama responded later in the third quarter with a four-yard Wilson touchdown pass to Julio Jones in extending the lead to 31–10. Tiffin added the final points of the evening on a 26-yard field goal to cap a 14 play, 78 yard drive in bringing the final score to 34–10.
James Davis and C.J. Spiller, the duo known as "Thunder and Lightning," combined for only 20 yards on the ground, while the team's rushing total was 0. Clemson's redshirt senior quarterback, Cullen Harper, completed 20 of 34 passes but had no touchdowns and one interception. Alabama's John Parker Wilson completed 22 of 30 passes with no interceptions. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against the Tigers to 12–3.
Tulane
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Alabama's season home-opener saw the Crimson Tide defeat Tulane 20–6, in the 41st meeting between the two teams and the first since 1994. Alabama received the opening kickoff, but went three-and-out on their first possession. After the Bama defense stopped Tulane on their opening possession, Javier Arenas ignited the crowd on an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 7–0 lead. Later in the first quarter, Chris Rogers returned a blocked punt 17-yards for a touchdown, though freshman kicker Corey Smith missed the extra point resulting in a 13–0 lead. Tulane scored the only points of the second quarter on a 35-yard Ross Thevenot field goal in bringing the halftime score to 13–3.
At the end of the third, Mark Ingram II scored the lone offensive touchdown of the game on a 15-yard run and a 21-yard Thevenot field goal in the fourth brought the game to its final 20–6 margin. For the game, Javier Arenas set a school record with 147 yards on punt returns, eclipsing the previous mark of 141 yards set by Harry Gilmer against Georgia in 1947. For his performance, Arenas was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against the Green Wave to 27–11–3.
WKU
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In week three, Alabama defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 41–7, who were playing their second season in the FBS. The Bama defense held the Hilltoppers offense to a three-and-out on their first drive of the game. The Crimson Tide offense took over and completed a twelve-play drive that ended with a seven-yard touchdown run by Mark Ingram II. WKU fumbled on the first play of their subsequent drive, and Alabama recovered the ball on the WKU 17-yard line, setting up a 22-yard field goal by Leigh Tiffin. Ingram scored his second touchdown of the afternoon on a five-yard run to give Alabama a 17–0 at the end of the first quarter. Alabama scored on their first possession of the second quarter on an eight-yard Terry Grant touchdown run to cap a 9-play, 78-yard drive. John Parker Wilson threw an interception on the first play of the next drive. This set up the Hilltoppers' lone score of the afternoon on a 30-yard touchdown reception by Tristan Jones from David Wolke. Alabama put one more touchdown on the scoreboard on a two-yard Nick Walker reception from Wilson, to take a 31–7 lead into halftime.
On the first drive of the second half, the Bama offense was held to a 25-yard, Tiffin field goal, making the score 34–7. The defense held WKU to a three-and-out on their first possession of the second half. This set up a seven-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Julio Jones. Alabama benched most of their starters at the end of the third quarter, and neither team scored in the fourth quarter, to make the final score of 41–7.
Arkansas
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