1954 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
The 1954 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1954 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 60th overall and 21st season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Harold Drew, in his eighth year, and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Legion Field in Birmingham, Ladd Stadium in Mobile and at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. They finished with a record of four wins, five losses and two ties (4–5–2 overall, 3–3–2 in the SEC).
| 1954 Alabama Crimson Tide football | |
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| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Record | 4–5–2 (3–3–2 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Captain | Sid Youngelman |
| Home stadium | Denny Stadium Legion Field Ladd Stadium Cramton Bowl |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Ole Miss $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Auburn | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama | 3 | – | 3 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 1 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 6 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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After a second consecutive season-opening loss to Mississippi Southern, Alabama reeled off a four-game winning streak that included shutout victories over LSU, Tulsa and Tennessee. However, the Crimson Tide followed their streak by scoring only 14 points over the final six games of the 1954 season. After their win over Tennessee, Alabama lost to Mississippi State, and in the loss began a streak of 16 consecutive scoreless quarters that tied the all-time school record. Consecutive scoreless ties against Georgia and Tulane followed, despite quarterback Bart Starr's attempted comeback from a brutal pre-season hazing injury. The season ended with losses to Georgia Tech, Miami and Auburn by a combined score of 71–7. Their record of 4–5–2 was only Alabama's second losing season in 50 years.
After the conclusion of the season, on December 2, Harold Drew resigned as head coach of the Crimson Tide. During his tenure as head coach, Drew had a winning record going 54–28–7 in seven years. Drew's teams won one conference title and played in three bowl games in eight years. On the day of Drew's resignation, Jennings B. Whitworth was introduced as his successor as head coach after he served in the same capacity at Oklahoma A&M.