2002 Alabama Crimson Tide football team


The 2002 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 106th overall season, 70th as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 11th within the SEC Western Division. The team was led by head coach Dennis Franchione, in his second year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 10–3 to finish in first place in the SEC West; however, the team was ineligible to compete in the 2002 SEC Championship Game or a bowl game due to a two-year postseason ban imposed as part of the penalty for National Collegiate Athletic Association violations.

Summary

The team was led by second-year head coach Dennis Franchione. The team began the season with a 4–1 record, only losing a very close game to then #8 ranked Oklahoma. On October 5, the Crimson Tide lost another hard-fought game to the #4 Georgia 27–25 at home. The team would then defeat their next five opponents by an average of 24.4 points. In the 2002 Iron Bowl, the team was defeated by the Auburn Tigers by a score of 17–7. The team would end their season by defeating Hawaii. Though the team finished at 10–3 and atop the SEC West standings, they were ineligible to play in the postseason due to receiving NCAA sanctions in 2001.
On December 5, head coach Dennis Franchione left the University of Alabama to take a head coaching job at Texas A&M which was left vacant by the firing of R. C. Slocum.

Schedule

Game summaries

Middle Tennessee

Oklahoma

North Texas

Southern Miss

Arkansas

Georgia

Ole Miss

Tennessee

Vanderbilt

Mississippi State

LSU

Auburn

Hawaii