The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Duke Blue Devils, representing the Southern Conference (SoCon).
[2] The 1942 Alabama squad finished the regular season 5–1–2 with its loss coming to the Georgia Bulldogs and the two ties coming against the LSU Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers.
With most of America's youth still serving in the armed forces, Frank Thomas scrambled to assemble a team in 1944.
Finally he was able to fill out a roster, mostly composed of 17-year-old freshmen and students who had been rejected as unsuitable for military service.
[3] On November 25, the Crimson Tide was invited to compete in the Sugar Bowl, marking the first time that a school had competed in the four major bowls at that time (Rose, Cotton, Orange and Sugar Bowls).