The Crimson Tide opened the season with wins at Georgia, against Tulane in Mobile and at Vanderbilt en route to a 3–0 start.
They rebounded the week that followed with a shutout victory over Tennessee and then won their next three games against Houston, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech.
Although they lost, immediately after the game Alabama accepted an invitation to play Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
[13][14][15] The lone Georgia touchdown was set up in the first quarter when Ken Davis recovered a Joe Namath fumble at the Alabama 26-yard line.
[13][14] Mike Fracchia then scored the next pair of Alabama touchdowns on runs of five and one-yard before Preston Ridlehuber was tackled for a safety in the fourth quarter.
[19] At Mobile, the Crimson Tide shutout the Tulane Green Wave 28–0 in their annual Ladd Stadium game of the season.
[23] At Nashville, the Crimson Tide defeated the Commodores 21–6 in a game that saw Benny Nelson score twice on long touchdown runs for Alabama.
[21][22] Vanderbilt responded in the second quarter with a 25-yard Jon Cleveland touchdown pass to Toby Wilt; however the extra point was blocked and Alabama retained a 7–6 lead.
[25][26] The Alabama defense then produced a pair of goal line stands in the first half that resulted in a 3–0 Florida lead at halftime.
[25][26] With just over 2:00 left in the game, Joe Namath scored on a one-yard run to end the shutout bid, but Alabama still lost 10–6.
[39] On homecoming in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide scored a game-winning touchdown in the final four minutes of the game and defeated the Bulldogs 20–19.
The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on a one-yard Dan Bland run and on a 45-yard Larry Swearengen interception return of a Joe Namath pass.
[37][38] Alabama responded later in the quarter with a 40-yard Namath touchdown pass to Jimmy Dill and a 31-yard Davis field goal and took a 13–12 halftime lead.
[41][42] Alabama then closed the game with fourth-quarter touchdowns scored on runs of six-yards by Nelson and one-yard by Joe Namath.
[47] In the annual Iron Bowl game, Alabama was defeated by the Tigers for the first time since the 1958 season in this 10–8 loss at Legion Field.
[45][46] The Tigers then extended their lead to 10–0 in the third quarter when Mailon Kent threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Frederickson.
[45][46] Although they lost, after the game the Crimson Tide officially accepted an invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss.
[49] This game against the Miami was originally scheduled to be played on Friday, October 18, but was subsequently moved to December 7 in order to be televised on CBS.
[52][53] The rescheduling of this game also pushed back the start of the annual Orange Blossom Classic from the afternoon to evening of December 14.
[54] With starting quarterback Joe Namath still suspended, the Crimson Tide offense struggled, but four Tim Davis field goals proved to be enough for Alabama to win 12–7 over the Rebels.
[57][58] Ole Miss responded in the fourth quarter with their only points on a five-yard Perry Lee Dunn touchdown pass to Larry Smith that made the final score 12–7.
[68] After a 10–6 loss to Mississippi State to open the season, Alabama rebounded with a 3–0 victory over Tulane at Denny Stadium.
[70] Alabama then closed the season with a 17–16 victory over a previously undefeated Ole Miss freshmen team in Tuscaloosa.
[68] A game-winning, 36-yard Dudley Kerr field goal late in the fourth quarter made the final score 17–16.