Alabama finished the regular season as SEC champions with a record of 10–1; the only loss was at Nebraska (31–24) in week two.
Their only defeats were to Oklahoma by a point (29–28) on a disputed late field goal in week three and at rival Michigan Wolverines (14–6) to close the regular season.
[10] After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama scored on a one-yard Tony Nathan touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 76-yard drive.
[11] On their next offensive possession, Bama scored again on a 27-yard Jeff Rutledge touchdown pass to Bruce Bolton to take a 13–0 lead at the half.
[11] Source:[3] While #3 Alabama won easily, top-ranked Texas and #2 Oklahoma were both upset by large margins in their bowl games.