2002 - Week 1

A bit closer than we'd all like it to be, I'm sure, but a win is a win. And I'm much happier on the winning side when I research these stats. Here's some insights:

• Bama gets its 83^rd season-opening win, but its first opening day win since 1999. Bama also earns its 89^th win in a home opener.
• The offense is off to a flying start. Bama racks up the most points in an opening game since 1997's 42-17 win over Houston. It's also the first time Bama's gone over 35 since last year's 56-7 drubbing of UTEP.
• However, the defense still needs a bit of work. Bama gives up 34 points or more for only the fifth time ever in an opening-day game (last against UCLA, 2000). On the plus side, it is the Tide's first win in such a game. They were 0-3-1 beforehand.
• Bama has scored 39 points or more in a game 167 times, and are 164-3 in such games. All three losses were forfeits in 1993, making the Tide undefeated on the field in such games. The last time that the Tide scored exactly 39 points in a game was in the 1966 Orange Bowl against Nebraska (39-28).
• Bama has given up 34 or more points in a game 50 times. This is only the fourth win the Crimson Tide has been able to pull out of such a contest, against 45 defeats and a tie.
• The Tide remains undefeated in August (4-0) and on August 31 (2-0).
• The five point victory is Bama's 16^th; it is the first time the Tide has bested an opponent by five points since N.C. State in 1996 (24-19).
• As one might expect, there haven't been many Bama games in which 73 total points were scored - 3 to be exact. The Tide is 2-1 in those games. The loss came just last year to South Carolina (37-36).
• Bama gets its 85^th win against first-time opponents (85-28-2).

Up Next - Oklahoma

And so now we're ready for the first really big test of a year filled with big tests. The best two teams ever to pull on crimson jerseys face each other in Norman. It's an opportunity for a huge win to put the program back into the big time. Here's some tidbits on the Sooners.

• The Tide and the Sooners have met twice before, both in bowl situations. Bama is 1-0-1 against OU; the win came in the 1963 Orange Bowl (17-0) and the tie in the 1970 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl (24-24).
• Bama has never played in the state of Oklahoma before. It will be the 27^th state the Tide has visited. They hold a winning record in all but six (New York, Indiana, Arizona, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Nebraska).
• Bama plays a current Big XII opponent for the 27^th time, but Oklahoma will mark the second in the last three games (Iowa State in the Independence Bowl last year). Bama can move their record against Big XII foes to .500 (currently 12-13-2) with a win over the Sooners.
• Bama will go for its 60^th road opener win in its history. The Tide is 59-38-6 in road openers (It didn't play outside of Tuscaloosa or Birmingham five seasons). This marks only the second time since 1991 that an opponent other than Arkansas or Vanderbilt has served as Bama's first road opponent (UCLA in 2000).