2001 - Independence Bowl Recap
Well, it wasn't the prettiest win I've ever seen, but hey, it's a win, right? And after some of the tough losses we had this year, it's nice to be on the good side of one of these games. Here's some more information about Alabama's final game of the 2001 season.
- Bama's record 51st bowl appearance results in its 29th bowl victory. Bama is now 29-19-3 in bowl games, and has a five-win advantage on the next-winningest bowling team, Southern California.
- Bama gets a bowl win for the first time since 1996 (1997 Outback Bowl); it's also the first time the Tide finishes the year with a win since 1996.
- Bama runs its record against first-time opponents to 84-28-2. It's also the fifth time Bama has won its first game against an opponent by a single point (Army, 29-28 in the 1988 Sun Bowl; East Carolina, 23-22 in 1998; Haskell Institute, 9-8 in 1908; Washington, 20-19 in the 1926 Rose Bowl).
- By playing in Shreveport, Bama plays a game in the 68th different location, according to my records. It's the fourth location in Louisiana (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette). Bama moves its all-time record in the Pelican State to 46-17-6.
- It's the third 14-13 win in Bama's history (Georgia Tech, 1940; Georgia, 1957), and its 25th win by a single point. It's the first one-point win since the first Florida win in 1999.
- Bama is 36-13-3 when scoring exactly 14 points, and 27-15-2 when giving up exactly 13 points. This win and the 12-9 win over Vandy earlier this year are the only times since 1995 that Bama has scored 14 points or less in a game and come out on top.
- It was Bama's first game ever on December 27th. The Tide moves to 35-15-2 in games played during the month of December.
- Bama's non-conference record moves to 3-1, which is Bama's 57th winning non-conference record since the SEC's inception. It's Bama's first winning non-conference mark since 1998, however.
- Bama finishes the season 7-5 for the fourth time in its history (1987, 1990, 1998). By doing so, Bama secures their 91st winning season.
- Final scoring average stats:
- Points scored per game: 26.5 (tied for 22nd since 1960)
- Points allowed per game: 19.33 (seventh-worst since 1960)
I guess we've still got a way to go on the defense. :) But it's still the best defense scoring-wise since 1996.
And so that wraps up the second year of UA Football Facts. This season, while tough at times, was still a lot more fun overall than last year to research. Here's hoping that the future brings more great wins and more interesting stats to find. Until next year, Roll Tide!
