# 1985 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1985 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 93rd overall and 52nd season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Ray Perkins, in his third year, and played their home games at both Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of nine wins, two losses and one tie (9–2–1 overall, 4–1–1 in the SEC) and with a victory in the Aloha Bowl over USC.
Highlights of the 1985 season included a last-second, 20–16 comeback victory on Labor Day over Georgia to open the season. The 1985 edition of the Iron Bowl against Auburn is regarded as one of Alabama's most dramatic victories in the history of the series. In the game, Alabama led 16–10 after three quarters, but saw four lead changes in the fourth quarter, including two in the final minute. It ended with Van Tiffin's 52-yard field goal as time expired to give Alabama a 25–23 victory. Tiffin's field goal is remembered simply as "The Kick" in Alabama lore.
Due to NCAA sanctions that led to the forfeit of Alabama's 1993 17–17 tie with Tennessee, and college football's adoption of an overtime that does not allow ties, the 14–14 tie with LSU remains the last official tie in school history.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 7:00 p.m. | at Georgia | | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (rivalry) | ABC | W 20–16 | 81,277 |
| September 14 | 6:45 p.m. | Texas A&M* | No. 20 | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL | ESPN | W 23–10 | 74,697 |
| September 21 | 1:30 p.m. | Cincinnati* | No. 16 | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL | PPV | W 45–10 | 58,714 |
| September 28 | 11:30 a.m. | at Vanderbilt | No. 15 | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | WTBS | W 40–20 | 41,186 |
| October 12 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 8 Penn State* | No. 10 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (rivalry) | ABC | L 17–19 | 85,444 |
| October 19 | 11:30 a.m. | No. 20 Tennessee | No. 15 | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October) | WTBS | L 14–16 | 75,808 |
| October 26 | 1:30 p.m. | at Memphis State* | | Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis, TN | PPV | W 28–9 | 37,609 |
| November 2 | 1:30 p.m. | Mississippi State | | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL (rivalry) | | W 44–28 | 60,210 |
| November 9 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 15 LSU | No. 20 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA (rivalry) | ABC | T 14–14 | 76,772 |
| November 16 | 1:30 p.m. | Southern Miss* | No. 20 | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL (rivalry) | | W 24–13 | 58,714 |
| November 30 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. No. 7 Auburn | | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) | ABC | W 25–23 | 75,808 |
| December 28 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. USC* | No. 13 | Aloha StadiumHalawa, HI (Aloha Bowl) | ISN | W 24–3 | 35,183 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | — | — | 20 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 15 | — | — | 20 | 20 | — | — | 15 | 15 | 13 |
| Coaches | — | | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 14 | — | 20 | 20 | — | — | — | 14 | 14 | 14 |

## Game summaries
### Texas A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| • No. 20 Crimson Tide | 7 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 23 |

### At LSU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 20 Crimson Tide | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 15 Tigers | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |

### Vs. Auburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Crimson Tide | 10 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 25 |
| No. 7 Tigers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 23 |
Van Tiffin kicked his fourth field goal of the game, from 52 yards out, as time expired to give Alabama the Iron Bowl victory.