1941 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1941 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1941 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 48th overall and 9th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Frank Thomas , in his 11th year , and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham , Alabama . They finished the season with a record of nine wins and two losses ( 9 – 2 overall , 5 – 2 in the SEC ) and with a victory in the Cotton Bowl Classic over Texas A & M . Alabama also officially claims a share of the 1941 national championship due to its selection as national champions by the Houlgate System . The Crimson Tide opened the 1941 season with a non - conference victory over but lost to in the second game of the season . Alabama rebounded with six consecutive victories over , Tennessee , Georgia , , Tulane and . As they entered their game against , the Crimson Tide was ranked No . 7 in the AP Poll , but were upset 7 – 0 in Nashville . Alabama then closed the regular season with a road victory over and defeated Texas A & M in the Cotton Bowl Classic . Game notes . Southwestern Louisiana . To open the 1941 season , Alabama defeated the Southwestern Louisiana Institute Bulldogs ( now known as the Louisiana – Lafayette Ragin ' Cajuns ) 47 – 6 at Denny Stadium . Alabama took a 13 – 0 first quarter lead after touchdowns were scored on a short Paul Spencer run and on a 9 - yard Jimmy Nelson run . The Bulldogs then responded early in the second quarter with their only points on an 11 - yard Bobby Voitier touchdown pass to William Bernhard . The Crimson Tide then played their second line and Don Salls scored their third touchdown of the afternoon on a 6 - yard run to give Alabama a 20 – 6 halftime lead . In the second half , Louisiana was shutout and the Crimson Tide added two touchdowns in each of the final two quarters for the 47 – 6 win . Third quarter touchdowns were scored by Dave Brown on a 6 - yard run and by Spencer on a 7 - yard run ; fourth quarter touchdowns were scored after Wheeler Leeth blocked a Bulldogs punt that was returned 15 - yards by Joe Chorba and on a shore Louie Scales run . The victory was Alabama ' s first against the Bulldogs and also marked the return of former Crimson Tide All - American Johnny Cain to Tuscaloosa as head coach of Southwestern Louisiana . Mississippi State . In the first conference game of the season , Alabama was shutout 14 – 0 by the Mississippi State Maroons on homecoming at Denny Stadium for the second consecutive year . After a scoreless first half , the Maroons scored a touchdown in each of the final two quarters . Touchdowns were scored on a 19 - yard Bill Murphy pass to Robert Patterson in the third and on a short Bruce run in the fourth . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 19 – 7 – 2 . Howard . In the first Legion Field game of the season , Alabama defeated Howard ( now Samford University ) 61 – 0 . The Crimson Tide took a 13 – 0 halftime lead after touchdowns were scored on a 1 - yard Don Salls run in the first and on an 8 - yard reverse by Dave Brown in the second . Alabama extended their lead further to 27 – 0 in the third with touchdowns by Jimmy Nelson on a 95 - yard kickoff return and then on a 13 - yard run . The Crimson Tide then closed the game with five fourth quarter touchdowns for the 61 – 0 win . Touchdowns in the fourth were scored by Carl Mims on runs of 26 , 6 and 18 - yards , Ted McKosky on a 37 - yard run and on a Ted Cook touchdown reception . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Howard to 19 – 0 – 1 . Tennessee . At Knoxville , Alabama defeated rival Tennessee 9 – 2 to end a three game losing streak against the Volunteers . Alabama scored all of their points in the first half for a 9 – 0 lead on a 21 - yard George Hecht field goal in the first and on a 2 - yard Don Salls touchdown run in the second . Tennessee scored their only points in the third quarter on a safety to prevent a shutout . Jimmy Nelson starred on defense with his three interception s during the game . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 14 – 8 – 2 . Georgia . At Legion Field , Alabama defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 27 – 14 in what was their first meeting since the 1935 season . The Crimson Tide took a 13 – 0 first quarter lead on a Jimmy Nelson touchdown pass to Holt Rast and on a 1 - yard Nelson run . The Bulldogs responded in the first two minutes of the second quarter with a Heyward Allen to Lamar Davis touchdown pass . However , Alabama responded to make the halftime lead 20 – 7 after Paul Spencer scored on a 1 - yard run late in the second quarter . Alabama then scored their final points late in the third when Nelson intercepted a Frank Sinkwich pass and returned it 54 yards for a 27 – 7 lead . A late Allen to Jerry Nunnally touchdown pass made the final score 27 – 14 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia to 14 – 11 – 3 . Kentucky . After their victory over Georgia , Alabama entered the polls for the first time of the season at the No . 15 position . On what was homecoming in Tuscaloosa , the Crimson Tide shutout Kentucky 30 – 0 , and scored at least one touchdown in all four quarters . First half touchdowns were scored by Jimmy Nelson on a 20 - yard run in the first and on a 22 - yard pass from Russ Mosley to George Weeks in the second . Second half touchdowns were scored on a Nelson to Holt Rast reception in the third and on both a 25 - yard Howard Hughes to Carl Mims pass and on a 23 - yard Frank Martin run . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Kentucky 19 – 1 – 1 . Tulane . The Crimson Tide defeated the Green Wave 19 – 14 with a fourth quarter touchdown to take the lead before a crowd of 50 , 000 at Tulane Stadium . Alabama scored first when Jimmy Nelson took a Bob Glass punt and then handed it to Dave Brown who returned it 60 yards for a touchdown . Tulane then took a 7 – 6 lead later in the first on a 25 - yard Lou Thomas touchdown pass to Gordon English , and extended it to 14 – 6 at halftime when Thomas threw his second touchdown of the afternoon to Bob Grush . Alabama responded in the third with a 3 - yard Nelson to Holt Rast touchdown pass and with the game - winning points on a 2 - yard Don Salls touchdown run in the fourth . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Tulane to 14 – 4 – 1 . Georgia Tech . Prior to their final home game of the season against Georgia Tech , Alabama moved up from the No . 13 position to the No . 9 position in the AP Poll . Against the Yellow Jackets , the Crimson Tide won with a 20 – 0 shutout at Legion Field . After a scoreless first quarter , Alabama scored one touchdown in each of the three remaining quarters in the victory . Howard Hughes scored in the second on a 2 - yard run , Jimmy Nelson scored on a 68 - yard punt return in the third and Nelson threw a 4 - yard touchdown pass to Russ Craft in the fourth . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 13 – 11 – 3 . Vanderbilt . After their victory over Georgia Tech , Alabama moved up two spots to the No . 7 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Vanderbilt . In their game against the Commodores , Alabama lost 7 – 0 in rainy and muddy conditions on the road at Dudley Field . The only points of the game came in the third quarter when Art Rebrovich threw a 25 - yard touchdown pass to Jack Jenkins . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Vanderbilt to 13 – 10 . Miami . After their loss to Vanderbilt , Alabama moved down eleven spots to the No . 18 position in the AP Poll prior to their game against Miami . In their game against the Hurricanes on a Friday evening , Alabama won 21 – 7 in what was the first all - time meeting between the schools . After an 85 - yard punt return by Jimmy Nelson brought the ball to the Miami 5 - yard line , Russ Craft scored on a 5 - yard reverse for a 7 – 0 Alabama lead . Howard Plasman tied the game at 7 – 7 on the ensuing possession with his 2 - yard touchdown run . The Crimson Tide retook the lead in the second on a 28 - yard Dave Brown touchdown run and then scored again in the third quarter on a Nelson run for the 21 – 7 victory . Texas A & M . In the 1942 Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas A & M , Alabama was outgained 309 yards to 75 and earned just one official first down , but were able to win the game 29 – 21 . In the game , Alabama ' s defense forced 12 turnovers ( seven interceptions and five fumbles ) . The Crimson Tide scored a touchdown on a 72 - yard punt return , a 12 - yard interception return , scored two touchdowns after recovering A & M fumbles on the A & M 21 and 24 - yard lines and kicked a field goal after they intercepted a pass on the Texas A & M 17 . National championship claim . The NCAA recognizes consensus national champions as the teams that have captured a championship by way of one of the major polls since the 1950 college football season . Prior to 1950 , national championships were chosen by a variety of selectors , and in the 1980s , Alabama claimed the 1941 championship as one of its 14 claimed / recognized national championships . As such , Alabama claims a share of the 1941 national championship , with Minnesota , due to each school being selected national champion by various major selectors . Specifically , Alabama was selected national champion in 1941 by the Houlgate System . The Houlgate System was a mathematical ranking system devised by Dale Houlgate that was syndicated in newspapers between 1927 and 1958 to determine the national champion . After the season . NFL Draft . Several players that were varsity lettermen from the 1941 squad were drafted into the National Football League ( NFL ) between the 1942 and 1944 drafts . These players included the following : References . General Specific