2001 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 2001 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama during 2001 NCAA Division I - A football season . They began their season trying to improve upon a 3 – 8 ( 3 – 5 ) record during the 2000 season . This was the team ' s 69th season in the SEC . This marked Dennis Franchione s first season as head coach of the Crimson Tide following the dismissal of Mike DuBose . The team finished with a victory in the 2001 Independence Bowl and an overall record of 7 – 5 . Game notes . UCLA . Dennis Franchione ' s first game as head coach of the Crimson Tide , pitted the Bruins of the Pacific - 10 Conference . Although Alabama outgained UCLA in total offense 458 – 291 , the Bruins were victorious by a final score of 20 – 17 before a sold - out home crowd . The Tide took an early 10 – 0 lead on a 78 - yard Antonio Carter touchdown reception from Tyler Watts and 30 - yard Neal Thomas field goal . UCLA responded with 20 consecutive points to take a lead that would not be relinquished . The final Alabama score came late in the fourth on a 71 yard touchdown pass from Andrew Zow to Freddie Milons . Vanderbilt . Dennis Franchione notched his first win as head coach of the Crimson Tide , in a game of field goals , and defeated Vanderbilt 12 – 9 . Arkansas . As a result of the September 11 Attacks , the September 15 , 2001 , contest with Southern Miss was postponed , resulting in the Razorbacks being the Tide ' s third opponent on the season . Although outgained in total offense , a pair of defensive touchdowns put the Tide over the top before an emotional home crowd 31 – 10 . Bama would score its first points on an 11 - yard Ahmaad Galloway touchdown run to take a 7 – 3 lead in the first quarter . In the second , the teams would alternate touchdowns with Reggie Myles scoring on a 42 - yard fumble recovery for the Tide and Brandon Holmes scoring on a 1 - yard run to have Bama leading 14 – 10 at the half . The Tide would open their second half scoring with a 36 - yard Neal Thomas field goal followed by a 39 - yard Freddie Milons touchdown reception from Tyler Watts . The final points of the evening would come with only 00 : 20 remaining in the game when Thurman Ward returning an interception 60 - yards for a touchdown . South Carolina . Although the Tide gained 516 yards of total offense , the Gamecocks prevailed by a final score of 37 – 36 . The South Carolina victory marked their first victory over Alabama in school history . UTEP . The Tide gained 588 yards of total offense , and defeated the Miners by a final score of 56 – 7 in the first Legion Field game of the 2001 season . Bama scored 21 points in first on a pair of Donnie Lowe touchdown runs ( 2 and 1 yard respectively ) and a 10 - yard Triandos Luke touchdown reception from Tyler Watts . Another 21 points were scored in the second on a pair of Watts touchdown runs ( 16 and 9 yard respectively ) and a 2 - yard Luke touchdown reception to give Bama a 42 – 0 halftime lead . The scoring continued in the second half on a 12 - yard Marvin Brown touchdown run and 2 - yard Ray Hudson touchdown run . Ole Miss . Thirteen unanswered points in the fourth resulted in the Rebels defeating the Tide before the home crowd by a final score of 27 – 24 . Bama scored first on a 6 - yard Ahmaad Galloway touchdown run , only to have Ole Miss take the lead after touchdown runs on a 1 - yard Toward Sanford run and 25 - yard Joe Gunn run . The Tide responded with a 58 - yard Sam Collins touchdown reception from Tyler Watts and 31 yard Neal Thomas field goal to take a 17 – 14 halftime lead . Alabama extended their lead to 24 – 14 in the third on a 7 - yard Triandos Luke touchdown reception . Ole Miss would respond with a 19 - yard Charles Stackhouse touchdown run and Eli Manning hitting Gunn for a 3 - yard touchdown pass to seal the victory with 00 : 46 remaining in the game . For the game , Ole Miss outgained the Tide 430 – 363 in total offense . Tennessee . Although Alabama took a 24 – 21 lead into the fourth quarter , 14 unanswered points in the fourth resulted in Bama losing its seventh consecutive contest to the Vols in the annual Third Saturday in October game . After falling behind 14 – 3 on a 21 - yard pass from Casey Clausen to Donte Stallworth and a 60 - yard Travis Stephens run , the Tide responded with a pair of Sam Collins touchdown receptions to take a 17 – 14 lead . The Vols responded and took a 21 – 17 lead following a 21 - yard Jason Witten touchdown reception , only to again fall behind 24 – 21 after a four - yard Ahmaad Galloway touchdown run . Tennessee again came from behind and dominated the fourth quarter and seal the victory with an one - yard Clausen and one - yard Stephens touchdown runs in the fourth . LSU . On Homecoming in Tuscaloosa , LSU dominated in gaining 611 yards of total offense ( with a record 528 yards through the air ) and defeated the Tide 35 – 21 . LSU took a 14 – 0 lead in the first quarter on a 3 - yard LaBrandon Toefield run and a 34 - yard touchdown pass from Rohan Davey to Jerel Myers . Bama responded in the second with a 22 - yard Neal Thomas field goal and 5 - yard touchdown pass from Tyler Watts to Terry Jones , Jr . to make the score to 14 – 10 at the half . Early in the third , Toefield again scored on a two - yard run to give the Tigers a 21 – 10 lead . Bama tied the game at 21 after another Thomas field goal and 22 - yard Watts touchdown run . LSU responded and scored on a 25 - yard Josh Reed touchdown reception late in the third and on a 6 - yard Toefield touchdown run in the fourth . Reed ' s 293 yards receiving set a SEC record for receiving yardage in a game . Mississippi State . Bama put an end to a three game losing streak and defeated the Bulldogs of Mississippi State 24 – 17 before the home crowd . Th Tide took a 10 – 0 lead late into the second quarter on a 6 - yard Santonio Beard touchdown run and 20 - yard Neal Thomas field goal . The Bulldogs answered , and scored the next 17 points on a pair of Kevin Fant touchdown passes and a 43 - yard John M . Marlin field goal to take a 17 – 10 lead into the fourth quarter . In the fourth , Andrew Zow hit Donnie Lowe for a 10 - yard touchdown strike to tie the game at 17 , with Beard scoring his second touchdown on a game - winning , 14 - yard run . Auburn . On " The Plains " , Alabama outgained the Tigers in total offense 549 – 272 and secured the Tide ' s victory at Auburn 31 – 10 in the 2001 Iron Bowl . After a scoreless first , Bama scored first on an eight - yard Santonio Beard touchdown run . Auburn answered with their lone score on a 5 - yard Ronnie Brown run . The Tide scored next with Andrew Zow connecting with Jason McAddley for a 45 - yard touchdown strike to give the visitors a 14 – 7 lead at the half . The second half again saw the Tide strike early on a 47 - yard Beard run , with the final scores coming in the fourth on a 10 - yard Terry Jones , Jr . touchdown reception and a 26 - yard Neal Thomas field goal . Although slightly outgained in passing yardage 221 – 231 , Bama outrushed the Tigers 328 – 41 to give Alabama the 31 – 7 victory . Southern Miss . The contest against the Golden Eagles was originally to have been played on September 15 , 2001 ; however , as a result of the September 11 attacks , the game was postponed and subsequently played on November 29 at Legion Field . Although mired in rainy and windy conditions , both Ahmaad Galloway ( on runs of 40 and 11 yards respectively ) and Andrew Zow ( on a 14 yard pass to Sam Collins , and a 26 yard pass to Freddie Milons ) each notched a pair of touchdowns in the victory . Iowa State . In the 26th annual Independence Bowl , the Tide struggled against the Cyclones offensively and were outgained 456 yards of offense to 269 , but a missed 47 - yard field goal attempt with 46 seconds left in the game sealed the victory for Alabama .