1948 Alabama Crimson Tide football team The 1948 Alabama Crimson Tide football team ( variously " Alabama " , " UA " or " Bama " ) represented the University of Alabama in the 1948 college football season . It was the Crimson Tide ' s 54th overall and 15th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The team was led by head coach Harold Drew , in his second year , and played their home games at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa , Legion Field in Birmingham and Ladd Stadium in Mobile , Alabama . They finished with a record of six wins , four losses and one tie ( 6 – 4 – 1 overall , 4 – 4 – 1 in the SEC ) . Alabama opened the season with a loss to Tulane , the first for Alabama to open a season since 1903 . The next week the Crimson Tide had to score a touchdown with ten seconds left to salvage a tie with Vanderbilt in the first game ever played at Ladd Stadium . Alabama then defeated at home , lost at Tennessee and won at before their 35 – 0 loss to eventual SEC Champion Georgia . The Crimson Tide then rebounded with victories over and before they lost at . Alabama then closed their season with a homecoming victory over Florida and a 55 – 0 win over in the renewal of their rivalry . Game notes . Tulane . To open the 1948 season , Alabama traveled to New Orleans and were upset by the Tulane Green Wave 21 – 14 . After a scoreless first quarter , Tulane took a 7 – 0 halftime lead when Bobby Jones capped a 78 - yard drive with his seven - yard touchdown run . The Green Wave extended their lead further to 21 – 0 in the third quarter after touchdowns were scored by Eddie Price on a four - yard run and on a 20 - yard Joe Ernst pass to Dick Sheffield . Down by three touchdowns , the Crimson Tide began a comeback only to fall just short . Alabama points were scored on a four - yard Tom Calvin run in the third and on a nine - yard Charley Davis run in the fourth . The loss was the first for the Crimson Tide to open the season since the 1903 team kicked off with a 30 – 0 loss to Vanderbilt , and brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tulane to 15 – 6 – 1 . Vanderbilt . Alabama played the Vanderbilt Commodores to a 14 – 14 tie game in what was the inaugural game played at Ladd Stadium in Mobile . After a scoreless first quarter for the second consecutive week , Vanderbilt took a 7 – 0 halftime lead after Herb Rich scored on a four - yard run . Alabama later tied the game at 7 – 7 in the fourth quarter after Ed Salem scored on a ten - yard run . The Commodores responded on the next possession with a three - yard Dean Davidson touchdown run for a 14 – 7 lead . Then Crimson Tide then tied the game at 14 – 14 as time expired in the fourth when Salem hit Jack Brown in the endzone . The tie brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Vanderbilt to 16 – 11 – 1 . Duquesne . In their first Tuscaloosa game of the season , Alabama defeated the Duquesne Dukes 48 – 6 before 20 , 000 fans at Denny Stadium . Billy Cadenhead opened the scoring in the first quarter to cap a 94 - yard yard drive with his four - yard touchdown run for a 7 – 0 Alabama lead . A trio of second quarter touchdowns extended the Crimson Tide lead to 27 – 0 at halftime . Points were scored on 42 - yard Charles Davis reverse , a 72 - yard Pete Pettus punt return and on a 17 - yard Jim Burkett run . The Crimson Tide continued their scoring with a 67 - yard Cadenhead touchdown in the third run before the Dukes scored their only points of the game . Len Kubiak scored for Duquesne with his one - yard touchdown run to cap a ten play , 62 - yard drive . Alabama then closed the game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns for the 48 – 6 victory . Points were scored on a 43 - yard Travis Hoicks pass to Don Spurrell and later on a six - yard Paul Taylor run . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Duquesne to 2 – 0 . Tennessee . Against Tennessee , the Crimson Tide were defeated by the Volunteers 21 – 6 before a soldout crowd at Shields - Watkins Field . Tennessee opened the game with a 21 - yard , W . C . Cooper touchdown pass to Bob Lund for a 7 – 0 Volunteer lead . In the third , Alabama scored their only points on a one - yard Charley Davis touchdown run , but a missed extra point allowed Tennessee to retain the lead 7 – 6 . The Volunteers then scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to win 21 – 6 . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Tennessee to 17 – 10 – 3 . Mississippi State . A week after their loss at Tennessee , Alabama responded the next week with a 10 – 7 victory against the Mississippi State Maroons on homecoming at Scott Field . The Crimson Tide scored all ten of their points in the first half . Billy Cadenhead scored in the first on a two - yard touchdown run and Ed Salem converted a 14 - yard field goal in the second for a 10 – 0 halftime lead . The Maroons responded late with their only points scored on a 42 - yard Tom McWilliams touchdown pass to Kenneth Davis to make the final score 10 – 7 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi State to 24 – 7 – 2 . Georgia . Before what was the largest crowd to date to attend a game in the state of Alabama , the Crimson Tide suffered their worst defeat since the 1910 season with their 35 – 0 loss against the Georgia Bulldogs . The Bulldogs ' first half touchdowns were scored in the first quarter on a 19 - yard John Rauch pass to Bobby Walston and a 38 - yard pass from Rauch to Joseph Geri . The Bulldogs ' second half touchdowns were scored in the third quarter on a three - yard Bernie Reid run and on an 80 - yard interception return by Joseph Jackura and in the fourth quarter on an 11 - yard Billy Mixon run . The loss was the worst for the Crimson Tide since they were defeated 36 – 0 by and it brought Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia to 16 – 15 – 3 . Mississippi Southern . A week after their worst defeat in 38 years , Alabama rebounded and defeated the Mississippi Southern Golden Eagles at Denny Stadium 27 – 0 . The Crimson Tide scored touchdowns in four quarters in the victory . First half points were scored on a one - yard Butch Avinger run in the first quarter and on a 32 - yard Ed Salem pass to Clem Welsh in the second quarter for a 14 – 0 halftime lead . Second half points were scored on a 20 - yard Jim Franko interception return in the third quarter and on a 5 - yard Salem pass to Welsh in the fourth quarter for the 27 – 0 win . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Mississippi Southern to 2 – 0 . Georgia Tech . Against the Yellow Jackets , the Crimson Tide entered the game as a two touchdown underdog , but left Atlanta with a 14 – 12 upset over Georgia Tech . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Georgia Tech to 15 – 12 – 3 . LSU . A week after their upset win over Georgia Tech , Alabama was defeated by LSU 26 – 6 at Tiger Stadium . The loss brought Alabama ' s all - time record against LSU to 13 – 5 – 3 . Florida . On homecoming at Denny Stadium , Alabama defeated the Florida Gators 34 – 28 . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Florida to 6 – 3 . Auburn . This meeting against Auburn marked the resumption of their rivalry with the Tigers after a 41 - year hiatus . The two schools had met regularly from 1892 through 1895 and then regularly from 1900 through 1907 . However , trivial disputes led to the series being discontinued in 1908 . Their disputes centered on disagreements on how much per diem to allow players for the trip to Birmingham , how many players each school should bring and where to find officials . By the time all these matters were resolved , it was too late to play in 1908 , and the series ended . By 1947 pressure to renew the Iron Bowl had grown to the point that the state legislature threatened to withhold funding from the two schools unless they scheduled a game , and in 1948 Alabama and Auburn finally agreed to meet on a football field . Prior to the game , Alabama had not played Auburn since their 6 – 6 tie in 1907 . In the renewal of the dormant series , Alabama defeated Auburn 55 – 0 at Legion Field , in what remains the most lopsided win by either team in the history of the series . The Crimson Tide took a 7 – 0 lead in the first quarter after Gordon Pettus threw an eight - yard touchdown pass to Butch Avinger . Alabama then extended their lead to 21 – 0 at halftime with a pair of second quarter touchdowns . Points were scored on a 20 - yard Ed Salem pass to Clem Welsh and then on a six - yard Welsh reverse . The Crimson Tide then scored six second half touchdowns and continued to hold the Tigers scoreless in the 55 – 0 rout . Third quarter touchdowns were scored by Salem on a 17 - yard run and on a 53 - yard Salem pass to Rebel Steiner . Alabama then closed the game out with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter . Points were scored on a 20 - yard Salem pass to Howard Pierson , a punt blocked by Larry Lauer and recovered in the endzone by Tom Salem and on a 20 - yard Don Spurrell interception return . The victory improved Alabama ' s all - time record against Auburn to 5 – 7 – 1 .