Alabama Crimson Tide football , 1930 – 39 1930 . In April 1930 , Wallace Wade announced that he was resigning his position at Alabama and taking the head coaching job at Duke University . Wade resented criticism he was receiving over three mediocre seasons from 1927 to 1929 ( 23 – 10 – 1 ) after three years of spectacular success 1924 – 26 ( 27 – 1 – 1 , three straight conference titles , two national championships ) . However , Wade still had one year left on his Alabama contract and insisted on honoring it . The result was possibly his best team . The 1930 Tide was so good that Wade ' s " starters " didn ' t even need to start . Wade , for psychological effect , routinely started games with his second team . The backups never allowed a point , and the first team didn ' t allow very many as the Tide sailed to a 9 – 0 record . Only the Vanderbilt game was close , as the Commodores scored a fourth - quarter TD to cut Alabama ' s lead to five and then drove to the Tide 27 - yard - line before stalling out and never threatening again . Bama beat Vandy 12 – 7 ; all other wins were by double - digit margins . Vanderbilt ' s touchdown and a touchdown scored by Tennessee accounted for 13 points and all of the scoring by Alabama ' s opponents in 1930 . Alabama received its third Rose Bowl invitation in six seasons , this time against the 9 – 0 Cougars of Washington State . Again Wade started his second team , and again the second team didn ' t allow any points . Neither did the first team . In the second quarter , after the first team took the field , they struck for three touchdowns in a six - minute blitz . Jimmy Moore completed a 61 - yard pass to John Suther , then Bama intercepted a pass at the Cougar 47 and scored in two plays , then Monk Campbell ran 43 yards for a touchdown on the next possession , and it was all over . The Tide won 24 – 0 , clinching the second perfect season in school history after 1925 . The Crimson Tide claims the 1930 national championship , a claim it shares with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish , another equally remarkable team from that year , due to each school being selected by various major selectors . Wallace Wade completed his Alabama tenure with a 61 – 13 – 3 record ( . 812 ) , four conference titles , and three national championships . Johnny Cain starred at fullback , linebacker , and punter . Cain was named punter for the Alabama Crimson Tide All - Century Team . Cain , a sophomore , led a team that consisted of himself and ten senior starters . Cain was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Other inductees from the 1930 Alabama team include Fred Sington , who went on to play baseball for the Washington Senators , and Frank Howard , who later became famous as the long - time head coach at Clemson University . Coach Wade , who followed up his success at Alabama with a longer and almost as successful run at Duke , joined them as a Hall of Fame inductee . J . B . Whitworth , who kicked a field goal in the Rose Bowl , was hired as Alabama ' s football coach a quarter - century later . 1931 . Alabama ' s new coach was Frank Thomas , who ' d played quarterback for Knute Rockne at Notre Dame and roomed with George " The Gipper " Gipp . Thomas retired Wade ' s single - wing offense and installed the Notre Dame box formation that he ' d learned under Rockne . Having lost all of the starters from the 1930 team but Cain , Alabama was not quite as good in 1931 , but they were still good . A lopsided victory over Ole Miss was livened up by the Rebels returning a kickoff 104 yards for their only TD . The Third Saturday in October resulted in a 25 – 0 beatdown administered by Tennessee which snapped a 13 - game winning streak and cost the Tide a conference title and an undefeated season . Alabama beat Kentucky 9 – 7 when one of Cain ' s long punts backed the Wildcats up to their 8 and set up the decisive safety in the fourth quarter . 1932 . The Third Saturday in October is remembered as the great punt - fest . A pouring rain and the prowess of Johnny Cain and Tennessee ' s Beattie Feathers as punters led to both Thomas and Tennessee coach Robert Neyland calling for punt after punt , often on first and second down , in an attempt to gain field position advantage . Feathers punted 21 times . Cain punted 19 times for Alabama , still a school record . However , one of those punts was a 12 - yard shank out of his own end zone after a bad snap , and Tennessee capitalized for the touchdown that won the game 7 – 3 . Bama scored a TD in the fourth quarter to beat Kentucky and gutted out a 9 – 6 win over Virginia Tech despite twice turning the ball over on downs inside the Tech 5 . Alabama lost to Georgia Tech but ruined what would have been an undefeated season for Vanderbilt by handing the Commodores a 20 – 0 loss . 1932 was the debut season for Don Hutson . Hutson , playing end and catching passes , was later inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame . Dixie Howell , playing quarterback , also became a member of the College Football Hall of Fame . The words " Howell to Hutson " later became famous . 1933 . 1933 was the inaugural season of the new Southeastern Conference . Thirteen schools from the old Southern Conference - - Alabama , Auburn , Florida , Georgia , Georgia Tech , Kentucky , LSU , Mississippi , Mississippi State , , Tennessee , Tulane , and Vanderbilt — left that organization to form a new conference . The SEC ' s inaugural football champion was the Alabama Crimson Tide . A scoreless tie with Ole Miss was the only blemish in conference play . Alabama ' s victory in Knoxville was the first time Tennessee had lost a home game since 1924 . The Vols drove to the Tide 6 late in the game but turned the ball over on downs and Alabama escaped with a 12 – 6 victory . Alabama ' s only loss of the season came against Fordham when Fordham blocked a Dixie Howell punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety . Against Georgia Tech , Dixie Howell picked off a pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 22 yards to the Tech 45 , setting up the game - winning touchdown in a 12 – 9 victory . Future legendary coach Paul " Bear " Bryant of Moro Bottom , Arkansas , made his debut as a sophomore with the Crimson Tide varsity in 1933 . Bryant , playing end , was so overshadowed by the play of the great Don Hutson that he later referred to himself as " the other end " . 1934 . In 1934 Alabama had its fourth undefeated season in a decade and fourth national championship . During the season the Tide was challenged only once . In the Tennessee game , the Tide and Vols went into halftime tied 6 – 6 after Tennessee scored a touchdown aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that got Paul Bryant ejected from the game . In the third Don Hutson scored on an end - around and Bama spent the fourth quarter holding off the Vols , winning 13 – 6 . Every other game ended with Alabama winning by at least 20 points . In a 26 – 6 victory over Georgia , Dixie Howell gained 152 yards rushing despite sitting out the entire second half . A 34 – 14 victory over Kentucky was the only time Bama allowed the opposition to score more than six points . For the fourth time , Alabama was invited west to play in the Rose Bowl . It was a rematch of the 1927 Rose Bowl as the Tide once again faced the Stanford Cardinal , who carried a 9 – 0 – 1 record into the game . Stanford dominated the first quarter , as Alabama had only four yards total offense and the Cardinal took a 7 – 0 lead after recovering a fumble at the Tide 27 - yard - line . Early in the second Howell ran back a punt to the Cardinal 45 , setting up a touchdown drive that left the score 7 – 6 after the extra point failed . Oddly , Stanford chose to kick off rather than receive after the score . Alabama drove down to the Stanford 6 before settling for a field goal and a 9 – 7 lead . Stanford again kicked off . This was followed two plays later by a 67 - yard Dixie Howell touchdown run , making the score 16 – 7 . Then Alabama intercepted a Stanford pass , taking the ball at the 46 - yard line with only eight seconds left . Joe Riley promptly hit Hutson with a 46 - yard touchdown pass to put Alabama up 22 – 7 at halftime . Stanford scored in the third but could get no closer , and a 59 - yard Howell - to - Hutson pass in the fourth made the final score 29 – 13 . It was the third perfect season in Alabama football history , after 1925 and 1930 . Alabama claims a national championship for 1934 based on the verdict of certain selectors . Hutson , Howell , and tackle Bill Lee were consensus All - Americans for 1934 . 1935 . Howell and Hutson were gone and it showed as Alabama slipped from its total dominance of the year before . In the opener Alabama tied Howard , a team that the Crimson Tide usually beat easily . The tie snapped a 14 - game winning streak . The loss to Mississippi State was the first game Alabama ever lost at Denny Stadium , where the Tide had been playing home games since 1929 . Alabama bounced back from these disappointments to thrash Tennessee 25 – 0 in a game where Paul Bryant not only played but caught several passes despite suffering from a fractured fibula in his right leg , incurred the week before vs . Mississippi State . Against Georgia the game was tied with five minutes to go but an interception set up the go - ahead field goal , and Georgia ' s fumble of the ensuing kickoff set up the Bama touchdown that made the final 17 – 7 . Riley Smith was the second player selected in the NFL ' s first ever draft in 1936 , signing with the Washington Redskins . Paul Bryant was selected in the fourth round but did not play in the NFL . 1936 . Paul Bryant passed on playing with the NFL , choosing instead to stay at Alabama and take a job under Frank Thomas as an assistant coach . He stayed in Tuscaloosa through the 1939 season before leaving to take an assistant coach job at Vanderbilt . Alabama went undefeated in 1936 . The Tide won defensive battles against Mississippi State and Loyola , but the game against Georgia Tech was a wild affair . Alabama checked into the half up 20 – 0 , seemingly safe in that low - scoring era . But a safety and a 45 - yard touchdown pass in the third quarter made the score 20 – 9 . Later in the third Georgia Tech was stopped on 4th and inches at the Alabama 19 , but in the fourth quarter a 71 - yard run by Tech led soon after to a touchdown which cut the lead to four , 20 – 16 . Tech got the ball back and drove to the Alabama 35 but could advance no further and Alabama escaped with a victory . The only blemish on the season was a scoreless tie with Tennessee . The second quarter ended with Alabama having the ball on Tennessee ' s 1 - yard line . Another Alabama drive in the third stalled on the Tennessee 26 . The tie was enough to cost Alabama a share of the SEC title in 1936 , as LSU went a perfect 6 – 0 in conference play . Alabama finished fourth in the very first Associated Press college football poll . 1937 . A 14 – 7 win over Tennessee was revenge for the costly tie of a year before . A field goal in the final seconds proved to be the difference in a 9 – 6 win over Tulane . Georgia Tech fumbled the ball away at the Alabama 8 and threw an interception at the Alabama 1 , allowing the Tide to win 7 – 0 with a 4th quarter touchdown pass on 4th and goal from the 2 . Against Vanderbilt the Tide trailed 7 – 6 in the fourth quarter , a missed extra point being the difference . Bama drove 75 yards but turned the ball over on downs at the Vandy 5 . Alabama got the ball back and kicked a late field goal to beat the Commodores 9 – 7 . It was Alabama ' s fourth victory of the season of seven points or less , and third victory in which the Tide failed to score 10 points . Alabama finished 9 – 0 and won its third SEC championship . Bama ' s luck in close games did not extend to the Rose Bowl . The undefeated Tide went west for the fifth time , this time against the California Golden Bears . The Crimson Tide turned the ball over a whopping eight times , on four fumbles and four interceptions . One drive was killed by a fumble at the Cal 1 and another at the Cal 6 . Alabama could not stop Cal ' s rushing attack and lost 13 – 0 . It was the Tide ' s first loss in five appearances in Pasadena , and it snapped a 14 - game winning streak . 1938 . Nine months after traveling to southern California for the Rose Bowl Alabama went west again , this time defeating Southern Cal 19 – 7 in Los Angeles in the season opener . A 13 – 0 loss to Tennessee in which Alabama never threatened to score was the first regular season loss for the Crimson Tide in three seasons , since it had dropped the 1935 season finale to Vanderbilt . Against Tulane the Tide dominated play but could not score points , turning the ball over on downs at the Tulane 5 , 10 , 15 and 2 . Tulane never got closer than the Alabama 46 , but it took a field goal late in the fourth on 4th and goal from the Tulane 6 to give Alabama a 3 – 0 win . Georgia Tech led Alabama 14 – 0 at the half , but Alabama mounted a comeback . A 57 - yard drive in the third cut the gap to seven points , and then in the fourth the Tide executed a hook and lateral play for a 76 - yard touchdown to tie the game . A last - second Alabama drive ran out of time and the game ended a 14 – 14 tie . Alabama ' s 32 – 0 victory over Sewanee was the 30th and last meeting in a series that dated all the way back to 1893 and had been dominated by Sewanee in its early years . The Tigers dropped out of the SEC following the 1940 season and now compete in Division III . 1939 . A missed extra point was the difference in Alabama ' s 7 – 6 victory over Fordham . The Tide beat Mississippi State 7 – 0 after MSU ' s only scoring threat of the day resulted in a turnover on downs at the Alabama 16 . Alabama ' s 7 – 7 tie with Kentucky snapped a sixteen - game Tide win streak against the Wildcats . Tennessee beat Alabama 21 – 0 but the Tide was not alone ; Tennessee rolled through the entire 1939 season without giving up a single point .