The 1926 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1926 college football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 33rd overall and 5th season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). The team was led by head coach Wallace Wade, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Denny Field in Tuscaloosa, at Rickwood Field in Birmingham and at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of nine wins, zero losses and one tie (9–0–1 overall, 8–0 in the SoCon), as Southern Conference champions. They tied undefeated Stanford in the Rose Bowl. The 1926 Alabama team was retroactively named as the 1926 national champion by Berryman QPRS, Billingsley Report, College Football Researchers Association, and Poling System, and as a co-national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and National Championship Foundation. The team was ranked No. 9 in the nation in the Dickinson System ratings released in December 1926.
Before the season
As they entered the season, only ten lettermen returned from the 1925 squad that won the Rose Bowl. Key players such as Pooley Hubert, Johnny Mack Brown, Bill Buckler and other stars from the 1925 team were not part of the 1926 squad.
Schedule
Game summaries
Millsaps
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Alabama opened their 1926 season against Millsaps College on a Friday at Denny Field, and defeated the Majors 54–0 in what was the first meeting between the schools. The Crimson Tide played nearly every player on their sideline in the contest, and Millsaps only once threatened to score.
Tolbert Brown starred for Alabama in the contest and scored three touchdowns on runs of 92, 70 and 30 yards. David Rosenfeld and Red Barnes each scored two and Herschel Caldwell one touchdown for the Crimson Tide in the victory.
Vanderbilt
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Alabama opened conference play with a 19–7 victory against the Vanderbilt Commodores, that saw coach Wade against his former mentor Dan McGugin After each team traded fumbles, the Crimson Tide took a 7–0 lead on an eight-yard Hoyt Winslett touchdown pass to Herschel Caldwell. They extended it further to 13–0 later in the first on a 21-yard Red Barnes touchdown run. Neither team scored again until the fourth quarter when the Commodores scored their only points on a three-yard Bill Hendrix touchdown run. Alabama then made the final score 19–7 on a 36-yard Winslett touchdown pass to Caldwell. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 2–6.
The starting lineup was Enis (left end), Perry (left tackle), Hagler (left guard), Holmes (center), Bowdoin (right guard), Pickhard (right tackle), Winslett (right end), Barnes (quarterback), T. Brown (left halfback), Caldwell (right halfback), Johnson (fullback).
Mississippi A&M
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Against Mississippi A&M, Alabama had seven interceptions en route to a 26–7 victory at the Meridian Fairgrounds. The Crimson Tide took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter behind a one-yard Red Barnes touchdown run. The Aggies responded in the second with a ten-yard J. H. Meeks touchdown pass to W. B. Ricks that tied the game 7–7 at halftime.
Alabama then took a 14–7 lead in the third quarter behind a Hoyt Winslett touchdown pass to Archie Taylor. They then closed the game with a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter that made the final score 26–7. The first was scored by Barnes on a 90-yard interception return and by Melvin Vines on a second interception return. The victory brought Alabama's all-time record against Mississippi A&M to 11–4–2.
The starting lineup was Winslett (left end), Pickhard (left tackle), Hagler (left guard), Pearce (center), Leslie Payne (right guard), Perry (right tackle), Enis (right end), Barnes (quarterback), T. Brown (left halfback), Caldwell (right halfback), Johnson (fullback).
Georgia Tech
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In a game that saw Alabama hold Georgia Tech to only a pair of first downs, the Crimson Tide defeated the Golden Tornado 21–0 at Grant Field in Atlanta.
After an exchange of punts, Alabama scored their first touchdown on a 14-yard Hoyt Winslett pass to Melvin Vines for a 7–0 lead. On the first offensive play after a Red Barnes interception in the second quarter, Winslett connected with Archie Taylor on a 38-yard touchdown pass and a 14–0 lead.
Barnes then made the final score 21–0 with his four-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Georgia Tech to 5–7–2.
Sewanee
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