Close Games. 1992

[Bamacracker]

09/05/1992 vs Vanderbilt (Tuscaloosa, AL) W 25–8

09/12/1992 vs Southern Miss (Birmingham, AL) W 17–10

09/19/1992 at Arkansas (Little Rock, AR) W 38–11

09/26/1992 vs Louisiana Tech (Birmingham, AL) W 13–0

10/03/1992 vs South Carolina (Tuscaloosa, AL) W 48–7

10/10/1992 at Tulane (New Orleans, LA) W 37–0

10/17/1992 at Tennessee (Knoxville, TN) W 17–10

10/24/1992 vs Ole Miss (Tuscaloosa, AL) W 31–10

11/07/1992 at LSU (Baton Rouge, LA) W 31–11

11/14/1992 at Mississippi State (Starkville, MS) W 30–21

11/26/1992 vs Auburn (Birmingham, AL) W 17–0

12/05/1992 vs Florida (SEC Championship, B’ham) W 28–21

01/01/1993 vs Miami (Sugar Bowl — New Orleans, LA) W 34–13

One of the best and most celebrated teams in Alabama history. A lot of competitive low scoring games. A win is a win. RTR.

 

[TideEngineer08]

That was a different era and those games were close by design. Of course you see several blowouts too. The only game Alabama was in any real danger of losing was the Florida game. That defense put a choke hold on every single other opponent.

But I agree, a win is a win.

 

[Bamacracker]

That was a different era and those games were close by design. Of course you see several blowouts too. The only game Alabama was in any real danger of losing was the Florida game. That defense put a choke hold on every single other opponent.

But I agree, a win is a win.

Yes sir. I’m just pointing out final scores. That’s what everybody gets so hung up on…the point differential.

 

[RammerJammer15]

I think the 2025 team is closer to the 2023 team but with better QB play, lots of 4 quarter games that year as well

 

[Elefantman]

At the start of the 1992 season, we were not considered a front runner. But as the season progressed, our D was gaining notoriety as one of the best D in college football history. We didn't have to score a lot of points to win.

But to your point, blowout wins are not required to make the playoffs today, get the wins, look good at the end of the season

 

[selmaborntidefan]

That was a different era and those games were close by design. Of course you see several blowouts too. The only game Alabama was in any real danger of losing was the Florida game. That defense put a choke hold on every single other opponent.

But I agree, a win is a win.

There's a couple of ways to look at this.

1) Padded Score Games
- led Vandy, 16-8, entering the 4th quarter
- USM tied at 10 entering the 4th quarter (however, USM had 3 first downs and 54 yards total O)
- led La Tech, 6-0, midway through the 4th quarter
- led Tulane, 9-0, midway through 3rd quarter
- tied at 0 with 5-5-1 Auburn at halftime (Pat Dye's last game)

2) Really Close Calls
- tied at 21 with Florida with less than 4 minutes remaining
- Vols had ball with 1:33 left down by 7
- trailed MSU, 21-20, entering 4th quarter

3) But Yes, It Was a Different Time
The leading passer in CFB in 1992 was Jimmy Klingler, of Houston's system offense (3818 yards, 347.1 ypg). That would have been no better than 9th (total) last year, although it would have been second (a good 20 yards behind) in ypg. The AVERAGE offensive ppg has gone up about five points overall despite adding 27 FBS teams; if you take the average of the top 107, the average has gone up by about a touchdown per game.

That may not sound like much, but figured over 12-14 games a year, it's huge. It can turn 8-point wins into 14-point wins that necessitate hurry-up and, yes, more turnovers.

Alabama is currently averaging 431 yards and 34.8 points per game, which is above average at best. On the other hand, we've had THREE tough road games in those totals, too. And Mizzou fwiw is the #2 defense in yardage allowed - and we topped their average by over 100 yards.

The biggest difference, of course, is that this defense isn't the 1992 powerhouse. That team's whole approach almost seemed to be, "OK, Jay and Derrick and Deuce, just don't turn the ball over and eventually we'll figure out a way to win."

 

[TideEngineer08]

There's a couple of ways to look at this.

1) Padded Score Games
- led Vandy, 16-8, entering the 4th quarter
- USM tied at 10 entering the 4th quarter (however, USM had 3 first downs and 54 yards total O)
- led La Tech, 6-0, midway through the 4th quarter
- led Tulane, 9-0, midway through 3rd quarter
- tied at 0 with 5-5-1 Auburn at halftime (Pat Dye's last game)

2) Really Close Calls
- tied at 21 with Florida with less than 4 minutes remaining
- Vols had ball with 1:33 left down by 7
- trailed MSU, 21-20, entering 4th quarter

3) But Yes, It Was a Different Time
The leading passer in CFB in 1992 was Jimmy Klingler, of Houston's system offense (3818 yards, 347.1 ypg). That would have been no better than 9th (total) last year, although it would have been second (a good 20 yards behind) in ypg. The AVERAGE offensive ppg has gone up about five points overall despite adding 27 FBS teams; if you take the average of the top 107, the average has gone up by about a touchdown per game.

That may not sound like much, but figured over 12-14 games a year, it's huge. It can turn 8-point wins into 14-point wins that necessitate hurry-up and, yes, more turnovers.

Alabama is currently averaging 431 yards and 34.8 points per game, which is above average at best. On the other hand, we've had THREE tough road games in those totals, too. And Mizzou fwiw is the #2 defense in yardage allowed - and we topped their average by over 100 yards.

The biggest difference, of course, is that this defense isn't the 1992 powerhouse. That team's whole approach almost seemed to be, "OK, Jay and Derrick and Deuce, just don't turn the ball over and eventually we'll figure out a way to win."

I considered including that Mississippi State game as one we “were in danger of losing.”

We led Tennessee 17-0 at halftime and they couldn’t stop Derrick Lassic. In classic Gene Stallings fashion he went super conservative in the second half. But UT was never scoring 17 on that defense. Still, it did get a bit nerve wracking.

(I’m not really disagreeing with any of your points, I’m just reminiscing).

 

[dabamafan]

The S Miss game was close, scorewise, but they couldn't move the ball much,period. David Palmer punt return if memory serves me.
The MissSt game was the worst imo. Alabama was playing awful and got a couple fortunate breaks and calls. ( is this blasphemy )