Alabama’s previous bowl ‘rematches’ have had much more at stake than this one

Alabama meets Michigan in the Reliaquest Bowl on Dec. 31 in Tampa, its second straight bowl game against the Wolverines and second time in the current calendar year the two teams have met in the postseason.

Michigan beat the Crimson Tide 27-20 in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, a semifinal game in the College Football Playoff. The Wolverines went on to rout Washington 34-13 in the CFP championship game in Houston a week later, securing the national title.

This year’s bowl meeting between Alabama (9-3) and Michigan (7-5) is more of the traditional “consolation” variety, with neither team advancing to greater glory. And it’s not the first time the Crimson Tide has faced the same team in consecutive bowl games.

On three previous occasions — once in the 1960s, once in 1970s and once last decade, Alabama has had a bowl “rematch.” However, in all those cases, the national championship — or at least perception as to who was the country’s best team — was on the line for at least one of the competitors.

Here’s a recap, in chronological order:

Nebraska (1966 Orange, 1967 Sugar)

Alabama won its second national championship in four years in 1964, then won a second straight — and third in five years — following a wild New Year’s Day of bowl action. LSU beat No. 2 Arkansas 14-7 in the Cotton Bowl, then UCLA edged No. 1 Michigan State 14-12 in the Rose. No. 4 Alabama then beat No. 3 Nebraska 39-28 in the Sugar Bowl that night behind two passing touchdowns by Steve Sloan and two rushing scores by Steve Bowman. That left it up to the Associated Press poll voters to crown the national champion, and two days later they voted Alabama No. 1.

Paul “Bear” Bryant’s Crimson Tide barreled through its 1966 season undefeated, but never could overtake Notre Dame and Michigan State in the polls. Even after the Fighting Irish and Spartans tied 10-10 in controversial fashion on Nov. 19, Alabama remained No. 3. Notre Dame was awarded both the AP and UPI national titles after beating USC in its regular-season finale (as was their custom at the time, the Fighting Irish did not play in a bowl game). Many contend that politics played a role in this decision, as some college football pundits grew weary of Alabama and the SEC resisting to racially integrate their teams, as most other conferences had done.

Alabama was left only with the consolation of a Sugar Bowl matchup with No. 6 Nebraska, which the Crimson Tide buried 34-7 behind two touchdowns passes from Kenny Stabler and a defense that forced seven Cornhusker turnovers. In response to the outcry over Alabama’s “uncrowned” championship team, the AP in 1967 began waiting until after the bowl games to release its final poll (UPI continued to do so at the end of the regular season for another half-decade, which benefited Alabama once, as we will see shortly).

Notre Dame (1973 Sugar, 1975 Orange)

These two games took place in back-to-back seasons, as the 1973 Sugar Bowl was moved to the evening of Dec. 31 for television purposes. The 1975 Orange Bowl — which capped Alabama’s 1974 season — was played its the traditional Jan. 1 slot. Alabama and Notre Dame had never met in football before the two undefeated foes squared off in what was billed as the “Game of the Century” at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve 1973. The Fighting Irish had relaxed their “bowl ban” to play Texas in the Cotton Bowl at the end of the 1970 season, and finished the regular season unbeaten and untied for the first time in 34 years in 1973. Alabama, however, was 11-0 and had already claimed the UPI title at the end of the regular season.

In the Sugar Bowl, the Crimson Tide took a two-point lead with 9:33 to play, but missed the extra point. Notre Dame took the lead at 24-23 with 4:26 to play on Bob Thomas’ 19-yard field goal. Alabama could not score on its next drive, but Bryant elected to try and pin the Fighting Irish deep, and Greg Gantt’s punt was downed on the 1-yard line. However, Notre Dame’s Tom Clements threw a surprise 43-yard pass to Robin Weber on third-and-10 to help the Fighting Irish run out the clock and secure the AP national title.

Alabama was again undefeated and ranked No. 1 the following year, when the two teams met in the Orange Bowl in Miami. Notre Dame was not quite as strong, having lost to Purdue and USC during the regular season. The Fighting Irish took advantage of three Crimson Tide turnovers to build a 10-point halftime lead, but Alabama got a touchdown and two-point conversion with 3:13 left to pull within 13-11. After a defensive stop, the Crimson Tide got the ball back and began to drive for a potential game-winning field goal. Alabama reached the Notre Dame 38, but Reggie Barnett intercepted Richard Todd to seal the victory for the Fighting Irish. When the final polls were released, unbeaten Oklahoma — banned from postseason play by NCAA sanctions — was ranked No. 1 by the AP. With the Sooners ineligible for the UPI vote, 10-1-1 USC was crowned champion in that poll.

Clemson (2017 CFP national championship game, 2018 Sugar)

These two actually formed the middle “half” of four straight seasons in which Alabama and Clemson met in the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers 45-40 in the CFP title game in Glendale, Ariz., at the end of the 2016 season, and the teams both won semifinal games the next year — Alabama over Washington, Clemson over Ohio State — before squaring off again for the championship in Tampa.