When the Crimson Tide began the 1941 season, it had won only one Southeastern Conference title since the 1934 national championship season, but the program was clearly on an upswing despite a 13-0 loss to Mississippi State to finish the previous season 7-2.

Back Jimmy Nelson and end Holt Rast would lead Alabama, and both were unanimous All-American selections, but another setback against the Bulldogs, this time early in the season, seemed to end any chance of a conference title.

It did, but the Crimson Tide recorded impressive victories against Tennessee (9-2), Georgia (27-14), and Georgia Tech (20-0) to hover near the top of the rankings, even with a late-season 7-0 loss at Vanderbilt.

Alabama concluded the regular season by defeating the Miami Hurricanes 21-7 in the first meeting between the schools (and second-ever night game for the Crimson Tide), and accepted an invitation to play Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

In scouting the Aggies, assistant coach Harold "Red" Drew said they had "the greatest passing team I have ever seen," and head coach Frank Thomas, who almost never slept well the night before a big game, complained that studying the dynamic offense gave him headaches. Fortunately for the Crimson Tide, the game was played in poor weather conditions.

Alabama, in its first postseason appearance other than the Rose Bowl, created 12 turnovers, including seven interceptions, in a 29-21 victory that was nowhere near as close as the score indicated. Even though Texas A&M had a 13-to-1 advantage in first downs, the Tide still scored four touchdowns, attempted just seven passes, and all 41 players who made the trip got into game (in part leading to two late touchdowns by the Aggies).

Rast returned an interception for a touchdown, halfback Russ Craft twice reached the end zone, and Nelson returned a punt 72 yards for one touchdown and added a second on a 21-yard run. Nelson, Rast and guard Don Whitmire shared game MVP honors.

"The boys really turned in some defensive work," Thomas told the Dallas Morning News. "It was the lifesaver for us. Our boys played a good, aggressive game _ the best of the season."

Although the majority of polls had Minnesota No. 1 at season's end, Alabama and Texas, neither of which won its conference title, were able to claim a share of the national championship thanks to the Houlgate System (1927-58), a mathematical rating system developed by Dale Houlgate of Los Angeles, which was syndicated in newspapers and published in Illustrated Football and Football Thesaurus (1946-58).

It wasn't picturesque, but it counted. Besides, the Cotton Bowl victory came less than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, plunging the country into World War II. It was hardly the time to complain about football, while many players enlisted and eventually headed overseas.

9-2

Date, opponent, location, W/L/T, score

Sept. 27 SW Louisiana Tuscaloosa W 47-6

Oct. 4 Mississippi State Tuscaloosa L 0-14

Oct. 11 Howard Birmingham W 61-0

Oct. 18 Tennessee Knoxville W 9-2

Oct. 25 Georgia Birmingham W 27-14

Nov. 1 Kentucky Tuscaloosa W 30-0

Nov. 8 Tulane New Orleans W 19-14

Nov. 15 Georgia Tech Birmingham W 20-0

Nov. 22 Vanderbilt Nashville L 0-7

Nov. 28 Miami (Fla.) Miami W 21-7

Jan. 1, 1942 Texas A&M Cotton Bowl W 29-21

Total points: 263-85

Coach Frank Thomas

Captain: John Wyhonic

Ranking (AP): Preseason NR; Postseason No. 20.

All-American: First team _ Holt Rast, End. Second team _ Jimmy Nelson, halfback.

All-SEC (first team): Jimmy Nelson, back; Holt Rast, back; John Wyhonic, guard.

Leaders: Rushing _ Jimmy Nelson (361 yards, 109 carries); Passing _ Jimmy Nelson (25 of 54, 394); Receiving _ Holt Rast (13 catches, 207 yards).

SEC Conference Overall

School ............ W-L-T Pct. Pts. Opp. W-L-T Pts. Opp.

Mississippi State ........ 4-0-1 .900 40 7 8-1-1 191 55

Tennessee ......... 3-1-0 .750 61 29 8-2-0 182 73

Alabama .......... 5-2-0 .714 105 51 8-2-0 234 64

Georgia............ 3-1-1 .700 75 44 8-1-1 279 59

Ole Miss ........ 2-1-1 .625 47 45 6-2-1 131 67

Vanderbilt ......... 3-2-0 .600 81 82 8-2-0 260 89

LSU .................. 2-2-2 .500 54 40 4-4-2 119 93

Tulane .............. 2-3-0 .400 93 72 5-4-0 220 95

Georgia Tech........... 2-4-0 .333 62 96 3-6-0 82 130

Florida.............. 1-3-0 .250 24 42 4-6-0 149 97

Auburn ............. 0-4-1 .100 28 88 4-5-1 123 115

Kentucky ........... 0-4-0 .000 35 109 5-4-0 151 154

Bowls: Cotton (Alabama 29, Texas A&M 21), Orange (Georgia 40, Texas Christian 26).

National champions

Alabama: Houlgate

Minnesota: AP, Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)

Texas: Berryman, Williamson

Final rankings

Associated Press

1. Minnesota

2. Duke

3. Notre Dame

4. Texas

5. Michigan

6. Fordham

7. Missouri

8. Duquesne

9. Texas A&M

10. Navy

11. Northwestern

12. Oregon State

13. Ohio State

14. Georgia

15. Penn

16. Mississippi State

17. Ole Miss

18. Tennessee

19. Washington State

20. Alabama

All-American Team

E Holt Rast, Alabama, 6-1, 185, Birmingham, Ala.; E Bob Dove, Notre Dame, 6-2, 195, Youngstown, Ohio; T Dick Wildung, Minnesota, 6-0, 210, Luverne, Minn.; T Ernie Blandin, Tulane, 6-3, 245, Keighley, Kan.; G Endicott Peabody, Harvard, 6-0, 181, Syracuse, N.Y.; G Ray Frankowski, Washington, 5-10, 210, Hammond, Ind.; C Darold Jenkins, Missouri, 6-0, 195, Higginsville, Mo.; B Bob Westfall, Michigan, 5-8, 190, Ann Arbor, Mich.; B Bruce Smith, Minnesota, 6-0, 193, Faribault, Minn.; B Frank Albert, Stanford, 5-9, 173, Glendale, Calif.; B Bill Dudley, Virginia, 5-10, 175, Bluefield, Va.; Frank Sinkwich, Georgia, 5-8, 180, Youngstown, Ohio.

Heisman Trophy Voting

1. Bruce Smith, Minnesota, HB..............................554

2. Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame, QB.........345

3. Frankie Albert, Stanford, QB...................336

4. Frank Sinkwich, Georgia, HB...................249

(Sources: "100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know & Do Before they Die," by Christopher Walsh; "Huddle Up: Alabama Football 2009," by Christopher Walsh; NCAA; Southeastern Conference)