It was the centennial season of Alabama football, and the Crimson Tide was looking for its first national championship since Paul W. "Bear" Bryant's final title in 1979. Even though it was coming off an 11-1 season, and No. 5 final ranking, few believed this would be the year, and Alabama began the season No. 9.

The victories starting piling up, though many were not pretty: 25-8 against Vanderbilt, 17-0 vs. Southern Miss, 38-11 at Arkansas, 13-0 vs. Louisiana Tech, 48-7 vs. South Carolina, 37-0 at Tulane. Against Tennessee, running back Derrick Lassic had 142 rushing yards to help lead a 17-0 victory in Knoxville.

"We finally got a little bit of respect," Lassic said.

When the defense limited LSU to just 22 rushing yards in a commanding 31-11 road victory, and top-ranked Washington lost to Arizona, Alabama finally had its destiny in its own hands, but only if it could run the table and win the final three games.

The first was the Iron Bowl, with Auburn coach Pat Dye announcing his resignation the day before the game. The defense allowed 20 rushing yards, had five sacks, and Antonio Langham returned an interception 61 yards to key a 17-0 victory.

"Ten to nothing isn't a very big deal unless you've got a defense like Alabama's got, and then it's monumental," Dye said after his only shutout at Auburn. "Alabama may have the best defense I've seen in our conference."

Alabama went into the first-ever SEC Championship game having outscored opponents 366-122. Again Langham returned an interception for a touchdown as the Tide defeated Florida, 28-21.

The third, and final, test was at the Sugar Bowl against No. 1 Miami, which was riding a 28-game winning streak and wanted to make sure everyone knew it. Among the numerous boastful things the Hurricanes said before the game was linebacker Michael Barrow's: "We seek, we destroy. We fear no one, but everyone fears us."

But Alabama didn't, and for the most part kept quiet during its preparations. Although the Crimson Tide was considered a heavy underdog, its mission became simple, make the Hurricanes eat their words.

Did they ever.

Again led by the defense, Alabama began to take control in the second quarter. After shutting down the run, with the Hurricanes accumulating only 48 rushing yards, the Tide went to work on quarterback Gino Torretta, who had just won the Heisman Trophy.

"In the second quarter, I saw Torretta look over at me and he froze for a second," defensive end John Copeland said. "I saw fear."

At times, the Tide put all 11 defenders on the line of scrimmage and dared Torretta to try and beat the man coverage by defensive backs like Langham and safety George Teague, behind swarming ends Copeland and Eric Curry, and linebackers Lemanski Hall and Derrick Oden.

Meanwhile, the Tide offense never got around to establishing the passing game because it never had to. Quarterback Jay Barker threw for just 18 yards, with the ground game pounding out 267 rushing yards for an impressive 34-13 victory.

"There is a quote I've used before from Sir Isaac Newton," Coach Gene Stallings said in a speech during the on-campus "Salute to Champions" weekend. "It says, 'If I can see farther than most, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.' Ladies and gentlemen, I have stood on the shoulders of giants."

Fittingly, Stallings was a unanimous selection for coach of the year and presented the Paul Bryant Award by the Football Writers Association of America.

13-0

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

Sept. 5 Vanderbilt Tuscaloosa W 25-8

Sept. 12 Southern Miss Birmingham W 17-10

Sept. 19 Arkansas Little Rock W 38-11

Sept. 26 Louisiana Tech Birmingham W 13-0

Oct. 3 South Carolina Tuscaloosa W 48-7

Oct. 10 Tulane New Orleans W 37-0

Oct. 17 Tennessee Knoxville W 17-10

Oct. 24 Ole Miss Tuscaloosa W 31-10

Nov. 7 LSU Baton Rouge W 31-11

Nov. 14 Mississippi State Starkville W 30-21

Nov. 26 Auburn Birmingham W 17-0

Dec. 5 Florida Birmingham W 28-21

Jan. 1, 1993 Miami (Fla.) Sugar Bowl W 34-13

Total points: 366-122

Coach Gene Stallings

Captains: Derrick Oden, George Teague, George Wilson, Prince Wimbley

Ranking (AP): Preseason No. 9; Postseason No. 1.

All-American: First team _ John Copeland, defensive end; Eric Curry, defensive end; Antonio Langham, cornerback. Second team _ George Teague, safety.

All-SEC (first team): John Copeland, defensive end; Eric Curry, defensive end; Lemanski Hall, linebacker; Antonio Langham, cornerback; Derrick Lassic, tailback; Antonio London, linebacker; Derrick Oden, linebacker; Tobie Sheils, center; George Teague, safety.

Leaders: Rushing _ Derrick Lassic (905 yards, 178 carries); Passing _ Jay Barker (132 of 243, 1,614 yards); Receiving _ David Palmer (24 catches, 297 yards).

SEC Eastern Division, Conference, Overall

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

Florida ............ 6-2 .750 188 164 8-4 .667 288 274

Georgia .......... 6-2 .750 231 117 9-2 .818 352 141

Tennessee ........ 5-3 .625 205 149 8-3 .727 309 173

South Carolina 3-5 .375 104 194 5-6 455 160 240

Kentucky.......... 2-6 .250 136 224 4-7 .364 207 280

Vanderbilt ........ 2-6 .250 149 193 4-7 .364 224 277

SEC Western Division, Conference, Overall

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

Alabama ......... 8-0 1.000 237 78 12-01.000 332 109

Ole Miss.......... 5-3 .625 165 147 8-3 .727 230 174

Mississippi State ....... 4-4 .500 131 144 7-4 .636 235 176

Arkansas ......... 3-4-1 .438 144 153 3-7-1 .318 172 209

Auburn ............ 2-5-1 .313 132 173 5-5-1 .500 228 205

LSU ................. 1-7 .125 115 201 2-9 .182 175 261

SEC Championship Game: Alabama 28, Florida 21

Bowls: Gator (Florida 27, North Carolina State 10), Liberty (Ole Miss 13, Air Force 0), Hall of Fame (Tennessee 38, Boston College 23), Florida Citrus (Georgia 21, Ohio State 14), Sugar (Alabama 34, Miami, Fla. 13), Peach (North Carolina 21, Mississippi State 17).

All-SEC

Offense: WR Andre Hastings, Georgia; WR Willie Jackson, Florida; TE Kirk Botkin, Arkansas; OL Everett Lindsay, Ole Miss; OL Ernest Dye, South Carolina; OL Mike Stowell, Tennessee; OL John James, Mississippi State; C Tobie Sheils, Alabama; QB Shane Matthews, Florida; RB Garrison Hearst, Georgia; RB James Bostic, Alabama; PK Scott Etheridge, Auburn

Defense: DL Eric Curry, Alabama; DL John Copeland, Alabama; DL Todd Kelly, Tennessee; ILB Derrick Oden, Alabama; ILB James Willis, Auburn; OLB Mitch Davis, Georgia; OLB Lemanski Hall, Alabama; DB Antonio Langham, Alabama; DB George Teague, Alabama; DB Will White, Florida; DB Johnny Dixon, Ole Miss; P Todd Jordan, Mississippi State

National champions

Alabama: AP, Berryman, Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, Eck, FACT, FB News, Football Research, FW, Matthews, National Championship Foundation, NY Times, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), Sporting News, UPI/NFF, USA/CNN

Florida State: Sagarin

Final rankings

Associated Press

1. Alabama

2. Florida State

3. Miami (Fla.)

4. Notre Dame

5. Michigan

6. Syracuse

7. Texas A&M

8. Georgia

9. Stanford

10. Florida

11. Washington

12. Tennessee

13. Colorado

14. Nebraska

15. Washington State

16. Ole Miss

17. North Carolina State

18. Ohio State

19. North Carolina

20. Hawaii

21. Boston College

22. Kansas

23. Mississippi State

24. Fresno State

25. Wake Forest

Coaches

1. Alabama

2. Florida State

3. Miami (Fla.)

4. Notre Dame

5. Michigan

6. Texas A&M

7. Syracuse

8. Georgia

9. Stanford

10. Washington

11. Florida

12. Tennessee

13. Colorado

14. Nebraska

15. North Carolina State

16. Ole Miss

17. Washington State

18. North Carolina

19. Ohio State

20. Hawaii

21. Boston College

22. Fresno State

23. Kansas

24. Penn State

25. Wake Forest

All-American Team

Offense: WR O.J. McDuffie, Penn State, 5-11, 185, Warrensville Heights, Ohio; WR Sean Dawkins, California, 6-4, 205, Sunnyvale, Calif.; TE Chris Gedney, Syracuse, 6-5, 256, Liverpool, N.Y.; OL Lincoln Kennedy, Washington, 6-7, 325, San Diego, Calif.; OL Will Shields, Nebraska, 6-1, 305, Lawton, Okla.; OL Aaron Taylor, Notre Dame, 6-4, 294, Concord, Calif.; OL Willie Roaf, Louisiana Tech, 6-5, 300, Pine Bluff, Ark.; Everett Lindsay, Ole Miss, 6-5, 290, Raleigh, N.C.; C Mike Compton, West Virginia, 6-7, 289, Richlands, Va.; QB Gino Torretta, Miami (Fla.), 6-3, 205, Pinole, Calif.; RB Marshall Faulk, San Diego State, 5-10, 200, New Orleans, La.; RB Garrison Hearst, Georgia, 5-11, 202, Lincolnton, Ga.; PK Joe Allison, Memphis, 6-0, 184, Atlanta, Ga.

Defense: DL Eric Curry, Alabama, 6-6, 265, Thomasville, Ga.; DL John Copeland, Alabama, 6-3, 261, Lanett, Ala.; DL Chris Slade, Virginia, 6-5, 235, Tabb, Va.; DL Rob Waldrop, Arizona, 6-2, 265, Phoenix, Ariz.; LB Marcus Buckley, Texas A&M, 6-4, 230, Fort Worth, Texas; LB Marvin Jones, Florida State, 6-2, 235, Miami, Fla.; LB Micheal Barrow, Miami (Fla.), 6-2, 230, Homestead, Fla.; DB Carlton McDonald, Air Force, 6-0, 185, Jacksonville, Fla.; DB Carlton Gray, UCLA, 6-0, 194, Cincinnati, Ohio; DB Deon Figures, Colorado, 6-1, 195, Compton, Calif.; DB Ryan McNeil, Miami (Fla.), 6-2, 185, Fort Pierce, Fla.; P Sean Snyder, Kansas State, 6-1, 190, Greenville, Texas.

Heisman Trophy Voting

1. Gino Torretta, Miami (Fla.), QB.....................1,400

2. Marshall Faulk, San Diego State, RB.....1,080

3. Garrison Hearst, Georgia, RB..................982

4. Marvin Jones, Florida State, LB...................392

(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)