Alabama Football’s all-time record in the Rose Bowl shows rich history
The Rose Bowl will host No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama to serve as one of two College Football Playoff semifinal matchups, the other being the Sugar Bowl with No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Texas.
The Crimson Tide have played many games in Pasadena and have even participated in a Rose Bowl game that took place in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium because of restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
Overall, Alabama has been fortunate in the historic bowl game, suffering only one loss in the handful of time they’ve participated in it. Soon, it will serve as a permanent College Football Playoff semifinal host site when the format expands from four to 12 teams.
1926 Rose Bowl - The Tide's first national championship
“The game that changed the South.” Alabama’s first bowl game appearance was the 1926 Rose Bowl against Washington, which is interesting considering the Huskies are also in this year’s playoff. This game ended with a final score of 20-19, with the Tide scoring all of its points in the third quarter.
1927 Rose Bowl - Record-setting tie
Just one year after winning the national championship in the Rose Bowl, Alabama returned to Pasadena. This time, the Tide was taking on Stanford. In front of a record-setting crowd of 54,417, Alabama tied the game up within the final seconds of the game, which resulted in a 7-7 tie and fans were as happy as could be about it.
1931 Rose Bowl - Seeing red
In an attempt to confuse the Crimson Tide, Washington State wore all red everything during the game. Safe to say that it did not work, as Alabama won the contest with a final score of 24-0.
1935 Rose Bowl - Another win over Stanford
Alabama and Standford met again in Pasadena and the Tide, oct again, earned the win. With a final score of 29-13, Alabama spoiled Stanford’s chance at winning back-to-back Rose Bowls.
1938 Rose Bowl - The Tide's first loss
After a handful of wins and a tie, the Crimson Tide finally lost in the Rose Bowl and it was not pretty. Alabama was ranked No. 4 and California was ranked No. 2. The Tide got shut out, losing with a final score of 13-0.
1946 Rose Bowl - Alabama dominates the locals
In 1946, Alabama took on USC in the Rose Bowl and did not have any issues taking the Trojans down. At the time, the Tide was ranked No. 3 and USC was No. 7. At halftime, the score was 20-0 and the Trojans’ total yardage gained was -24… you read that right: negative twenty-four. The game ended with a final score of 34-14. This would be Alabama’s last appearance in the Rose Bowl for the next 75 years.
2010 BCS National Championship
Technically, there could be a rematch of this game in this season’s national championship game. This Crimson Tide-Longhorns matchup had it all. So many “what ifs ” and controversies have led to this championship game being relevant today. Alabama won that game 37-21. However, Texas has the most recent win between these two.
2021 Rose Bowl - Goodbye, Pasadena. Hello, Arlington
In 2021, the Rose Bowl was moved to Arlington, Texas to be played due to restrictions imposed by the California state government because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was only the second time in the bowl game’s history that it was played outside of Pasadena. The only other time was in 1942 because of crowd restrictions after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which took place just a few weeks before the game. Serving as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, the Tide took on Notre Dame and dominated the Fighting Irish. The final score was 31-14, but the thing most people remember is the hurdle Tide running back Najee Harris had over a Notre Dame defender.
