1925 (10-0)
Alabama’s first claimed national championship came in the 1925 season. Led by coach Wallace Wade, the Crimson Tide marched to their first undefeated season. Alabama was crowned champions of the Southern Conference, the precursor to the eventual Southeastern Conference. The Tide then shocked the Washington Huskies 20-19 in the Rose Bowl in what was termed “the game that changed the South.”
The dominating Crimson Tide shut out eight of their ten opponents; only Birmingham-Southern was even able to score a point on the Tide until the Rose Bowl. Alabama outscored their regular season opponents by a combined 277-7.
Alabama was led by the pride of Dothan, Johnny Mack Brown, who scored two touchdowns en route to being named Rose Bowl MVP. Alabama was selected as the consensus 1926 national champions by all major selectors, and the win let it be known nationally that southern football was on par with the much more heavily covered east and west coast teams.