Alabama-Mississippi State Postgame Notebook

The University of Alabama has played 69 games as the nation’s top-ranked team since the inception of the Associated Press poll in 1936. In those games the Crimson Tide boasts a 59-10 (.855) record. Those numbers get even more impressive when you look at the 10 seasons under the direction of head coach Nick Saban (2007-present). Since the ninth game of the 2008 season (111 games), Alabama has played 45 games while being ranked No. 1, posting a 40-5 (.889) record during that span.

Today’s game against Mississippi State was Nick Saban’s 45th career game coaching Alabama as the Associated Press No. 1 team. That ties him with Bobby Bowden for the second most at one school and leaves him one shy of Woody Hayes (46). Saban is 40-5 (.889), tying Bowden and Hayes for the most wins coaching the No. 1. Bowden was 40-5 at Florida State as No. 1 and Hayes went 40-6 with Ohio State. The difference is Saban is in his 10th season at Alabama and Bowden spent 34 seasons at FSU and Hayes was at OSU for 28. The Crimson Tide have been ranked No. 1 in 33 percent of its 132 games coach by Saban. By comparison, Florida State was No. 1 in 10.8 percent of the 417 games Bowden coached and Ohio State was No. 1 in 16.7 percent of the 276 games coached by Hayes.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is 120-19 (.863) in home games during his college head coaching career. He owns the advantage at every stop he has made during his collegiate coaching career, including a 61-7 (.897) mark while at Alabama. Saban has won 32 of his last 34 contests at Bryant-Denny Stadium and has lost back-to-back matchups only once, with consecutive losses coming at the end of the 2007 season (LSU and ULM).

Alabama head coach Nick Saban owns a 49-10 (.831) all-time record when playing in a Southeastern Conference game at home, going 16-4 (.800) during his time at LSU and owning a 33-6 (.846) record at Alabama. While with the Crimson Tide, Saban has posted four perfect home SEC slates and has not lost more than one home conference game in any season other than 2007 (two losses). All six of his losses at home have been by seven points or less with half of those by three or fewer. Under Saban, Alabama has outscored its SEC home opponents 1,281-556 (32.8-14.2 points per game) and has limited the opposition to 14 points or less on 24 occasions, including six shutout victories.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban owns a 102-26 (.797) career record in 128 games against SEC opponents. While at Alabama, he has compiled a 72-13 (.847) record versus conference foes, and is outscoring opponents by a staggering 3,370-1,300, or 39.6-15.3 points per game. Of his 13 losses against SEC opponents while at Alabama, all but two (Florida, 2008 and South Carolina, 2010) have been by seven points or less. Saban’s first matchup with an SEC team came in the 1995 Independence Bowl against LSU, where his Michigan State Spartans fell, 45-26, to the Tigers. He would later go on to coach LSU to 30-12 overall record against conference opponents.

With the win over Mississippi State today, Alabama has defeated 64 consecutive unranked teams under head coach Nick Saban. The last loss to an unranked team came against Auburn to close out the 2007 season. The current streak began with a win over Colorado on Dec. 30, 2007, in the Independence Bowl. Under Saban, Alabama holds a 68-3 (64-3 after vacated wins) mark against unranked opponents, including a perfect mark in unranked matchups since 2008.