Many Alabama football fans are aware Vanderbilt has not beaten the Crimson Tide in its last 22 tries. That uncommon Vandy win was in Tuscaloosa in September 1984.
Far fewer Alabama fans remember the actual 1984 game. Every college football program has cycles and sometimes the low points of cycles feel like rock bottom. Losing to Vandy in 1984 was one of those times for Alabama Football.
The Crimson Tide nation was still grieving the untimely death of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant in January 1983. Bryant’s successor, former Crimson Tide receiver and NFL player and head coach, Ray Perkins was welcomed by most Tide fans. No one was against the hiring of Perkins, though some preferred other names, on what would later be disclosed as Bryant’s list of suggestions. One of the others, Gene Stallings might have been the first choice, but he was unwilling to break his contract as a Dallas Cowboys assistant.
The 1983 season, with losses to Penn State, Tennessee, Boston College and Auburn created doubt about Perkins. The 8-4 record should have been 9-3, had the Crimson Tide not had a comeback win taken away in State College.
In the game’s fourth quarter, Penn State led the Crimson Tide 34-7. Alabama QB, Walter Lewis led a furious comeback and with two seconds left connected with tight end Preston Gothard that should have tied the game, and allowed an Alabama extra point to win it. The pass was called incomplete at the back of the end zone. Video reviews and subsequent critiques by commentators and national reporters labeled the incompletion call as clearly incorrect.
Alabama Football 1984 Season
The Sun Bowl win at the end of the 1983 season did little to lessen the frustration of Tide fans fearful of the post-Bryant era.
The situation grew worse quickly in the 1984 season. Alabama opened with a 38-31 loss to Boston College in Birmingham. Making the loss worse was Kerry Goode went down with a serious knee injury. Went Goode was injured, early in the third quarter, he had 297 all-purpose yards in the game and three touchdowns.
The following Saturday, Alabama lost 16-6 at Georgia Tech. With the loss to Tech, going back to the 1983 season, Alabama had lost four of its last six games. A win over Southwest Louisana in game three provided fans little consolation.
Vanderbilt began the 1984 season 3-0, with wins over Kansas State, Maryland and Kansas. Despite the frustration of many Alabama fans, none believed the Commodores would beat the Crimson Tide in Bryant-Denny.
Vanderbilt won 30-21. Alabama led the game 13-9 in the third quarter. Vanderbilt then scored the next three touchdowns. The game had long been out of reach for the Crimson Tide when a late touchdown and a two-point conversion provided the final score.
On that afternoon in Tuscaloosa, Alabama Football was at its lowest point since Jennings ‘Ears’ Whitworth lost 24 games in his three seasons as the Tide head coach in 1955-1957.
The angst about Ray Perkins exploded into anger. Quickly, a loud demand was heard from Alabama fans, “Jerk the Perk.”
The complaints were unfair as Cecil Hurt explained after Perkins’ death in 2020.
Alabama finished the 1984 season at 5-6. Perkins’ 1985 team was 9-2-1, followed by a 10-3 season in 1986. Perkins decided to return to the NFL as the Tampa Bay head coach.
As Alabama fans know, there have been other Crimson Tide low points since 1984. They happened with Bill Curry, Mike Dubose and Mike Shula as the Tide’s Head Coach. There was even one when ULM beat Nick Saban’s 2007 team. After 2007, Nick Saban changed everything.