TAMPA – Alabama’s trip to Tampa to play USF on Saturday afternoon (3:30, ABC) will be rather unique in that it has been 20 years since the Crimson Tide last played a non-power conference opponent on the road.
It was at the conclusion of the 2002 and 2003 seasons the Tide traveled to Honolulu to play Hawaii, then a member of the WAC under June Jones. Alabama won (21-16) the 2002 matchup in Dennis Franchione’s final game as coach of the Tide, and lost (37-29) in 2003 to close out Mike Shula’s first season in Tuscaloosa. Shula’s tenure began with a 40-17 win over the Bulls in the Crimson Tide’s final game at Legion Field.
The last time Alabama played a non-power conference team on the road in the lower 48 was 1992 when Gene Stallings brought what would be a national title team to Tulane. A 37-0 win over Buddy Teevens’ Green Wave, then independent, upped the Tide’s record to 6-0.
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The Crimson Tide’s presence at Raymond James Stadium will mark the second time the team will have played in the venue. The first was January 9, 2017, a down-to-the-wire 35-31 loss to Clemson in the national championship game.
The game with USF will be Alabama’s fourth in Tampa. In addition to the memorable clash with Clemson, there were two bowl games against Michigan at Tampa Stadium. The Tide defeated the Wolverines, 17-14, in the 1997 Outback Bowl and lost, 28-24, in the 1987 Hall of Fame Bowl.
Alabama is 33-11 all-time in the Sunshine State. Thirteen of the games, and 11 wins, have come against SEC foe Florida. The first meeting between the schools was 1916 in Jacksonville, where they played twice. They have met 11 times in Gainesville with the first in 1930 and most recent in 2021.
Including the aforementioned bowl games in Tampa, the Crimson Tide have played 20 bowl/national championship games in Florida, winning 13. The first was a 1942 Orange Bowl victory over Boston College in Miami and the most recent a 2020 national championship victory over Ohio State in Miami Gardens.
Alabama is 7-2 all-time at Miami against the ‘Canes, with the last meeting at the Orange Bowl in 1974. The Tide won a pair of neutral site games against Florida State in Jacksonville in 2007 and Louisville in Orlando in 2018.
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