Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI's beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.
Watch the above video as BamaCentral basketball and football writer Hunter De Siver discusses Alabama's best homecoming games in program history before the Crimson Tide hosts Texas A&M.
Homecoming plays a big part in Alabama's immense traditions, and Saturday will add another chapter in Crimson Tide history.
Alabama will host Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Bryant-Denny Stadium for its 105th Homecoming Weekend game. The Crimson Tide owns an 89-14-1 all-time record on Homecoming. UA held a 22-Homecoming-game winning streak dating back to 2001, but Oklahoma outlasted Alabama 23-21 last season.
So, as head coach Kalen DeBoer and company continue to prepare for the Aggies, here's a look at three of Alabama's best Homecoming games of all time.
1963: Alabama 20, Mississippi State 19
Trailing 12-3 in the second quarter, Alabama quickly scored 10 points, including a 40-yard touchdown connection between Joe Namath and Jimmy Dill to enter the break up by one point. The Bulldogs were responsible for the sole seven points scored in the third quarter, as Namath threw a pick-six. Nevertheless, late in the fourth quarter, Namath finished a drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game before Tim Davis converted the go-ahead extra point.
1998: Alabama 20, Ole Miss 17
Alabama and Ole Miss traded every single score, with the main highlight being the 33-yard touchdown between Andrew Zow and Shaun Alexander to take a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter. But the Rebels would storm back and tie the game to force the first-ever overtime at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Crimson Tide kicker Ryan Pflugner scored the game-winning field goal.
2021: Alabama 52, Tennessee 24
Alabama entered the fourth quarter of the Third Saturday in October up 24-17. UA quarterback Bryce Young ran in from six yards out nine seconds into the fourth quarter, and Tennessee's Hendon Hooker found Cedric Tillman for a 70-yard touchdown two plays later. But Alabama took it into the next gear the rest of the way, highlighted by running back Brian Robinson Jr.'s second and third time finding the end zone.
Honorable Mentions:
- 1920: Alabama 21, LSU 0 (UA's first-ever homecoming game)
- 1974: Alabama 8, Florida State 7 (five points for the Crimson Tide in the final 1:27)
- 1982: Alabama 21, Cincinnati 3 (Paul W. "Bear Bryant's final homecoming)
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