Remembering Alabama’s nonconference road games under Nick Saban, from Penn State to Texas

Alabama’s football program has accomplished no shortage of feats under Nick Saban.

Under the careful watch of their 17th-year coach, the Crimson Tide have won six national championships, made seven College Football Playoff appearances, captured eight SEC titles, won 84.7 percent of their games, produced more than 100 NFL Draft picks and, in the process, seen the program become the dominant and defining force in college football for the better part of the past 15 years.

There’s at least one thing, though, the SEC power hasn’t done much under its legendary leader: go on the road to play nonconference opponents.

Since Saban’s first season in 2007, Alabama has played only three true road games in nonconference play, a number that will increase by one on Saturday when the Crimson Tide travels to Tampa, Florida to take on USF at Raymond James Stadium.

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It’s not as if the Crimson Tide don’t venture away from Bryant-Denny Stadium early in the season. Alabama has been a fixture of high-profile, nationally televised matchups against Power Five opponents in Saban’s tenure, particularly in the opening week of the college football season. But those contests were often held at neutral sites, where the Crimson Tide’s large and passionate following made it something closer to a home game.

In advance of Saturday’s game at South Florida, let’s take a look at Alabama’s previous nonconference road games under Saban.

Sept. 18, 2010: Alabama 62, Duke 13

Months removed from its first national championship under Saban, the Crimson Tide had little trouble with the Blue Devils, scoring 28 points in the game’s opening 10:08 and taking a 45-13 lead into halftime in what was ultimately a 62-13 victory.

Alabama ran for 315 yards and averaged nine yards per attempt as a team in the win, with reigning Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram leading the way with 151 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries. Duke went on to finish 3-9 that season, its third under coach David Cutcliffe.

Sept. 10, 2011: Alabama 27, Penn State 11

One year after it beat Penn State 24-3 in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide made the return trip to Happy Valley and notched a 27-11 victory. Alabama’s rushing attack overpowered the Nittany Lions, with Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy teaming up for 196 yards and two touchdowns (both of which were Richardson’s) while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

After Penn State took a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter, the Crimson Tide rattled off 27 unanswered points to pick up an early resume win against what was the No. 20 team in the country.

Alabama, of course, went on to win its second national championship under Saban that season. It would be the Nittany Lions’ only loss until November, when the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal broke, coach Joe Paterno was fired and the team went on to lose three of its final four games.

Sept. 10, 2022: Alabama 20, Texas 19

The Crimson Tide earned a 20-19 victory in its first true out-of-conference road game in 11 years. Unlike its previous two road wins during Saban’s tenure, this one wasn’t comfortable in any way.

Despite losing starting quarterback Quinn Ewers to a shoulder injury late in the first quarter, the Longhorns led 16-10 in the fourth quarter on what was an uncharacteristically sloppy day for Alabama, which finished with 15 penalties for 100 yards and a number of dropped passes. Still, it took the lead with a Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown catch with 8:29 remaining. Texas responded with a field goal with 1:29 left to go up by two, but Bryce Young marched the Crimson Tide 61 yards in eight plays and 1:14 to set up a game-winning, 33-yard field goal from Will Reichard.

“When his best was needed, he was really good,” Saban said of Young after the game. “And that’s what we needed.”

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Alabama future nonconference games

After going a decade without a nonconference road game, the Crimson Tide’s schedule makeup will undergo a dramatic shift for the foreseeable future.

Starting with a Sept. 14 game next year at Wisconsin, Alabama will play one non-SEC road game in each of the next 11 years. Each of those games is part of a home-and-home series to which the school agreed.

Here’s a look at when those matchups will be, and whom the Crimson Tide will be playing:

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Alabama’s nonconference road games under Nick Saban