It was the year of the "Second-and-26." If you follow college football, you know exactly what that means. But before Tua Tagovailoa threw that legendary walk-off touchdown to DeVonta Smith in the freezing air of Atlanta, the Alabama Crimson Tide 2017 schedule had to be navigated. Honestly, it wasn't just a cakewalk to a trophy.
People forget. They see the ring and assume it was destiny.
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Looking back, that season was a absolute meat grinder of injuries and late-season chaos that almost left Nick Saban out of the playoff entirely. It started with a massive bang in a shiny new stadium and ended with the most dramatic quarterback switch in the history of the sport. Alabama didn't even win its own division that year. Imagine that. A national champion that didn't even play for its conference title.
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff and the Curse of Florida State
Alabama opened things up on September 2 against Florida State. At the time, this was billed as the "Greatest Opener of All Time." No joke. It was No. 1 vs. No. 3.
The Tide won 24–7.
But it was a costly victory. This game basically set the tone for the entire Alabama Crimson Tide 2017 schedule because of the body count. Alabama lost two of its best linebackers, Christian Miller and Terrell Lewis, to season-threatening injuries in that single game. It felt like every time a Bama player hit the turf in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they didn't get back up.
After FSU, the schedule eased up—sorta. They handled Fresno State and Colorado State at home. Jalen Hurts was the guy back then, running all over the place and keeping things safe. Then came the SEC slaughter. Alabama beat Vanderbilt 59–0. They beat Ole Miss 66–3. It looked like the Tide was an unstoppable machine, but the roster was getting thinner by the week.
Mid-Season Grinds and the Night in Starkville
By October, the defense was held together by tape and grit. They went to College Station and barely escaped Texas A&M with a 27–19 win. It was ugly.
Then came the home stretch.
If you want to know why the Alabama Crimson Tide 2017 schedule is still talked about, look at the November 11 game against Mississippi State. Dan Mullen’s Bulldogs had Alabama on the ropes in Starkville. It was 24–24 late in the fourth. Jalen Hurts found DeVonta Smith—the first hint of the magic to come—for a 26-yard touchdown with just 25 seconds left.
I remember watching that and thinking, "They're gonna slip up eventually."
They did.
The Iron Bowl Disaster and the Playoff Committee Prayer
November 25, 2017. Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn was on fire. Jarrett Stidham played the game of his life, and Alabama looked lost. The Tide lost 26–14. It was a definitive, clear-cut beating. Because of that loss, Auburn went to the SEC Championship, and Alabama stayed home.
This is where the drama peaked.
For a week, the entire sports world debated whether a one-loss Alabama team that didn't win the SEC West deserved to be in the College Football Playoff over a Big Ten champion like Ohio State. The Buckeyes had two losses, including a blowout to Iowa. Alabama had one loss on the road to a top-10 rival.
The committee chose Bama.
Fans in Columbus were furious. Fans in Tuscaloosa were relieved. But the Alabama Crimson Tide 2017 schedule had one more brutal stretch left: a rematch with Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.
Revenge in New Orleans and the Atlanta Miracle
The 2017 season was the rubber match. Clemson had beaten Bama the year before in the final seconds. This time, Alabama’s defense—finally getting some guys healthy—absolutely suffocated Kelly Bryant and the Tigers.
24–6.
Then, the National Championship against Georgia.
You know the story. Down 13–0 at halftime. Saban benches Jalen Hurts for a true freshman from Hawaii named Tua Tagovailoa. It was a gamble that would have gotten any other coach fired if it failed. But it didn't fail. Alabama won 26–23 in overtime.
Mapping the Path: 2017 Results
- Sept 2: vs #3 Florida State (Atlanta) — W, 24–7
- Sept 9: Fresno State — W, 41–10
- Sept 16: Colorado State — W, 41–23
- Sept 23: at Vanderbilt — W, 59–0
- Sept 30: Ole Miss — W, 66–3
- Oct 7: at Texas A&M — W, 27–19
- Oct 14: Arkansas — W, 41–9
- Oct 21: Tennessee — W, 45–7
- Nov 4: #19 LSU — W, 24–10
- Nov 11: at #16 Mississippi State — W, 31–24
- Nov 18: Mercer — W, 56–0
- Nov 25: at #6 Auburn — L, 14–26
- Jan 1: vs #1 Clemson (Sugar Bowl) — W, 24–6
- Jan 8: vs #3 Georgia (National Championship) — W, 26–23 (OT)
What We Learned From This Run
The Alabama Crimson Tide 2017 schedule proved that the regular season is about survival as much as it is about dominance. Alabama wasn't the "best" team in late November, but they were the best team in January.
For fans looking back at this specific era, there are a few key takeaways. First, strength of schedule matters, but so does "the eye test." The committee put Bama in because they looked like one of the four best teams, period. Second, depth is everything. Alabama played that entire season with a revolving door at linebacker and still finished with a top-ranked defense.
If you’re researching this season for a project or just a trip down memory lane, look into the injury reports from that September FSU game. It explains so much of why the team struggled in the middle of the SEC slate. Also, go watch the "All-22" footage of the Mississippi State game—it’s a masterclass in how Nick Saban adjusts when his primary game plan is failing.
To truly understand the 2017 Tide, you have to look past the final score in Atlanta. You have to see the grit it took to get past a November loss that should have ended their season. They stayed ready, and when the door cracked open, they kicked it down.
Next Steps for Tide Historians
If you want to dive deeper into the 2017 season, your best bet is to look at the defensive snap counts for the LSU and Mississippi State games. You'll see how thin the rotation was and why the Auburn loss was almost inevitable given the fatigue. Also, check out the documentary "Training Days: Rolling with the Tide" which captured the preseason vibe of this specific squad—it gives a lot of context to the Tua vs. Jalen dynamic that defined the year.