What if 2016 Alabama Never Scored an Offensive Touchdown?
The Tide had no trouble finding the end zone in other ways.
Many of Nick Saban’s later teams at Alabama featured unstoppable offenses led by quarterbacks such as Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Bryce Young.
Yet, when looking at Saban’s tenure at Tuscaloosa, it’s the suffocating, impenetrable defenses that most stick out. The 2007 Crimson Tide allowed an unremarkable 22.0 PPG in Saban’s first season, but over the following 10 seasons, Alabama ranked in the top seven in the FBS in scoring defense each year, leading the nation four times.
During this span, Saban’s teams allowed nearly five fewer points per game than any other team in the FBS. Alternatively, Ohio State, the Tide’s closest competitor, allowed more than 36% more points per game.
Again, this is over an entire decade.
Alabama’s 2011 team sported possibly the greatest defense in the modern era, allowing just nine offensive touchdowns all season and never giving up more than 14 points to an FBS team.
The team gave up only 8.2 PPG, the fewest by any FBS team since 1988 Auburn, and is one of two squads (along with 1986 Oklahoma) since the NCAA began tracking stats in 1937 to lead the FBS or its equivalent in scoring defense, total defense, passing defense, and rushing defense.
In 2011, Alabama allowed a total of 106 points. Meanwhile, their starting running back, Trent Richardson, scored 24 touchdowns by himself, good for 144 points.
Their only loss of the season came to LSU in early November. In a hugely anticipated rivalry matchup of the #1 and #2 teams in the AP Poll, the Tigers bested the Tide 9–6 in overtime in a game where LSU made all three of its field goal attempts while Alabama went just two-for-six.
When the teams later met in the BCS National Championship Game, Alabama won 21–0. It is the only shutout ever in a recognized National Championship Game. LSU totaled nine points (and zero touchdowns) in two games against Alabama. They scored at least 35 points in 11 of their other 12 games.
The 2011 Alabama defense was Nick Saban’s best in terms of preventing opponents from scoring. However, the 2016 Alabama defense didn’t stop there. They also knew how to put points on the board.
Defensive touchdowns are typically quite rare. In the 2023 season, FBS teams averaged 1.6 such scores for the whole year, with no school totaling more than five.
In 2016, the Crimson Tide’s defense scored 11 touchdowns — seven pick-sixes and four fumble return TD. These weren’t surprise occurrences at all. It was a weekly thing.
But it gets crazier. Alabama’s special teams got in on the action as well, with three players combining for four punt return touchdowns. This means that overall, Alabama scored 15 non-offensive TD over 15 games in the 2016 season, more than five times more than the FBS average of 2.9 that year.
For comparison, the 2019 Akron Zips scored just 14 offensive touchdowns over a full, non-COVID-shortened season. Alabama’s defense and special teams could compete with other team’s offenses.
Over 1,040 FBS team seasons from 2016–23, only three teams have recorded more than eight non-offensive TD. The 2018 Temple Owls (12) and 2018 Utah State Aggies (10) are the only teams that come even remotely close to 2016 Alabama.
But of course, those teams’ defenses couldn’t hold a candle to the Crimson Tide. In 2018, Temple allowed more than 27 points per game. On the other hand, Alabama led the country in 2016 by allowing just 13.0 PPG and ultimately reached the CFP National Championship Game, where they lost to Clemson.
With all of their offensive contributions from the defense and special teams, it’s almost like Alabama didn’t even need their actual offense to score any touchdowns at all.
Now, hold on a second…
Let’s go back through Alabama’s 2016 schedule and take every offensive touchdown (and ensuing extra point) off the board. We’re going to wipe away 59 TD and 413 total points. Surely, the Crimson Tide would fall apart, right?
Right?
Sept. 3: Alabama vs #20 USC (Arlington, TX)
Actual Score: Alabama 52–6 | Adjusted Score: Alabama 10–6
In their season-opener, Alabama put on a clinic. As the reigning National Champions, they picked apart a USC team that would ultimately finish the season ranked #3 in the AP Poll.
Of course, this was with Max Browne starting at QB (the Trojans would switch to Sam Darnold shortly thereafter). Still, the Tide put together their largest season-opening win against a major opponent since 1973 despite trailing 3–0 after the first quarter.
For our purposes, the game was a bit closer. But even after six offensive touchdowns are erased, an Adam Griffith field goal and Marlon Humphrey pick-six are enough to give Alabama a 10–6 win.
Nick Saban & Co. are on the board.
Sept. 10: Alabama (1–0) vs Western Kentucky (1–0)
Actual Score: Alabama 38–10 | Adjusted Score: Tied 10–10
In the real world, Alabama had no troubles with the eventual Conference USA champions. Even in this experiment, they held the lead for a majority of the game following an Eddie Jackson pick-six in the second quarter that put the Tide up 10–3.
However, in what ended up being garbage time in the actual game, the Hilltoppers scored a touchdown with 46 seconds remaining that knotted things up at 10.
While it seems relatively safe to say Alabama would have taken this one had they been aware of the fictional stakes, rules are rules. We have a tie.
Sept. 17: Alabama (1–0–1) at #19 Ole Miss (1–1)
Actual Score: Alabama 48–43 | Adjusted Score: Ole Miss 43–27
This game was an absolute shootout and one of only two regular season games where Alabama allowed more than 14 points. Chad Kelly torched Saban’s defense for 421 passing yards and three touchdowns and Ole Miss returned a fumble for a touchdown in what would be the only non-offensive TD scored against the Tide.
Alabama had 15 such touchdowns in 2016. They conceded one.
But while Alabama still pulled this one out initially, giving up 43 points is a death sentence here. Still, the game is closer than you would think, thanks to three non-offensive touchdowns by Alabama.
Eddie Jackson found the end zone for the second straight week, this time with a punt return score, while Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen added a fumble return and pick-six, respectively.
Two field goals bring Alabama up to 27 points, which is huge for their season-long point differential, which will come into play later.
Sept. 24: Alabama (1–1–1) vs Kent State (1–2)
Actual Score: Alabama 48–0 | Adjusted Score: Alabama 13–0
Oct. 1: Alabama (2–1–1) vs Kentucky (2–2)
Actual Score: Alabama 34–6 | Adjusted Score: Alabama 13–6
Before entering an absolute gauntlet which saw Alabama faced eight AP-ranked opponents in their final 10 games, they hosted a pair of Kentucky teams and smacked them around by a combined score of 82–6.
In each game, the Tide tallied one non-offensive touchdown and two field goals, giving them adjusted 13–0 and 13–6 victories to bring them to 3–1–1 on the season.
Oct. 8: Alabama (3–1–1) at #16 Arkansas (4–1)
Actual Score: Alabama 49–30 | Adjusted Score: Arkansas 30–14
Oct. 15: Alabama (3–2–1) at #9 Tennessee (5–1)
Actual Score: Alabama 49–10 | Adjusted Score: Alabama 14–10
Alabama’s early October clash at Arkansas wasn’t any closer than an 18-point game from the midway point in the second quarter onwards. Unfortunately, we have to take away 35 points, leaving just Tim Williams’ fumble return and Minkah Fitzpatrick’s 100-yard pick-six for Nick Saban’s group.
That wouldn’t be nearly sufficient in an amended 30–14 loss, but a pair of non-offensive touchdowns would get the job done in Knoxville the following week as our experiment sees Alabama pick up a 14–10 win over a top-10 Tennessee opponent.
In real life, that game was a 49–10 bloodbath and the fourth game in a five-week span where Alabama scored at least 48 points.
Oct. 22: Alabama (4–2–1) vs #6 Texas A&M (6–0)
Actual Score: Alabama 33–14 | Adjusted Score: Texas A&M 14–12
The Tide’s eighth game of the season saw them take on an undefeated Texas A&M squad. While the real Alabama scored the final 20 points of the game in a 33–14 victory, our team had two field goals and a Jonathan Allen fumble-return.
Alabama actually went for two following Allen’s score, but a failed conversion means the Aggies take it 14–12 and hand Alabama their third loss of this modified season.
As we cross the halfway point, Alabama is above .500 at 4–3–1 despite losing 34 touchdowns, or nearly 30 points per game. Even in their losses, this team has scored six non-offensive TD.
In total, Alabama recorded 12 non-offensive TD over their first eight games of the season, including at least one in each contest. That matches 2018 Temple’s over the entire season.
Temple opened the year with six straight games with a non-offensive touchdown, the next-longest streak at any point in a season since 2016. In fact, 2019 Alabama is the only other team in the span to have a single-season streak of even five games.
Effectively without an offense, Alabama remains a forced to be reckoned with, and they’re about to go on a bit of a run.
Nov. 5: Alabama (4–3–1) at AP #15/CFP #13 LSU (5–2)
Actual Score: Alabama 10–0 | Adjusted Score: Alabama 3–0
Nov. 12: Alabama (5–3–1) vs Mississippi State (4–5)
Actual Score: Alabama 51–3 | Adjusted Score: Alabama 9–3
Nov. 19: Alabama (6–3–1) vs Chattanooga (8–2, FCS)
Actual Score: Alabama 31–3 | Adjusted Score: Tied 3–3
And here’s where we really see the value of having the best defense in the country.
Following their bye week, Alabama went three straight games without allowing more than a field goal. It’s the only time they did so in the Nick Saban era, and only one of two times the Crimson Tide have accomplished the feat since 1980. For reference, no FBS team has done so since 2018 Wisconsin.
Over these three games, Alabama didn’t record a single non-offensive touchdown. Yet, they still went undefeated.
First off was a tangle at LSU, and just like the National Championship Game five years earlier, Alabama blanked the Tigers. A late Adam Griffith field goal gets them the victory once Jalen Hurts’ rushing touchdown is taken off the board.
Alabama racked up 51 points and 615 total yards the following week against Mississippi State. All that remains in our experiment are three Griffith field goals, but that’s more than enough for another victory.
The Tide, however, do have to settle for a 3–3 tie in their amended game against Chattanooga.
Nov. 26: Alabama (6–3–2) vs AP #16/CFP #13 Auburn (8–3)
Actual Score: Alabama 30–12 | Adjusted Score: Auburn 12–9
Dec. 3: Alabama (6–4–2) vs AP/CFP #15 Florida (8–3)
SEC Championship Game (Atlanta, GA)
Actual Score: Alabama 54–16 | Adjusted Score: Alabama 19–16
In the Iron Bowl, Alabama went a fourth straight game without a non-offensive touchdown. While that wasn’t a problem in real life as Alabama finished a perfect regular season, Auburn’s Daniel Carlson bests Adam Griffith four field goals to three here.
The SEC Championship Game is an entirely different ballgame. In a span of just five minutes and 16 seconds in the first quarter, the Tide scored on a Griffith field goal, Minkah Fitzpatrick pick-six, and Josh Jacobs punt return that put 16 points on the board (an extra point was blocked).
Already with as many points as Florida would total in the entire game, Griffith added another field goal in the second quarter to ensure that even when all five of Alabama’s offensive touchdowns were removed, they would still come out victorious.
Just imagine having 35 points wiped away in the SEC Championship Game and still being on top. Their 38-point win in the real game stands as the second-largest in SEC Championship history, trailing only Auburn’s 39-point win over South Carolina in 2010.
Dec. 31: Alabama (7–4–2) vs AP/CFP #4 Washington (12–1)
CFP Semifinal; Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA)
Actual Score: Alabama 24–7 | Adjusted Score: Alabama 10–7
Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide entered the College Football Playoff ranked #1 in every AP and CFP poll all season long. Their reward was the #4 Washington Huskies, who had already tied a school record with 12 wins.
To this point, Washington had scored more than 44 points per game and had been held to fewer than 30 points just once, in a 26–13 loss to that USC team that Alabama beat by 46 to open the season.
Naturally, the Huskies were held to fewer than 200 total yards (including just 44 in the second half) and after scoring the game’s opening touchdown, never put points on the board again.
A pair of Alabama rushing touchdowns by Bo Scarborough get taken away, but a 41-yard field goal from Adam Griffith and pick-six from Ryan Anderson in the second quarter give Alabama 10 points, and that’ll do the trick.
Heading into the CFP National Championship Game, the Alabama Crimson Tide stand a remarkable 8–4–2. Perhaps even more impressive, their point differential over the season is +6.
Even without 55 offensive touchdowns in 14 games to this point, Alabama has outscored their opponents. There’s only one left thing to do…
Jan. 9: Alabama (8–4–2) vs AP/CFP #3 Clemson (13–1)
CFP National Championship (Tampa, FL)
Actual Score: Clemson 35–31 | Adjusted Score: Clemson 35–3
…Get smoked by Clemson.
Of course, this is far from what really happened. In actuality, Alabama led 14–0 in the second quarter and held a 10-point advantage entering the fourth quarter.
There were three lead changes in the final five minutes of the game, culminating with a two-yard, game-winning pass from Deshaun Watson to Hunter Renfrow that gave Clemson a 35–31 victory and their first National Championship in 35 years.
But in a world where Alabama offensive touchdowns don’t count, this ends up a 35–3 rout. Prevailing in the National Championship was simply too much to ask.
The 2016 Alabama Crimson Tide would have gone 8–5–2 even if every point they scored from an offensive touchdown was erased. Over the entire season, they score 169 points and allow 195.
One of the wildest things about this is how difficult Alabama’s schedule was in 2016. Nick Saban and the Tide faced 10 teams that entered the game ranked in the AP Poll. They are the only team to do this in the history of college football.
Not only were all 10 of those teams in the AP Top 25, they were all in the top-20. And while Alabama ended the season at #2, they faced every other team that finished in the top-four.
Western Kentucky isn’t even in that group of ranked opponents. Yet, the Hilltoppers finished 11–3 and led the FBS in scoring with 45.5 PPG. Against Alabama, they lost 38–10. It was their only game with fewer than 30 points.
Against AP-ranked teams, Alabama tallied 12 non-offensive TD. Since 2016, no other team has totaled more than four such touchdowns.
If we get rid of their two ties, the Tide are 8–5 with a 5–5 record against ranked opponents. A team with that resume almost certainly finishes the season ranked in the AP Poll themselves.
Alabama did that without an offensive touchdown.
This was a dominant season by one of the great defenses we’ve seen in college football. It is unbelievable, yet it should not surprise you to learn that all 11 starters from that squad were selected in the NFL Draft.
Ten of those players have combined to start 643 games in the NFL. Five have been named to Pro Bowl teams. Three members of the secondary (Marlon Humphrey, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Eddie Jackson) have been First-Team All-Pro selections.
If they did that at the pro level, college teams hardly stood a chance.
