Crimson Tide: Remembering The 2000 Season

Alabama fans were in full throat in Pasadena, Ca., after the defeat of the Texas Longhorns for their 13^th National Championship. 

It was a moment no Tide fan would forget.

Anytime a program reaches championship level, it's exciting, but this was a moment some may have questioned if the world would ever see.  

10 years earlier, the scene in Pasadena was quite different. 

In 2000, Alabama entered the season ranked No. 4 nationally after an SEC Championship season the year before. 

The season began in Pasadena against UCLA.

The game started with a kick return for a touchdown by Freddie Millions, making it seem as if another championship season was underway.

Little did anyone know that the return would be a rare highlight of the season.

It was all downhill from there; 2000 would be a season ending in hopeless defeat, a fired coaching staff, and a program with little direction.

Alabama went on to lose to UCLA 35 – 24. The following week was the customary helping of Vanderbilt to the tune of a 28-10 victory.

The next game on September 16^th was in Birmingham against Southern Miss. 

My wife is NOT a football fan but she had bought some tickets to the game and gave them to me as a surprise.  We met some friends for dinner, and there it was announced that we were all going to the game.

I had been really excited, but my excitement soon turned to horror as Alabama stunk up Legion field with horrible play. I tried to smile at my wife and pretend I was still glad to be there, but this wasn’t just a loss—it was a humiliation.   

At the end of the game, head coach Mike Dubose offered his resignation to Athletic Director Mal Moore, but Moore refused to accept.

That was a big mistake; the rough times were only beginning.

Alabama was used to playing two quarterbacks that year:  Andrew Zow, a home run bomber, generally started, followed by Tyler Watts from the bench. 

Today Watts would be considered a spread option quarterback today, but at the time he was more of an anomaly. He ran like a vicious fullback; it was fun to watch, but it took a toll on his body. 

Alabama hammered out wins against South Carolina and Ole Miss but lost Watts to injury. The threat of a running quarterback was gone, there was sagging production from the running game, and the offense became one dimensional.   

In the wake of this trauma, Alabama suffered a crushing 20-10 defeat by Tennessee.  

The running back combination of Ahmaad Galloway and Brandon Miree was a far cry from Shaun Alexander the year before. Both had speed, but lacked the game breaking ability that Alabama fans enjoy today. After the Ole Miss game, Alabama just didn’t run the ball effectively.

Zow spent most of the second half of the season running for his life. Receivers Jason McAddley and Freddie Millons seemed only a shadow of what they had been in 1999, and only the less-talented but strong-hearted Antonio Carter was playing well. 

The following week the team hit rock bottom.

Central Florida was the sacrificial homecoming lamb, and in front of the homecoming crowd, Andrew Zow threw four interceptions, all leading to UFC scores. 

Central Florida Golden Knight fans swarmed the field as time expired with a 40-38 victory, the first for their program over an SEC school. For Tide fans, it seemed as though the world was dancing on their grave.

Alabama followed this with yet another heart breaker to LSU at 30-28, and was taken completely apart by Mississippi State the following week. 

Almost any bad season can be made better by a win over Auburn, but the 2000 Tide appeared to have nothing left in the tanks as they died a long, slow death in the freezing rain against Auburn, losing 9-0.

It was the first Iron Bowl to be played in Tuscaloosa and it was one we would all like to forget.

It was a foregone conclusion by then that head coach Mike Dubose was finished. In time the actions of the staff would result in an NCAA probation that came close to destroying the program forever.

Even in the face of such a terrible season some players had a good year.

Defensive lineman Jarret Johnson had 64 tackles along with 6 sacks and 2 assists.  

Antonio Carter had 45 catches that year for 586 yards, but only one touchdown.  

Andrew Zow still had the cannon arm and did throw for 1561 yards that year, but he threw 14 interceptions to only 6 touchdowns

Linebacker Victor Ellis had 94 tackles and two sacks. Tragically, in 2002 Ellis contracted something called medullary renal cell carcinoma, a rare and deadly form of cancer. In March of 2008 at the age of 28 he lost his battle and passed away. 

As dark as those days were, it was only the beginning of troubles for Alabama.  

In the years that followed it was hard to believe that Alabama football would ever recover. 

But recover it did.

Alabama is on top of the football world today and the future looks bright. Should things not go so perfectly in 2010, fans must realize that this program remains near the top, just where you want to be.

The actual bottom is a long way down : Been there, done that, burned the T-Shirt, and don’t want to go back.