Alabama Football: Ranking 5 worst losses in program history

3. Central Florida 40, Alabama 38 (2000)

The 1999 Alabama team won the SEC title and narrowly lost the Orange Bowl to Tom Brady’s Michigan Wolverines.

The 2000 Alabama Crimson Tide had many of the key guys from 1999’s conference championship run coming back. Expectations were high for Mike DuBose’s aggregate heading into the new millennium, the Tide were ranked No. 3 in the nation before a bitter defeat at the hands of UCLA got the season off to a shaky start.

Yet another embarrassing loss to Southern Miss and an overachieving Arkansas team put the tide at 1-3 before briefly appearing to turn around after victories over South Carolina and Ole Miss. After a frustrating loss to Tennessee, ‘Bama looked forward to a game against a Central Florida team still very early in its time as a I-A school and not expected to do much against the SEC’s blue bloods.

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What looked like an easy opportunity for a cheap win for Alabama was seen as an opportunity for UCF to prove itself. That it did.

Alabama made crucial errors that gave the Golden Knights opportunities to stay in the game. The Tide amassed five turnovers and allowed 378 yards of offense from UCF.

Central Florida led 31-24 in the third quarter. When quarterback Andrew Zow led the Tide to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to put them back on top 38-37, Tide fans felt like they could breath a little easier. There was still enough time on the clock for UCF quarterback Ryan Schneider to drive his Knights down the field to set up Javier Beorlegui’s game-winning field goal.

The loss spoiled homecoming and spelled doom for the once promising head coaching career of DuBose. Alabama would not win another game in 2000, and DuBose would be shown the door, along with his entire staff.

One particular member of that ill-fated regime, a former Alabama receiver named William “Dabo” Swinney, would see the temporary end of his coaching career as a result, but we all know that he’d be back in a big way at the end of the decade.

This was the beginning of a dark time for the Tide, as the subsequent reign of Dennis Franchione produced victories but also some costly NCAA violations.