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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. _ Here’s a good trivia question for University of Alabama fans: Which team has the Crimson Tide played the most in its season opener?
The answer is Howard, now called Samford.
When Alabama faces West Virginia on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2), it’ll be the first meeting between the programs, and the 59th different opening-day opponent for the Crimson Tide.
Although Alabama is 13-17-2 all-time against teams from the current Big 12 after losing to Oklahoma 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl, Coach Nick Saban is 2-2 against the conference. He’s 2-0 when a national championship is at state (LSU vs. Oklahoma, 2003 season; Alabama vs. Texas, 2009), and 0-2 in other bowls, with this being his first regular-season matchup.
Active Division I teams with winning records against Alabama (all-time)
Texas 7-1-1
Notre Dame 5-2
Rice 3-0
Boston College 3-1
TCU 3-2
Oklahoma 3-1-1
UCLA 2-1
Teams 1-0 against Alabama: Central Florida, Louisiana-Monroe, Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma State, Utah, Wisconsin
Saban at Alabama vs. SEC
SEC West
Arkansas 6-0*
Ole Miss 6-0*
Mississippi State 6-1
Auburn 4-3
LSU 5-3
Texas A&M 1-1
SEC East
Tennessee 7-0
Kentucky 3-0
Vanderbilt 1-0*
Florida 3-1
Georgia 2-1
South Carolina 1-1
Missouri 1-0
Other schools
Winning or .500 records: North Texas 2-0;
Penn State 2-0; Arkansas State 1-0;
Chattanooga 2-0;
Clemson 1-0;
Colorado 1-0;
Colorado State 1-0; Duke 1-0;
Florida Atlantic 1-0; Florida International 1-0;
Georgia Southern 1-0;
Georgia State 2-0;
Kent State 1-0;
Michigan 1-0; Michigan State 1-0;
Notre Dame 1-0; San Jose State 1-0;
Texas 1-0;
Tulane 1-0;
Virginia Tech 2-0;
Western Carolina 1-0*;
Houston 0-0*; Western Kentucky 2-0.
Losing records: Florida State 0-1;
Louisiana Monroe 0-1;
Oklahoma 0-1; Utah 0-1
Saban career vs. SEC
SEC West
Arkansas 9-2*
Ole Miss 10-1*
Mississippi State 11-1
Auburn 6-6
LSU 5-4
Alabama 4-1
Texas A&M 1-1
SEC East
Tennessee 9-1
Kentucky 6-0
Vanderbilt 2-0*
Florida 5-4
Georgia 4-2
South Carolina 3-1
Missouri 1-0
Big Ten teams: Illinois 6-0; Indiana 4-0; Michigan State 1-0; Minnesota 3-1; Northwestern 2-1; Ohio State 2-1; Penn State 4-3; Iowa 2-2; Michigan 3-3; Wisconsin 1-2; Purdue 1-3-1
Other schools
Winning or .500 records: Arkansas State 2-0;
Arizona 1-0;
Arizona State 1-0;
Ball State 1-0;
Boston College 1-0;
Bowling Green 1-0;
Central Michigan 1-1;
Chattanooga 2-0;
Citadel 1-0;
Clemson 1-0;
Colorado 1-0;
Colorado State 1-1;
Duke 1-0;
Eastern Michigan 3-0;
Florida Atlantic 1-0; Florida International 1-0;
Georgia Southern 1-0;
Georgia State 2-0;
Georgia Tech 1-0; Houston 1-0*; Kent State 2-0;
Lafayette 1-0;
Louisiana Monroe 1-1;
Louisiana Tech 1-0;
Louisville 1-1;
Memphis 1-0;
Miami (Ohio) 2-0; Middle Tennessee 1-0;
North Texas 2-0;
Northern Illinois 1-0;
Notre Dame 4-0;
Ohio 1-0;
Oklahoma 1-1;
Oregon 1-1;
Oregon State 1-0; San Jose State 1-0;
Texas 1-1;
Troy State 1-0;
Tulane 2-0;
Utah State 1-0;
Virginia Tech 2-1;
Western Carolina 2-0*;
Western Illinois 1-0;
Western Kentucky 2-0;
Western Michigan 2-0
Losing records: Florida State 0-1;
Navy 0-1;
Nebraska 0-2;
Stanford 0-1;
UAB 0-1;
Utah 0-1;
Washington 0-1
*win vacated
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
