What’s at Stake For Alabama in the 86th Goodyear Cotton Bowl?

With any big time college football game meeting involving Alabama, there's always a chance for something special to be added to the long history of accolades. This year, the Crimson Tide can set new records for the new program and for the SEC. However these records will only be set if they can defeat the Bearcats.

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All of the following facts have been provided by Cotton Bowl Media Relations.

If Alabama is able to top Cincinnati:

- Alabama advances to 942-420-43 (.732 winning percentage) for 1,405 games as it is in the midst of its 130th all-time football season. The Crimson Tide stays at No. 1 all-time in NCAA FBS winning percentage and second to Michigan (976 wins prior to 2021 postseason) in historic total victories.

- The Crimson Tide is 45-26-3 (.628) after playing its NCAA-record 74th bowl game with the CFP championship on the Jan. 10, 2022, horizon. Alabama’s initial bowl contest was a 20- 19 triumph over Washington in the 1926 Rose Bowl.

- Head coach Nick Saban is 274-66-1 (.805) overall in his 26th season as a college head coach and advances to 183-24-0 (.884) in his 15th year with the Crimson Tide. He also stays in pursuit of his fourth CFP title since 2015 and will be making his sixth appearance in the CFP finals after also capturing three Bowl Championship Series crowns.

- Coach Saban is 18-10-0 (.643) in 28 total bowl games, 15-5-0 (.750) at Bama and needs just two victories to tie NFF College Hall of Fame coach Paul “Bear” Bryant for most bowl victories at Alabama. Bryant was 17-10-2 in 29 bowl contests as head coach of the Crimson Tide from 1958-82 over 25 seasons.

- The Alabama head coach is now 3-2-0 (.600) in five bowl games he has coached within the state of Texas at Michigan State, LSU and UA since the 1996 Sun Bowl while he was at MSU. He is 3-0 at Alabama in bowl games held within Texas (2021 Cotton Bowl, 2021 Rose Bowl, 2015 Cotton Bowl).

- UA moves toward a possible major college-record 19th national championship (claimed, BCS or FBS) since the 1924 season.

- Alabama runs its perfect record in games played at AT&T Stadium to 6-0-0 since 2012 all under Saban. Only Baylor and Texas A&M (7-5 records in 12 games each) have more wins at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl venue, and UA has the most victories of any unbeaten team in the stadium.

- The Crimson Tide moves to 6-0-0 (1.000) in its six-game series with the Bearcats 59-13-3 (.807) in 75 all-time series games with current American Athletic Conference members. The Crimson Tide also is 1-0-0 (1.000) against American opponents while playing in the Classic in this inaugural American-SEC matchup in Arlington.

- Alabama helps give current SEC members a 27-27-2 (.500) record in 56 Goodyear Cotton Bowl appearances – the most of current members of any conference. SEC teams now are 12-6-0 (.667) in the Classic since 2001 and 11-3 (.786) in their last 14 encounters in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. Bama also was the first then-member of the SEC to play in the 1942 Classic and scored a 29-21 victory over future (2011 season) SEC member Texas A&M, which was in the Southwest Conference from 1914-95.

- UA is now 5-4-0 (.556) in nine treks to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and 8-4-2 (.643) in all bowls played within the state of Texas/ This includes the second Rose Bowl presented by Capital One played at neutral-site AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Jan. 1, 2021, with a 31- 14 victory over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals prior to a national championship victory over Ohio State.

- The Crimson Tide continues to be fifth nationally in total weeks appearing in the Associated Press national football polls with 840 weeks since 1936.

- UA remains as the only school to make seven appearances (12 total games) in the College Football Playoff in the first eight years of the CFP’s existence – next is Clemson with six trips and 10 contests.

History is set to be written, but only if the Tide can best the Bearcats.