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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/Majestic-Web-367 on 2026-02-05 09:18:17+00:00.

Since the start of the 20th century Alabama has won a total of 18 national championships, being most known now for their 6 title dynasty under coach Nick Saban. This title count is 6 championships more than Michigan who has the second most championships at 12, and has led many fans to believe Alabama has had a more inflated title count. In total out of the 18 championships, 16 of the titles have been recognized by the NCAA consensus list. For this analysis however I’m going to go through all 18 titles Alabama claims and then give a verdict on how good the title is.

Remember, this is just my opinion on Alabama’s championship count. Alabama claims 18 titles and if you want to say Alabama has 18 championships that’s completely fine.

Link to Does Ohio State have an inflated title count: www.reddit.com/r/CFB/s/gRR2pe7Z2P

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Title verdicts:

True Champion: This verdict means the title is 100% a true champion.

Strong Championship: This verdict means the title is definitely strong and is a great title claim but not to the same level as an undisputed champion.

Questionable but understandable: The title claim is definitely questionable but I can understand why the team claims the title.

Weak Title claim: You have a reason to claim this title but it’s not strong at all.

1941 Alabama: Extremely weak claim

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1925 Alabama: In 1925 Alabama went 10-0, beating Washington in the rose bowl 20-19 to win their first ever national championship. This title is recognized on the NCAA consensus list. My verdict is True Champion.

1926 Alabama: In 1926 Alabama went 9-0-1 only drawing to Stanford 7-7 in the rose bowl who would be the other National championship alongside Alabama this year. This title is on the NCAA consensus list. My verdict is True Champion.

1930 Alabama: In 1930 Alabama went 10-0 beating Washington State 24-0 in the rose bowl. They were champions alongside Notre Dame this year. Although Notre Dame has a slightly stronger claim, this is definitely a True Championship for Alabama. This title is on the NCAA consensus list.

1934 Alabama: In 1934 Alabama went 10-0 and was named champions by a couple of selectors. However in 1934 Minnesota went undefeated winning every Major poll and had a 34-0 win against Michigan, 34-0 win against Wisconsin and won every game except 1 by more than 20 points. Still Alabama went undefeated even though Minnesota has the better claim so I would say this is a Strong Championship for Alabama. This title is not on the NCAA consensus list.

1941 Alabama: In 1941 Alabama went 9-2 and only had 1 selector give them the championship. This is why the weakest title claim category is called 1941 Alabama.

1961 Alabama: Went undefeated and won 3 out of the 4 major polls with the FWAA giving their championship to Ohio State. Out of the 2 schools Alabama has the stronger claim as even though the FWAA awarded their title after bowl games and gave it to Ohio State, the buckeyes 8-0-1 record is worse than Alabama’s 11-0 record since the buckeyes had 1 draw that year giving Alabama the stronger claim out of the 2 NCAA recognized champions that year. So overall I would say Alabama’s 1961 title is in the True Championship category.

1964 Alabama: Won the AP and Coaches poll but lost their bowl game while Arkansas was undefeated. The only major poll that released after bowl games which was the FWAA would crown Arkansas champions. Although the AP and Coaches polls released before bowl games which meant bowl games at the time were still considered exhibitions that didn’t matter to those selectors, this is definitely a weaker title claim although I understand why Alabama claims it. I would put this title in the Questionable but Understandable category.

1965 Alabama: Won the AP poll this year which had decided to randomly award their title after bowl games although they would continue to award it before bowl games until 1968 where the AP poll would begin consistently awarding their title before bowl games. Michigan State won the Coaches poll but lost their bowl game. However, Michigan state finished the year 10-1 while Bama finished 9-1-1 and the Spartans won a majority of the selectors. I would say this title is once again Questionable but Understandable.

1973 Alabama: Alabama won the coaches poll but lost to Notre Dame in their bowl game leading Notre Dame to win the AP poll. I would’ve originally put this in Questionable but Understandable since the coaches poll title criteria still considered bowl games as exhibitions that didn’t matter as they crowned their champions before bowl games. However this year Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan also went undefeated making Alabama’s claim a lot weaker. I would put this title in the Weak Championship category.

1978 Alabama: Alabama would go 11-1 and win the AP poll while USC would go 12-1 and win the coaches poll. The issue however is Alabama’s one loss was against USC and was played at Alabama. USC would also win more of the selectors then Alabama that year. Therefore I would put this title in the Questionable but Understandable as we were able to see both teams play against each other in a game that favored Alabama since it was at home.

1979 Alabama: Alabama would go undefeated winning the sugar bowl 24-9 against Arkansas. They won the AP and Coaches poll that year and deserve the national championship. This is a True Championship.

1992 Alabama: Went undefeated and won the AP and Coaches poll winning the SEC championship against Florida and the Sugar Bowl against Miami. This is a True Championship.

2009 Alabama: Won the BCS championship against Texas. This is a True Championship.

2011 Alabama: Won the BCS championship against LSU. This is a True Championship.

2012 Alabama: Won the BCS championship against Notre Dame. This is a True Championship.

2015 Alabama: Won the college football playoff championship against Clemson. This is a True Championship.

2017 Alabama: Won the college football playoff championship against Georgia. This is a True Championship.

2020 Alabama: Won the college football playoff championship against Ohio State. This is a True Championship.

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Final Totals:

True Championships: 12

Strong Championships: 1

Questionable but Understandable: 3

Weak Championships: 1

1941 Alabama: 1

Conclusion: I can understand the argument that Alabama has a slightly inflated title counter because there are 5 championships that are between 1941 Alabama and Questionable but Understandable but overall a lot of these titles are great championships and a majority of those 5 championships are understandable. There are definitely teams in the SEC with more inflated title counts so overall I would say Alabama’s title count is Slightly Inflated but not by that much. Remember these are just my opinions on Alabama’s championship count and that they don’t matter. Alabama claims 18 championships so if you want to say Bama has 18 titles that’s completely fine.