2008 Alabama Crimson Tide Sugar Bowl Ring

The 2008 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 114th overall season, 75th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and its 17th within the SEC Western Division. The team was led by head coach Nick Saban, in his second year, and played their home games at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished with an undefeated 12-0 regular season, their first since 1994, and won their first SEC Western Division Championship since 1999. They finished the season with a record of 12-2 (8-0 in the SEC) after losses to Florida in the SEC Championship Game and to Utah in the Sugar Bowl.

The Crimson Tide opened the season with an upset victory over No. 9 Clemson in the inaugural Chick-fil-A College Kickoff. After the win, Alabama returned home where they defeated non-conference opponents Tulane and WKU before they traveled to Fayetteville and defeated Arkansas for their first conference win of the season. The next week, The Crimson Tide upset No. 3 Georgia at Athens and moved into the No. 2 ranking. Alabama then defeated Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Arkansas State prior to Saban's return to Baton Rouge as an opposing head coach.

In Week 10 of the season, Alabama became the No. 1 team in both the AP and Coaches' Polls as well as the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings. It was the first time the Crimson Tide has been ranked No. 1 in the regular season since November 1, 1980, when the top-ranked Tide fell to Mississippi State. It was also the first time Nick Saban had ever achieved the No. 1 position in the AP Poll and the first time in school history Alabama had reached No. 1 in the BCS standings. With their 27-21 overtime win over LSU, Alabama clinched a berth in the SEC Championship Game. The Crimson Tide finished their regular season undefeated with a 36-0 shutout victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl. However, the Tide went on to lose to Florida 31-20 in the SEC Championship Game. A month later, the Tide finished the season with a 31-17 loss in the Sugar Bowl against Utah.