There’s no question which SEC football program has the most storied history.

With 16 claimed national championships overall, including 11 poll-era consensus national titles since 1961, the Alabama Crimson Tide blows away the competition both in the conference and across the nation.

For comparison’s sake, Notre Dame has won eight national championships in the poll era, but only four since ’61. USC, which is tied with Oklahoma for third place in consensus national championships since the AP poll began in 1936, ranks second to the Crimson Tide with seven titles in the last 55 years.

With so many national championship teams to sift through, as well as a total of 25 SEC Championship squads (plus four that won the Southern Conference crown), ranking the greatest teams in Alabama football history is a very difficult task. Even though we have included several squads more than worthy of honorable mention, we left out some otherwise-great teams.

Still, five Alabama teams rise to the top as the best in program history.

Honorable Mention

1925: 10-0 (7-0), Southern Conference Champions, National Champions

The 1925 Alabama team was the first to claim a national championship. Led by Wallace Wade, the ’25 Crimson Tide was also the first team in school history to play in a bowl game, beating Washington 20-19 in the Rose Bowl. The Huskies were just the second team to score a point against Alabama all season. The Tide swept its seven-game Southern Conference slate by a combined score of 251-0.

1934: 10-0 (7-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

Alabama won the very first SEC football title in 1933, and followed with a share of the league crown and also the first national championship for an SEC school the next season. Head coach Frank Thomas led Alabama to a perfect 10-0 record, and capped the season with a 29-13 victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

1966: 11-0 (6-0), SEC Champions

Alabama claims 16 national championships in football since 1925. However, one of the most impressive Crimson Tide teams of all-time is not one of them. In 1966, Alabama dominated its competition through the regular season and played just one game that was decided by one possession: An 11-10 victory over Tennessee in Knoxville. The Tide allowed just 4.0 points per game, which was the second-best mark in the nation, and recorded six shutouts.

Though ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP poll, Alabama didn’t face a ranked opponent during the regular season, which hurt the team’s national championship resume. The Tide defeated No. 6 Nebraska 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl, but 9-0-1 Notre Dame, which tied No. 2 Michigan State 10-10 and beat three top 10 opponents, earned the No. 1 spot in the polls from both the AP and UPI.

1973: 11-1 (8-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

Though the 1973 Crimson Tide did earn the national championship from the UPI, a 24-23 loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl gave the 11-0 Fighting Irish the lion’s share of the national title recognition. Still, few Alabama teams were as imposing or faced a tougher road to the top of the polls.

Alabama beat two top 10 opponents (Tennessee and LSU) and recorded three shutouts in conference play (including a 35-0 victory over Auburn). The Tide also never allowed an opponent to come within two touchdowns of victory during the regular season.

1978: 11-1 (6-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

Though not nearly as dominant as many of the teams on our list, Alabama had a particularly difficult schedule in 1978. Before the days of scheduling cupcakes from the Sun Belt and Southern Conference, Alabama beat No. 10 Nebraska and No. 11 Missouri to open the season before falling 24-12 to No. 7 USC in Week 3. The loss to the Trojans dropped the Tide out of the No. 1 spot in the polls, but Alabama then embarked on a 28-game winning streak that included a 31-10 victory over No. 10 LSU and a 14-7 win over No. 1 Penn State in the Sugar Bowl to capture the ’78 title and set the stage for another championship season in 1979.

2015: 14-1 (7-1), SEC Champions, National Champions

The longest road to an Alabama national championship occurred just last season, when the Crimson Tide defeated Clemson 45-40 in the 15th game of the year: the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The victory over the No. 1 Tigers was the ninth of the season against a ranked team and the fifth over an opponent ranked in the top 10. It also followed a dominant 38-0 win over No. 3 Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl CFP national semifinal. Running back Derrick Henry rewrote the school record book on his way to the second Heisman Trophy in school history.

5. 2011: 12-1 (7-1), National Champions

The 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide, one of the most talented teams in school history, beat four ranked opponents on its march to the national championship. The title represented the ninth for the program in the poll era, and its second under Nick Saban. Though Alabama did not win the SEC Championship because of a 9-6 overtime loss to No. 1 LSU in the regular season, Alabama was able to take advantage of a flawed BCS system and avenge its only loss with a 21-0 victory over the Tigers in the BCS National Championship Game.

The Tide won the statistical quadruple crown by posting the nation’s best scoring defense (8.3 points allowed per game), total defense (183.6 total yards allowed per game), passing defense (111.5 passing yards allowed per game) and rushing defense (72.1 rushing yards allowed per game). The unit also recorded three shutouts and only one opponent scored more than 14 points all season.

Of course, the offense was solid as well, and averaged 34.8 points per game behind quarterback AJ McCarron, running back Trent Richardson and receiver Marquis Maze.

4. 1992: 13-0 (8-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

Gene Stallings played for Bear Bryant at Texas A&M, and like his mentor, was later the head coach of the Aggies. Stallings also spent nearly two decades coaching in the NFL, including four years as a head coach. He landed at Alabama prior to the 1990 season, and within three years did something Ray Perkins and Bill Curry failed to do: Become the first head coach since Bryant to bring a national championship back to Tuscaloosa.

In 1992, Alabama began the season ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25, and made a slow and steady climb up the polls during an 11-0 regular season thanks in large part to the nation’s toughest defense (9.2 points allowed per game). The Crimson Tide beat just two ranked opponents in its first 11 games, but boosted its resume with a 28-21 victory over No. 12 Florida in the first SEC Championship Game to set up showdown with No. 1 Miami in the Sugar Bowl. With the national championship on the line, Alabama overwhelmed the defending champion Hurricanes 34-13.

3. 1961: 11-0 (7-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

The first Alabama football team to win a consensus national championship in the poll era, the 1961 Crimson Tide team dominated. The team didn’t play a ranked opponent until the Sugar Bowl (a 10-3 win against No. 9 Arkansas), but Alabama beat its opponents by a combined score of 297-25.

Like most Bear Bryant-coached teams, Alabama played great defense. The Crimson Tide led the nation in scoring defense (2.3 points allowed per game) and recorded six shutouts, including five in a row to close the regular season. No opponent scored more than seven points all year.

2. 1979: 12-0 (6-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

Bear Bryant won six national titles at Alabama. The 1979 Crimson Tide was his last team to win it all, and was arguably the best team the Bear ever coached.

Alabama held opponents to just 5.6 points per game (7.5 in SEC play) and recorded five shutouts in 1979, giving the Tide the nation’s stingiest defense. Only two opponents managed to reach double-digits in points all season, and Alabama trailed just twice all year. Also, the Tide featured a productive offense that averaged 31.9 points per game, which ranked in the top 10 in the country.

Led by All-American linemen Dwight Stephenson and Jim Bunch, as well as All-American defender Don McNeal, the Crimson Tide blew through an undefeated regular season that included wins over two ranked opponents. In the Sugar Bowl, Alabama defeated Arkansas 24-9 to claim its 11th national championship, and the sixth of the poll era.

1. 2009: 14-0 (8-0), SEC Champions, National Champions

It took just three years for Nick Saban to bring a national championship back to Alabama. After leaving the NFL after the 2006 season, Saban took over in Tuscaloosa to revive the SEC’s proudest program, which had fallen to a mediocre 77-55 since Gene Stallings’ final season in 1996. After a 7-6 season in Saban’s first year, and a 12-2 record and Sugar Bowl appearance in 2008, Alabama put together its first perfect season and national title since 1992.

With a roster loaded with future NFL draft picks, including Heisman Trophy running back Mark Ingram and Butkus Award winning linebacker Rolando McClain, the ’09 Crimson Tide opened the season with a 34-24 victory over No. 7 Virginia Tech in Atlanta. It would be the most points the defense allowed all season. The Crimson Tide surrendered 11.7 points per contest, which ranked second in the nation, and beat opponents by an average of 22.6 points per game. Alabama knocked off six ranked opponents, including a 32-13 victory over No. 1 Florida in the SEC Championship Game and a 37-21 victory over No. 2 Texas in the BCS National Championship Game.

The victory over Florida brought the Gators budding dynasty to a crashing halt and set the stage for one of the most dominant periods in Alabama football history, of which we have yet to see the end. And, while Saban has led the Tide to three national championships since, the undefeated 2009 squad remains his best.