To open conference play for the 1954 season, Alabama defeated LSU 12–0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama scored their first touchdown on a 15-yard Bart Starr pass to Thomas Tharp for a 6–0 halftime lead. On the first play of the final period, Hootie Ingram scored on a 69-yard run and made the final score 12–0. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against LSU to 15–6–4. At Ladd Stadium, the Crimson Tide defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores by a final score of 28–14 in Mobile. Vanderbilt took a 7–0 first quarter lead after Charley Horton scored on a five-yard touchdown run. The Crimson Tide responded with a 30-yard Hootie Ingram touchdown pass to Thomas Tharp to tie the game 7–7 in the second quarter. However, the Commodores responded to take a 14–7 halftime lead after 28-yard Horton touchdown run. Early in the third, a blocked Vandy punt gave Alabama possession at the Commodores 16-yard line. Four plays later, William Stone tied the game at 14–14 with his two-yard touchdown run. Alabama then closed with a pair of touchdowns to win the game 28–14. In the third, Albert Elmore threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Luna and in the fourth, Tharp scored on a 10-yard run. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Vanderbilt to 18–14–1. In the first Denny Stadium game of the season, Alabama shutout the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 40–0 in a contest that saw the Crimson Tide throw five touchdown passes. Alabama took a 14–0 first quarter lead after a 22-yard Hootie Ingram pass to William Hollis and on a 26-yard Ollie Yates pass to Curtis Lynch. Another pair of touchdowns in the second quarter on a four-yard Jerry Watford run and an 18-yard Yates pass to Billy Lumpkin made the halftime score 26–0 in favor of the Crimson Tide. Alabama then closed their scoring with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns on a 17-yard Albert Elmore pass to Paul Donaldson and finally on an 88-yard Elmore pass to Bobby Luna that made the final score 40–0. The victory improved Alabama's all-time record against Tulsa to 2–0. In their annual rivalry game against the Tennessee, Alabama shutout the Volunteers 27–0 and handed the Vols their worst home loss to date.