Allstate Sugar Bowl
(11) Oklahoma (10-2) vs. (3) Alabama (11-1)
Jan.2, 8:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN
Two of college football’s most historic programs ranking seventh (Oklahoma, 836) and ninth (Alabama, 832) in all-time wins duke it out in the Sugar Bowl.
Months ago, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops called out the SEC for being too top-heavy. Now he gets to see one of the SEC’s top teams front and center. This will be their first trip to the Sugar bowl since 2004, when it lost to Saban’s LSU teams that earned a split of the national title. Oklahoma’s quarterback situation has been a season-long carousel between Trevor Knight, Blake Bell, and Kendal Thompson, and Stoops said his starter for the Sugar Bowl would be a “game-time decision”. Knight started the first game, but got injured in the second game, and Bell stepped in to start the next seven. All three saw time in the 33-24 victory at Oklahoma State that propelled the Sooners to a BCS bowl game, though it was Bell’s touchdown pass to Jalen Saunders with 19 seconds left that proved to be the difference. Blake Bell has led the team in passing with 1,648 yards and 12 touchdowns, while also rushing for 255 yards. Trevor Knight, on the other hand, has thrown for 438 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 438 yards and two scores. Oklahoma will look to run the ball, however, with Brennan Clay and Damien Williams, both of whom have over 100 carries. Clay has run for 913 yards and six touchdowns, while Williams has run for 553 yards and seven touchdowns. With the help of those two, the Sooners are ranked 18th in the country in rushing offense averaging 235.8 yards per game. Oklahoma’s defense finished as the best in the pass-happy Big 12, yielding an average of 336.3 yards of total offense to rank 14th nationally. However, if Oklahoma wants a realistic chance of beating Alabama, it has to concentrate on slowing down Yeldon and the rushing attack. Alabama is 42-1 with McCarron as a starter when they run for at least 125, 4-5 when they don’t. For Oklahoma they’ll hope they hold Alabama below their season average of 138.33 yards allowed on the ground which is ranked 26th in the country against the run. The Sooners have key wins against Oklahoma State (10-2) and Notre Dame (8-4), and their two losses on the year were to Texas (8-4) and to Baylor (11-1).
Alabama still might be the nation’s best team, but it crossed paths with Auburn’s run of destiny. It’s hard to say just how focused Alabama will be after its BCS championship hopes slipped away in agonizing fashion. The Crimson Tide is hoping to avoid a conclusion similar to the end of its 2008 season, when No.2 Florida beat the top-ranked Tide in the SEC title game to keep them out of the BCS championship. Alabama wound up in the Sugar Bowl that season, too, and fell behind Utah 21-0 en route to a 31-17 loss. However, the last time Alabama was at the Sugar Bowl was for the 2012 BCS national championship when they beat LSU and didn’t let the Tigers get past midfield. This will mark the college finale for AJ McCarron, who threw for 20 touchdowns and just two interceptions after September in winning the Maxwell Award and finishing as the Heisman runner-up. Four players caught at least 29 passes from McCarron, led by sophomore standout Amari Cooper. Cooper caught 36 passes and led the team with 615 yards while also catching four touchdown passes. The other three receivers are Kevin Norwood (36 catches, 538 yards, seven touchdowns), DeAndrew White (29 catches, 395 yards, three touchdowns), and Christian Jones (36 catches, 349 yards, and two touchdowns). Running will be the most important aspect of this offense, however, with a trio of running backs. T.J. Yeldon leads the bunch with 1,163 yards and 13 touchdowns, while backups Kenyan Drake (694 yards, 7.5 per carry) and Derrick Henry (282 yards, 10.4 per carry) combined for ten touchdowns. What has gotten Alabama two national championships in four years is their stout defense. This year their are the fifth-ranked defense overall and second in scoring defense only allowing 11.3 points per game. They are also fifth against the pass (166.3 yards per game) and 11th against the run (108.3 yards per game). However, where the Crimson Tide struggled was against a pair of prominent dual-threat quarterbacks this season, giving up 296 rushing yards in a loss to Nick Marshall and Auburn and allowing Johnny Manziel to throw for 464 and run for 96 in a win against Texas A&M. Alabama may need to worry a little bit since Blake Bell and Trevor Knight both pose the threat to run the ball at quarterback. Alabama has key wins against LSU (9-3) and Texas A&M (8-4). While their only loss was on the infamous “kick six” play at Auburn (12-1).
Tiago- Alabama
Matt- Alabama
Tom- Alabama
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