Alabama Shows it Can Play With Heart Too While Pounding Kansas State in Sugar Bowl

The Crimson Tide answered its critics and re-established the Alabama standard with a dominating 45-20 victory over the Big 12 champions.

Author:
Christopher Walsh
Publish date:
Dec 31, 2022 3:26 PM EST

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Alabama Crimson Tide

You gotta have heart, the tin man could have said.

Of course it turned out he had it all along. In hindsight, we can now say the same of the 2022 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Saturday morning, on the final day of the 2022 calendar year, Nick Saban's latest team finally showed what it was made of and ended any doubt about the program's status in college football. No, 5 Alabama may not have won another national championship this season, but it's still the monster that everyone else fears.

With Bryce Young looking like a Heisman Trophy winner again, with five touchdown passes to five different players, and the defense finally achieving ballhawk status, the Crimson Tide made the kind of plays that seemed to elude it during the regular season.

Once it got going it simply steamrolled No. 9 Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl, 45-20, while re-establishing the Alabama standard.

"I think the guys that are here today, the team that was here today, was really representative of what the University of Alabama and our program is all about," Saban said during the trophy presentation. "They all made a commitment and made a great sacrifice to play in this game.

"They worked hard and certainly played well today."

This team finally passed the key test that caused it to stumble twice during the regular season, although minus the huge disadvantage of being on the road in incredibly difficult environments. Granted, New Orleans has its own kind of distractions, and there was more purple than crimson in the stands at the Caesars Superdome, but it wasn't the same as Death Valley at night, or Neyland Stadium.

Even though the Crimson Tide (11-2) didn't have any opt-outs, a misleading statistic because there were 10 transfers who declined not to stick around, sapping the roster of some significant depth, how it would react to missing the College Football Playoff remained to be seen.

The last two times Alabama played in the Sugar Bowl after being eliminated from the national title picture it didn't handle it well, or play with much passion. Compounding the concern was that the Crimson Tide had been in the national championship game in six of the last seven seasons, leaving the fan base feeling pretty blah about another trip to the Big Easy.

Meanwhile, Kansas State was thrilled to be there. The Wildcats had never played in the Sugar Bowl before, or against Alabama. So it was all new to them.

K-State was also known for playing with a lot of pride. This was a team that was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 preseason poll, only to knock off TCU in overtime for conference bragging rights and earn a chance to try and topple the giants of college football.

However, the most telling moment of the game may have happened before it even started. During the coin flip, Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn, who is listed as 5-foot-6, 176 pounds, went up to Will Anderson Jr. and only came up to the linebacker's armpit — maybe.

The Wildcats had the first quarter, at least.

An interception by Jordan Battle, at that point just the sixth of the season for the Crimson Tide and first by the safety, on a wheel-route attempt to Vaughn, was Alabama's initial highlight early on.

With the running back taking off on a career-long 88-yard touchdown run, and tight end Kade Warner being problematic (the sixth-year transfer from Nebraska is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner), the Wildcats took a 10-0 lead.

Alabama then flexed its muscle.

It got focused on offense, and went from being conservative with Anderson to plugging him into the base defense. He hadn't been on the field during Vaughn's touchdown (and his replacement appeared to have been held).

In a city that knows a few things about sluggish mornings, it looked like Alabama woke up as the clock stuck 12 — in this case noon.

The first sign of it stirring was a 60-yard catch-and-run by Alabama's version of Vaughn, Jahmyr Gibbs, after Young stepped up in the pocket and took a hit. It set up freshman Isaiah Bonds' first career touchdown, a 6-yard catch in the back of the end zone to beat zone coverage.

Roydell Williams made a big hit on the following kickoff, and just like that Kansas State's momentum was gone. A 47-yard bomb to wide receiver Jermaine Burton led to a 1-yard touchdown catch by tight end Cameron Latu and the Crimson Tide had the lead it would never relinquish.

But maybe the biggest sign that Alabama was Alabama again may have come from Saban himself. The coach went crazy on cornerback Eli Ricks when he appeared to grab a face mask that went uncalled.

It came on the same sideline the coach went nuts on a player for getting a penalty in the final moments of the 2012 BCS Championship Game against LSU. Alabama was ahead 21-0 at the time.

Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Eli Ricks (7) tackles Kansas State Wildcats wide receiver Malik Knowles (4) during the first half in the 2022 Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome. — Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

Aware that he was suddenly dealing with a different animal, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman went for it on fourth down three times on the subsequent possession, at the Alabama 31-, 19- and 2-yard line, while desperately trying to keep pace. Anderson even fell down in coverage on the final of those three attempts, but ultimately the drive failed. The Wildcats had gone 73 yards, on 18 plays, and ate up 10:30 of the clock, and had nothing to show for it.

Yeah, Alabama had heart too.

The Crimson Tide answered by going the length of the field (okay, 98 yards on seven snaps) in under a minute, with Burton making a 12-yard touchdown catch just before halftime.

They could have run the credits during the break.

Kansas State (10-4) attempted an onside kick to open the second half, and it was nothing doing. Williams was there again with the recovery, and three plays later, Young connected with sophomore Ja'Corey Brooks in the corner of the end zone (due to some spectacular ball placement) for a 32-yard touchdown and insurmountable 28-10 lead.

Another interception, and another touchdown later (running back Jase McClellan 17-yard run), and Kansas State was ready to wave the white flag. After Young began the game 1-for-4, he went 15-for-21 for 321 yards before taking a final bow to a standing ovation midway through the fourth quarter.

"These are my brothers," the game MVP said. "The chance to play another game with them, I couldn't pass that up."

The risk of playing, for him and every other Crimson Tide player who will be in the 2023 NFL Draft, had been worth taking.

It would have been fun to see this team in the playoff, but only now does everyone see how tough the season had been, how beat up the team had been, and what kind of potential this Crimson Tide had.

But no one will ever question this team's heart again. It was pounding against the Wildcats.

Christopher Walsh's column regularly appears on BamaCentral