Throwback Thursday: 1975 Sugar Bowl, Alabama vs. Penn State
A season-opening loss to Missouri all but knocked Alabama out of the national-title picture, but the 1975 Crimson Tide otherwise ran the table and earned a high-profile showdown with Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.
Not only was it the first Alabama-Penn State match up since the 1959 Liberty Bowl, but the first Sugar Bowl played in the Superdome which had opened only five months before.
Alabama was 10-1, 6-0 in the SEC, including a victory over Auburn in Shug Jordan’s final game. The most points the Crimson Tide yielded in a game following the loss was 10, as the defense gave up just eight touchdowns all season.
Seniors Richard Todd, Willie Shelby, Alan Pizzitola, Mark Prudhomme on the 1975 media guide.
Image courtesy of Jimmy Bank
The Crimson Tide came into the Sugar Bowl game a 13-point favorite, but the game turned out to be closer than expected, with Alabama finally winning 13-6.
It ended one streak for Alabama and began another. The Crimson Tide had gone 0-7-1 over its previous eight bowls, beginning with the 1968 Cotton Bowl.
Instead, it was the first of six straight bowl wins, and 10 of 11 for the program.
Richard Todd, Alabama’s senior quarterback, put on an offensive show, completing 10 of 12 passes for 205 yards. His 55-yard completion to split end Ozzie Newsome set up the game’s only touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Running the Crimson Tide’s wishbone offense, Todd was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
However, having suffered a cut finger on Christmas Day, he also played with his finger bandaged.
Penn State stacked its defense, daring him to throw, which nearly cost the Nittany Lions in the early going. Joe Dale Harris, a surprise starter, ran a turn-in pattern while Todd released his throw just before being engulfed by the defense.
With Penn State’s minimal coverage, Harris broke free and turned the short pass into a 54-yard gain. That play eventually led to a 25- yard field goal by Danny Ridgeway and a 3-0 Alabama lead that held up to the half.
Image courtesy of Jimmy Bank
Penn State’s Chris Bahr tied the game with a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter, but Todd brought the Tide back quickly. At the Penn State 35 following a timeout, Todd pump faked PSU freshman Bill Crummy and Newsome broke back to the sideline and caught the pass 25 yards downfield, being brought down at the 10.
Todd subsequently lost four yards recovering a fumble, but Mike Stock swept into the end zone behind a Newsome block.
Bahr cut the margin to 10-6 with a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but Ridgeway answered for Alabama with a 28-yard kick for a 13-6 lead.
With 3:19 left, Penn State got its last chance. The Nittany Lions inched out to their 39 before Alabama stopped the Nittany Lions on a fourth-and-1 play with 1:15 to go.
