Crimson Tide Top 10 Sugar Bowls: No. 7, 2018 Alabama vs. Clemson
The Alabama Crimson Tide will be making its 17th appearance in the Sugar Bowl, the most of any team, when it squares off against the No. 9 Kansas State Wildcats inside Caesars Superdome on Dec. 31 (11 a.m. CT on ESPN).
BamaCentral is counting down the Top 10 Sugar Bowls for Alabama:
After coming up on the short end in the 2016 national championship game, Alabama got another shot at Clemson at the end of the subsequent season when the teams were matched up in a College Football Playoff semifinal.
Following the 35-31 loss to Clemson in Tampa, the Crimson Tide had lost even more top talent than usual. With Marlon Humphrey, Jonathan Allen, O.J. Howard and Reuben Foster all selected in the first round of the subsequent NFL draft, and three more taken in the second round, Alabama tied a program record with 10 players selected.
But Alabama did what it did every year under Nick Saban, get back to work. Although the coach would have his seven-year streak of having the consensus top recruiting class in the nation snapped, the roster still boasted gobs of talent — especially at certain positions.
That notion would be put to the test at linebacker in 2017.
When Alabama opened against Florida State at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the site of the season’s eventual national championship, the Crimson Tide was No. 1 and the Seminoles No. 3 in the polls. That made it on paper arguably the biggest season-opener matchup in history, and many thought the odds of a rematch in the College Football Playoff to be pretty good.
It didn’t happen. Late in the game, after it was already apparent that Alabama was going to win (24-7), Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois suffered a season-ending injury. The Seminoles’ season went into a tailspin as they lost five of their next eight games and barely managed to be bowl eligible (One repercussion was critics tried to claim Alabama didn’t play a tough-enough schedule to qualify for the College Football Playoff. The selection committee disagreed and seeded the Crimson Tide fourth).
Few noticed the irony, because it was Alabama that some thought would have trouble overcoming adversity. Yet the Crimson Tide still had plenty of its own from the marquee matchup.
Going in the starting four at linebacker were Rashaan Evans and Shaun Dion Hamilton in the interior, Christian Miller and Anfernee Jennings at the outside and Terrell Lewis such a key contributor that he was essentially considered a starter as well.
Miller tore a biceps muscle, Lewis something similar in his elbow and Evans suffered a painful groin tear. The first two were thought likely gone for the season and Evans sidelined for a while.
Remarkably, all returned, but their recovery periods lasted much longer than most realized. For example, Evans only missed two games, but didn’t begin to feel normal again for another month. At one point he posted a message on social media: “People actually think I’m a 100%. Muscle was ripped from the bone, when was the last time u did the second digit on my jersey standing up?”
Lewis and Miller were able to play in the regular-season finale after missing 10 games, and both said they never seriously thought about not trying to get back. Neither was at full strength, but by then the linebacker corps was in shambles. Hamilton suffered a broken kneecap against LSU and was out for the season. Reserve Mack Wilson fractured his foot in the same game, requiring surgery.
Dylan Moses, a true freshman, suffered a similar injury when practicing for the Sugar Bowl and Jennings tore an ACL against Clemson in the CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl.
Excerpt from the book "Decade of Dominance."
Alabama Recap
The No. 4-ranked University of Alabama football team defeated No. 1-ranked Clemson, 24-6, in the 84th Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
The Crimson Tide (12-1) scored 14 points off two turnovers by the Tigers (12-2) in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
On the defensive side of the ball, Alabama dominated with five sacks, allowing Clemson just 188 total yards of offense, while holding the Tigers to their lowest point total since the 2014 season.
Sophomore linebacker Mack Wilson grabbed his first career pick-six to go along with six tackles and a pass breakup, while junior defensive lineman Da’Ron Payne got his first-career interception and caught a one-yard touchdown pass, also a first in his time at UA. Senior linebacker Rashaan Evans led the team with nine tackles including one sack and a pass breakup.
On offense, sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts finished 16-of-24 with 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air while picking up 40 rushing yards on 11 carries in the win. Junior running back Damien Harris led the Tide on the ground with 77 yards on 19 attempts.
Sugar Bowl Summary
That Alabama won its College Football Playoff semifinal game in the Allstate Sugar Bowl thanks to an opportunistic, stingy defense is no great revelation.
The fourth-seeded Crimson Tide scored 14 points off a pair of third quarter turnovers to key its 24-6 victory against top-seeded Clemson in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Monday night before a sellout crowd of 72,360. Bama (12-1) held Clemson (12-2), the defending national champion, to 188 yards of total offense, including just 99 through three quarters when it held the commanding 24-6 lead.
It was the third straight season the teams met in the College Football Playoff. Alabama won in the championship game in 2016 against the Tigers with Clemson taking the title game in 2017 over the Tide. This time was in the semifinals and Bama prevailed with defense.
But an unlikely hero emerged, Alabama nose guard Da’Ron Payne. He intercepted a pass in Tide territory that set up Bama’s first third-quarter score and, in a move that had everyone – red and orange clad included – surprised, caught a touchdown pass on the ensuing drive.
The interception couldn’t have come at a better time. Clemson, which trailed 10-3 at the half, had cut Alabama’s lead to 10-6 with 12:45 left in the third quarter after a 42-yard field goal by Alex Spence, a score that came off a Bama turnover.
Clemson forced Alabama to a three-and-out on the ensuing series and drove from its 32 to the Tide 35. That’s when the Tide forced its first turnover. Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant dropped to throw on second-and-2 but was hit from behind by Tide linebacker Anfernee Jennings as he threw.
Payne intercepted the errant pass at the Tide 37 and returned it to the Clemson 42. A horse-collar penalty was assessed to Clemson on the play and Alabama set up shop at the Tigers’ 27.
Seven plays later, Payne became a Bama hero when, lined up at the tight end spot, he caught a pass from Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts for a 1-yard touchdown that gave Alabama a 17-6 lead with 5:40 left in the third quarter. It was the senior from Birmingham’s first reception of the season.
“I had been talking to Coach lots about [the team passing to him in a goal-line situation],” Payne said. “He said, ‘Just keep on working, and you might get it.’ And I tried my best to go out and practice and work hard, and they finally gave it to me.”
“When he made the interception, there was no doubt that we were going to throw him the ball on the goal line,” Saban said with a laugh afterwards.
See Also:
No. 8: 1978 Alabama vs. Ohio State
No. 10: 1975 Alabama vs. Penn State
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