Crimson Tide Top 10 Sugar Bowls: No. 2, 1993 Alabama vs. Miami

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:

#2 Alabama 34 (Final: 13-0-0, #1)
#1 Miami 13 (Final: 11-1-0, #3)

No. 1 Miami was riding a 28-game winning streak before the Sugar Bowl and wanted to make sure everyone knew it. Among the numerous boastful things the Hurricanes said before the game was linebacker Michael Barrow’s: “We seek, we destroy. We fear no one, but everyone fears us.”

But Alabama didn’t, and for the most part kept quiet during its preparations. Although the Crimson Tide was considered a heavy underdog, its mission became simple, make the Hurricanes eat their words.

Did they ever.

Led by the defense, Alabama began to take control in the second quarter. After shutting down the run, with the Hurricanes accumulating only 48 rushing yards, the Crimson Tide went to work on quarterback Gino Torretta, who had just won the Heisman Trophy.

“In the second quarter, I saw Torretta look over at me and he froze for a second,” defensive end John Copeland said. “I saw fear.”

At times, the Tide put all 11 defenders on the line of scrimmage and dared Torretta to try and beat the man coverage by defensive backs like Langham and safety George Teague, behind swarming ends Copeland and Eric Curry, and linebackers Lemanski Hall and Derrick Oden.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide offense never got around to establishing the passing game because it never really had to. Quarterback Jay Barker threw for just 18 yards, with the ground game pounding out 267 rushing yards for an impressive 34-13 victory.

Excerpt from "100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die."

Alabama Recap

Alabama’s defense had been giving Torretta problems all day but the one play that virtually spelled the end for Miami came on their next possession. The Tide pulled all 11 players up to line with Torretta operating from the shotgun. His errant pass was snared by George Teague who high-stepped 31 yards for the second Tide touchdown in 16 seconds.

Teague was matched against Miami tailback Jonathan Harris, who was lined up in a slot to the right. Teague jammed Harris as he tried to come off the line of scrimmage. Torretta, who was pressured all night by the Alabama defense, chose to force a throw towards Harris. But Teague stepped in front of Harris, caught the pass at the 31, took off toward the right sideline and high-stepped the last five yards into the end zone for a 21-point lead. This play by Teague would be a big one in the Tide’s victory, however, it would not be the only one he would be remembered for in this game.

Trailing 27-6, the Hurricanes offense took the field to mount a successful drive. On Miami’s second down and 10 play, Teague made one the biggest defensive plays of the season, although it was null and void because of a five-yard offside penalty called against Alabama. Torretta hit his favorite receiver, Lamar Thomas, who was streaking down the sideline for an apparent six points. Teague streaked down the sideline, ran Thomas down, stripped the ball from him, and proceeded to advance the ball in the other direction for a short gain. The play may not be officially recorded in the record books but it will stand as one of the best defensive plays ever

Sugar Bowl Summary

The Hurricanes never knew what hit them.

“The whole second half is a blur,” quarterback Gino Torretta, who entered the game with a 26-1 record as a starter, said afterward.

The plan was simple. Alabama suspected it could run on Miami, while believing the ‘Canes could not against the Tide. The key was foiling the Miami passing game.

The handwriting was on the wall in the opening 30 minutes, a span in which the Tide outrushed the Hurricanes 152-6. Bama, an eight-and-a-half point underdog, took a 13-6 lead before turning the lights out on Miami.

Then the Tide hit the Hurricanes with a roundhouse blow by scoring two more touchdowns in the span of 16 seconds

Excerpted from the book “Sugar Bowl Classic: A History” by Marty Mulé.

What Sports Illustrated Said ...

“The End of the Run” by Austin Murphy

Maybe the old man can finally get some rest. Three coaches and one decade to the month after the death of Bear Bryant, Alabama won its 12th national title and its first in 13 years. After biting their lips for a week while the Miami Hurricanes woofed and howled their contempt for the Crimson Tide, the Alabama players dominated and, perhaps more satisfying, muzzled the defending national champions with a 34-13 win in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's. Now that they can once again lay claim to college football's throne, perhaps Tide fans, who have been known to pray for Bryant's resurrection, will let the Bear lie in peace.

Pay no attention to Alabama coach Gene Stallings's stubborn refusal in the days leading up to the game to concede that his team was an underdog. This was an upset of magnificent proportions. Crimson Tide quarterback Jay Barker could not be counted on to pass his team to victory, and, in fact, he would complete only four of 13 throws for 18 yards and suffer two interceptions. Likewise, the outside running game would be an exercise in futility. As long as Jessie Armstead, Micheal Barrow and Darrin Smith have started at linebacker, no team has been able to turn the corner on Miami.

Alabama would have to run between the tackles—football's truck route—behind a smallish, undistinguished line that, until recently, 'Bama fans had maligned. At 6'3" and 250 pounds, center Tobie Sheils is slight for a major-college lineman. Left guard George Wilson shot off half of his left foot in a 1989 hunting accident. And six nights before the game, right tackle Roosevelt Patterson was verbally assaulted in the French Quarter. "You must be an offensive lineman, you fat, sloppy ——," Miami linebacker Rohan Marley had shouted at the amply padded, 290-pound Patterson.

Chalk one up for the shrimp, the gimp and the blimp. Behind them, Derrick Lassic rushed for 135 yards on 28 carries, the most yards a back gained against the Hurricanes this season. "They said we were one-dimensional," said Sheils after the game. "We are one-dimensional. Sometimes you only need one dimension."

Alabama Recap

Sugar Bowl Summary

What Sports Illustrated Said ...

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