The Sugar Bowl Has Had Many Star Defenders Who May Have Been Overlooked for Honors
by Ted Lewis for the Allstate Sugar Bowl
[This story originally appeared in the Official Game Program for the 2022 Allstate Sugar Bowl.]
Marcus Spears sacks Jason White to set up a pick-six in the 2004 Sugar Bowl.
In the midst of celebrating LSU’s 21-14 victory against Oklahoma for the BCS championship in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, Tigers defensive end Marcus Spears wasn’t concerned about whether he should have won the Miller-Digby Trophy which goes to the bowl’s most outstanding player (voted on by the media), especially since his third-quarter pick-six had provided the margin of victory.
“To be honest, I didn’t think one second about who should have been the MVP,” Spears recalled. “We were a true team, and the individual accolades weren’t anything we focused on.”
That night, the trophy went to LSU running back Justin Vincent, who opened the game with a 64-yard non-scoring run and later had an 18-yarder for a touchdown. Vincent ended with 117 yards on 16 carries.
“After the game, it was brought to my attention by a bunch of my teammates that it could have been me,” Spears said. “But when you play defense, you learn to accept that the offensive guys are going to get the attention.”
Indeed. In the two-platoon era, which dates to 1965, only two defensive players – Alabama’s Barry Krauss in 1979 and Georgia’s Marcus Howard in 2008 – have been solo Miller-Digby winners (CFP rules required both offensive and defensive MVPs in the three Sugar Bowls which were playoff semifinals).
But there well could have been more, including someone else from, LSU, which limited an Oklahoma team that was averaging 45.2 points and 461.4 yards to 14 and 154 respectively.
If not Spears, who sacked Heisman winner Jason White on the play before his interception the 20-yard return, then linebacker Lionel Turner, who led the Tigers with nine tackles and two sacks, including one of White at midfield which ended the Sooners’ final possession.
“Justin Vincent was my teammate, and he was phenomenal that night,” said Spears, who played for nine years in the NFL and is now an ESPN commentator. “But we were a great defense, maybe one of the best ever in college football.
“So it would have been nice if one of us had been recognized that night. But it’s like they say, ‘Defense wins games, but offense sells tickets.’ So I get it.”
Still, the Sugar Bowl has seen plenty of great defensive performances which maybe deserved better recognition. Here are five of them:
Bobby Johns, Alabama 1967
1967 – Bobby Johns, Alabama
Johns’ three interceptions in the undefeated Crimson Tide’s 34-7 victory against Nebraska tied a bowl record set in earlier years by Dennis O’Connor of St. Mary’s in 1946 and Raymond Brown of Ole Miss in 1958. They were part of a five-interception effort by the ‘Bama defense which also shares the bowl record.
But Johns’ big day was overshadowed by quarterback Ken Stabler, who threw for 279 yards and one touchdown, rushed for another and was the Tide’s leading rusher.
In fact, the Times-Picayune’s account of the game mentioned tackle Louis Thompson as the leader of an Alabama defense which forced seven turnovers and blanked the Cornhuskers until the fourth quarter before getting to Johns.
Bear Bryant would insist for years that was this the best team he ever coached, and Johns, a two-time All-America, was certainly a big part of it.
At least Stabler said of the Miller-Digby, “I wish I could break this into 11 pieces to share with my teammates.”
Maybe he should have said 22.
Jimmy Burrow, Nebraska 1974
1974 – Jimmy Burrow, Nebraska
Today, he’s probably better-known as the father of Heisman Trophy and national championship-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, but back in the day, Jimmy Burrow made a game-changing play in the Cornhuskers’ 13-10 victory against Florida.
Already trailing 10-0 at halftime, the 12 ½-point favorite Cornhuskers faced an even-deeper hole in the third quarter when Florida reached the Nebraska 5. Three plays moved the ball to the 1, and the Gators elected to go for it on fourth down.
That’s when Burrow, a former walk-on, rose up to stop James Richards for no gain. “They were an option team and we knew they weren’t going to throw. I was playing corner and left my receiver and blitzed and I managed to be in the right place at the right time.”
Nebraska went from there on a 99-yard touchdown drive and added two field goals in the fourth period while keeping the Gators at bay the rest of the way.
Nebraska running back Tony Davis, who had 126 of his team’s 304 rushing yards, was the Miller-Digby winner.
But it was Burrow who etched his name in ‘Husker lore that day.
1992 – Rod Smith, Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish’s 39-28 victory against Florida is best remembered for Jerome Bettis’ three touchdowns in the fourth quarter en route to sparking his team from a 16-7 halftime deficit. Bettis was the unanimous Miller-Digby winner.
But somebody also had to be keeping the Gators out of the end zone. And Smith, a senior cornerback, led his team in doing that with 18 total tackles.
Florida would rack up 511 yards that night, but had only two touchdowns. The five other times the Gators reached the red zone, they had to settle for field goals.
As befitting someone in on so many plays, Smith was a little battered after the game.
“I got knocked around, and actually I’m pretty dizzy right now,” he said. “But I feel really good about what happened out there.”
As well he should have.
Stevenson Sylvester, Utah 2009
2009 – Stevenson Sylvester, Utah
“Hit ‘em in the mouth right away.”
That was undefeated but decided underdog Utah’s game plan for Alabama.
And Sylvester, a junior linebacker, helped put that notion in motion with a sack of John Parker Wilson on the opening series.
By the time the opening period was over, Utah had a 21-0 lead, and the Utes never looked back en route to a 31-17 victory.
The Miller-Digby winner was Utah quarterback Brian Johnson, who threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns.
But the voters would have been well-advised to have taken a closer look at Sylvester, who finished with two more sacks after the initial one of Wilson, seven total tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Utah limited ‘Bama to 31 net rushing yards and 177 passing and one of the biggest upsets in the Bowl’s history.
2014 – Eric Striker, Oklahoma
A game in which you give up 516 yards and 31 points but still win might not seem like one where defense played a decisive role. But Striker and his fellow Sooners were there when it counted against Alabama.
That was particularly true in the closing minute when the Crimson Tide trailed by a touchdown but still had a chance with the ball deep inside its territory.
That’s when Striker sacked AJ McCarron, stripping him of the ball in the process. Geneo Grissom scooped it up and went eight yards for the final score in a 45-31 upset victory.
The sack was Striker’s third, tying the Sugar Bowl record. The forced fumble was Alabama’s fifth turnover and the Sooners’ seventh sack.
Oklahoma freshman quarterback Trevor Knight had four touchdown passes with a bowl-record 32 completions and was the Miller-Digby winner.
But in the final Sugar Bowl of the BCS era, Striker would have been just as worthy.
