Sugar Bowl

80th Annual
Allstate Sugar Bowl
January 2, 2014

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#11 Oklahoma 45 (Final: 11-2)
#3 Alabama 31 (Final: 11-2)

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Official Statbook – PDF
Final Game Notes
Oklahoma Postgame Quotes
Alabama Postgame Quotes
Photo Gallery

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Trevor Knight and Oklahoma Shock No. 3 Alabama, 45-31, in Allstate Sugar Bowl

NEW ORLEANS (January 2, 2014) - It happened again. For the second year in a row, the biggest underdog in Sugar Bowl history pulled off the upset. In the 2013 game 15-point underdog Louisville ambushed Florida 33-23. In the 2014 game, 16-point underdog Oklahoma beat Alabama.

Two major factors spurred the Sooners: the first was a new look OU offense that kept the Crimson Tide on its heels most of the night; the second was an unusually generous ’Bama offense which gave OU the ball multiple times. “Way too many,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban, whose team ranked fifth nationally in ball security with just 12 in its previous 12 games.

Coach Bob Stoops, who for a month studied the spread offenses from Texas A&M and Auburn, two opponents who successfully ran on Alabama, put in the read-option and used triple-option elements instead of his usual pro-power strategy. Then he started red-shirt freshman backup Trevor Knight at quarterback to run it. Knight had only started four games through the season, with uneven results. But he could run an option offense and short passes effectively.

“Our game plan was to spread them out, get them going, just move them, because they have a lot of big guys,” OU wide receiver Jalen Saunders said. “We did a great job of getting them tired . . .   They had some trouble with mobile quarterbacks, so we knew Trevor was the guy.”

From the end of one Oklahoma play to the snap of the next one took an average of 21 seconds, leaving the vaunted Tide defense wheezing and its alignments often out of whack.

In addition, Bama turned out to be as much as responsible for the defeat as Oklahoma with five Tide turnovers that turned into four Sooner touchdowns.

Despite defensive heroics on both sides, this was a shootout. Bama quarterback A.J. McCarron, who finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting, threw for a career high 387 yards – but only 86 in the second half. Knight had 348 passing yards, marking the first time two quarterbacks surpassed 300 yards in the Sugar Bowl's 80-year history. The teams combined for 945 yards, 735 passing. Alabama had 516, OU 429.

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At the start Bama looked like a team with 33 days of pent-up frustration from its Auburn loss. Just 1:49 of game clock was gone when McCarron drove the Tide 75 yards – 68 yards coming on quick sideline passes to Amari Cooper – for the first touchdown, a 1-yard run by T.J. Yeldon.

Then it became almost pinball football. The teams traded interceptions, OU's Gabe Lynn getting one and giving the Sooners the ball at the Bama 45. On the next play Knight threw a touchdown to Lacoltan Bester.

After Cade Foster's 27-yard field goal gave the Tide a 10-7 lead, Knight took Oklahoma on a 13-play, 78-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard strike to Jalen Saunders.

Whew! The score was 14-10 Oklahoma and the first quarter wasn't over.

Bama went ahead again when McCarron threw a 67-yard rainbow on third-and-8 to DeAndrew White before Michael Hunnicut's 47-yards field goal pulled OU even at 17.

Here's where the game really turned. The Crimson Tide drove from its 25 to OU 11 when Yeldon bucked his way through the Sooner middle – but fumbled at the 8. Defensive end Geneo Grissom picked up the loose ball and returned it to the OU 34.

Knight hit Saunders for a 43-yard touchdown pass that put OU ahead 24-17, with 2:39 left in the first half. One play before the touchdown, Bama had OU stopped. But on fourth-and-1 running back Brennan Clay carried for two yards.

On the ensuing possession, McCarron threw his second interception. Facing second and 10 at the Tide 48, McCarron was picked off by DB Zack Sanchez at the OU 44, and returned the ball to the 13. On the next play, WR Sterling Shepard ran the distance on an end around to give the Sooners a 31-17 with 1:05 remaining.

The first half ended with neither team having a single punt.

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In the second half, Derrick Henry, a red-shirt Alabama freshman normally third- or fourth-string on the roster, put a dent in the OU defense, breaking off a 43-yard run to close to 31-24.

It seemed the game was on again. Until Knight suddenly re-ignited, completing all five of his passes for 80 yards in overcoming two penalties.

With 10:44 to play, on third-and-15, Knight zipped a 34-yard strike down the left side to Bester, hitting him in stride for a pivotal first down that set up a touchdown that gave the Sooners some separation. Two plays later, Knight finished by finding Sterling Shepard for a 9-yard touchdown pass to give Oklahoma a seemingly safe 38-24 lead.

But, sure enough, here came Bama again. Henry caught a short pass from McCarron and weaved 61 yards to the end zone to make the score a shaky 38-31 with 6:22 remaining.

Knight again came to the rescue, directing a 10-play drive that started at the OU 12 and stalled at the Alabama 40 after milking 5:20 off the clock. Oklahoma punted with 1:02 left to play.

With 47 seconds to go, and at his own 17, McCarron dropped back, but Eric Striker zeroed in for a sack and also stripped the ball. Grisson picked it up at the 8 and dove in the end zone for the final points.

It was one of storied Oklahoma's most satisfying victories. “Nobody gave us a chance,” OU defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said. “I was watching ESPN and nobody picked us. Vegas had us a 16-point underdog. But we're still one of the top five programs in the country, we still have one of the best coaches in the country, and we're still Oklahoma.”

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Recap by Sugar Bowl historian Marty Mulé, an award-winning sportswriter who covered college football and the Sugar Bowl for the New Orleans Times-Picayune for 33 years.

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Oklahoma	14	17	0	14	–	45
Alabama	10	7	7	7	–	31

SCORING SUMMARY
ALA: T.J. Yeldon 1 yd rush (Kick by Cade Foster), 13:11 (1st)
OU: Lacoltan Bester 45 yd pass from Trevor Knight (Kick by Michael Hunnicutt), 9:43 (1st)
ALA: Cade Foster 27 yd FG, 7:02 (1st)
OU: Jalen Saunders 8 yd pass from Knight (Kick by Hunnicutt), 1:53 (1st)
ALA: DeAndrew White 67 yd pass from AJ McCarron (Kick by Foster), 14:03 (2nd)
OU: Hunnicutt 47 yd FG, 11:45 (2nd)
OU: Saunders 43 yd pass from Knight (Kick by Hunnicutt), 2:59 (2nd)
OU: Sterling Shepard 13 yd rush (Kick by Hunnicutt), 1:05 (2nd)
ALA: Derrick Henry 43 yd rush (Kick by Foster), 8:49 (3rd)
OU: Shepard 9 yd pass from Knight (Kick by Hunnicutt), 10:44 (4th)
ALA: Henry 61 yd pass from McCarron (Kick by Foster), 6:22 (4th)
OU: Geneo Grissom 8 yd fumble recovery (Kick by Hunnicutt), 0:47 (4th)

Oklahoma	Team Stats	Alabama
24	First Downs	20
30-81	Rushing	35-129
32-44-1	Comp-Att-Int	19-30-2
348	Passing Yards	387
74-429	Total Offense	65-516
107	Return Yards	122
6-42.3	Punting	4-43.5
1-0	Fumbles-Lost	3-3
11-95	Penalties-Yds	6-45
30:55	Times of Poss.	29:05

Rushing
Oklahoma: Brennan Clay 17-44; Keith Ford 3-15; Sterling Shepard 3-14 TD; Trevor Knight 5-7; Jalen Saunders 1-4.
Alabama: Derrick Henry 8-100 TD; T.J. Yeldon 17-72 TD; AJ McCarron 10-(-43).

Passing
Oklahoma: Trevor Knight 32-44-1, 348 yards, 4 TDs, 1 sack.
Alabama: AJ McCarron 19-30-2, 387 yards, 2 TDs, 7 sacks.

Receiving
Oklahoma: Sterling Shepard 7-62 TD; Brennan Clay 7-36; Lacoltan Bester 6-105 TD; Jalen Saunders 5-75 2 TDs; Roy Finch 2-18; Jaz Reynolds 2-14; Derrick Woods 1-20; Brannon Green 1-13; T. McNamara 1-4.
Alabama: Amari Cooper 9-121; DeAndrew White 3-139 TD; Kevin Norwood 2-30; T.J. Yeldon 2-23; Kenny Bell 2-13; Derrick Henry 1-61 TD

Miller-Digby Award Recipient: Trevor Knight, Oklahoma quarterback