Talking Points: 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl

Well, where do we start after that football game? 

The 2014 edition of the Allstate Sugar Bowl will be remembered for a David vs. Goliath classic, with the Oklahoma Sooners beating the Alabama Crimson Tide 45-31. The way the Sugar Bowl went reminded me of last night’s Fiesta Bowl, where the heavy underdog Central Florida, got up and shocked highly-favoured Baylor. Who knew lighting could strike twice, let alone twice in as many nights?

Let’s focus on the anomaly that stands out most to me: I don’t know what’s stranger: Alabama losing two games in a row (they haven’t done that in five years, since losing the SEC Championship and 2009 Sugar Bowl in succession) or the Sooners, who fielded arguably their least potent team in a decade, going into the New Orleans Superdome and dominating a Crimson Tide unit who’s rarely been dominated in such fashion in Nick Saban’s incredible (and continuing) reign in Tuscaloosa.

Consider this, too: Alabama loses a BCS game a day after favoured Georgia lost to Nebraska and favoured Stanford lost to Michigan State. The Big XII and the Big Ten have, to somewhat different degrees, been criticised this season, placed by many pundits below the SEC and Pac-12 in the national pecking order. Yet, over the first two days of the new year, we’ve seen Big Ten and Big XII teams beating highly-fancied opponents from allegedly stronger conferences. This, though, was the most shocking.

Four Alabama turnovers led to 28 Oklahoma points. The Tide actually turned it over five times. Unlike last night, when Baylor couldn’t take advantage of three quick-fire turnovers committed by Central Florida, the Sooners got their hands back on the football and made the Crimson Tide pay. The Oklahoma defense played as well tonight as they have all season. Consider that, coming in, the Alabama offensive line had given up just ten sacks all season, but they gave up seven

Just where did redshirt freshman Trevor Knight come from? He played like a fourth-year starter, and looked more like Alabama QB AJ McCarron than AJ McCarron did tonight. His deep ball touch was outrageously good, routinely torching a Crimson Tide defense stacked with NFL talent, looking a lot like his childhood hero, Saints quarterback Drew Brees, whose heroics in the Superdome speak for themselves. It just wasn’t the Crimson Tide defense that we’ve been used to seeing take the field, not just this year, but for years’ past.

It’s fair to say that there hasn’t been much quarterback stability at Oklahoma this season. The Sooners seemed to be unsure between Blake Bell and Trevor Knight. Then, Sooners head coach Bob Stoops made a decision, going with Knight – against what most people thought was the right thing to do. Was it a gamble? Certainly, but, boy, did it pay off. Knight finished his first ever Bowl game an eye-popping 32-44 for 348 yards, four scores and the lone interception. He was clearly the better of the two quarterbacks.

Who would have thought that the Crimson Tide defense would give up so many big plays? Not me, that’s for certain. Knight completed touchdown throws of 45 and 43 yards, but connected on many other pass plays for big chunks of yardage, some of the, bravely, on third down. Clearly, Stoops had come in determined not to die wondering, and the play calling suggested as much. Tonight, Alabama gave up the second-most points of any Tide defense in their storied Bowl game history. The 45 points OU scored tonight is the most any Saban-coached Alabama defense has ever given up.

That Knight prospered against such a good Alabama secondary even with a distinct lack of a running game makes his performance even more eye-popping. Crazily, Knight had completed only 27 passes coming into the game, and set a Sugar Bowl record with 32 tonight. He completed 55.5% of passes during the regular season. Tonight? 72.7% The transformation is just incredible.

I felt sorry for Alabama’s AJ McCarron, whose college record with now stand at36-4. The insane thing about that stat is that, before Thanksgiving weekend and the Tide’s last-second loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl he was 36-2. That’s right: 50% of his losses came in the last two games of his career. Regardless, McCarron will be fondly remembered in Tuscaloosa for delivering two National Championship (and picking up a third as a backup). It’s just a shame that his career ended in such an ignominious way: a sack-strip-score to ice Oklahoma’s win.

Another triumph for Bob Stoops when many – myself included – didn’t believe that Oklahoma deserved to be in a BCS Bow this season. I mean, Oregon missed out, but the Sooners got in? It made no sense then. Now, it seems like a masterstroke. Stoops can now lay claim to being the only coach to win all four of the BCS Bowls over the controversial system’s run. This being the last year of the BCS, that feat will never be matched or overtaken. 

That, like Oklahoma’s victory today, is something to be celebrated.