1975 Sugar Bowl

1975 Sugar Bowl
1975 Sugar Bowl
42nd edition
Penn State Nittany Lions	Alabama Crimson Tide
(9–2)	(10–1)
Independent	SEC
6	13
Head coach: ; Joe Paterno	Head coach: ; Bear Bryant
AP	Coaches
8	8
AP	Coaches
4	4
Date	December 31, 1975
Season	1975
Stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	Richard Todd (Alabama QB)
Favorite	Alabama by 13 points[1]
Referee	Clint Fuller (Southwest)
Attendance	75,212
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Keith Jackson, Bud Wilkinson

The 1975 Sugar Bowl, was the 42nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at night in the new Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Wednesday, December 31. Part of the 1975–76 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the independent #8 Penn State Nittany Lions. In the first Sugar Bowl played in the recently completed Superdome, favored Alabama won 13–6.

This was the last of four consecutive editions played at night on New Year's Eve; it returned to January 1 in 1977 as a day game.

Teams

Alabama

Alabama completed the regular season as SEC champions with a 10–1 record. The only defeat was a 20–7 non-conference loss to Missouri in week one. On November 17, bowl officials announced that Alabama would face Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.[2] It marked the seventh appearance for Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and their 29th bowl game.

The Tide entered the Sugar Bowl as a thirteen-point favorite,[1] but without a win in its last eight bowl games.

Penn State

Penn State completed the regular season with a record of 9–2. Their only defeats were a 17–9 loss to Ohio State in week three and a 15–14 loss to the North Carolina State in week ten. On November 17, bowl officials announced that Penn State would face Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.[2] The invitation for Penn State was controversial as Alabama's Bryant personally selected Penn State as their opponent instead of the Big Eight runner-up (#6 Nebraska), ranked higher than the Nittany Lions. Bryant was miffed that the Orange Bowl, which was committed to the Big Eight champion (#3 Oklahoma), had snubbed the Crimson Tide in favor of the Big Ten runner-up, #5 Michigan (the Big Ten (and Pac-8) allowed multiple bowl teams for the first time this season). In Bryant's view, this effectively killed Alabama's chances for a national championship.[3] It was the second appearance for Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, and their fourteenth bowl game.

Game summary

The game kicked off shortly after 6:30 p.m. CST on New Year's Eve, televised by ABC.[4][1]

After Penn State's Chris Bahr missed a 62-yard field goal, Alabama scored on a 25-yard Danny Ridgeway field goal.[5] The second quarter was scoreless, and the Crimson Tide led 3–0 at halftime.

Penn State tied the game at three on a 42-yard Bahr field goal in the third quarter.[5] Alabama responded on the following drive with the lone touchdown of the game, a 14-yard Mike Stock run, to take a 10–3 lead.[5][6]

A 37-yard Bahr field goal reduced the lead to four points with under twelve minutes remaining. The Crimson Tide responded with an extended drive, resulting in a 28-yard Ridgeway field goal to push the lead back to seven at 13–6, the final score.[5][6] For his 210 yards passing after completing ten of twelve pass attempts, Alabama quarterback Richard Todd was named the games outstanding player.[5]

It was Alabama's first bowl win in nine years (since January 1967) and started a string of six straight bowl victories.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	Penn State	Alabama
1	5:33	9	72		Alabama	25-yard field goal by Danny Ridgeway	0	3
3	4:33		69		Penn State	42-yard field goal by Chris Bahr	3	3
3	1:42				Alabama	Mike Stock 14-yard touchdown run, Danny Ridgeway kick good	3	10
4	11:19				Penn State	37-yard field goal by Chris Bahr	6	10
4	3:19				Alabama	28-yard field goal by Danny Ridgeway	6	13
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							6	13

Statistics

Statistics	Penn State	Alabama
First downs	12	14
Rushes–yards	41–157	49–106
Passing yards	57	210
Passes	8–14–1	10–12–0
Total offense	55–214	61–316
Punts–average	4–48.5	5–40.8
Fumbles–lost	1–0	1–0
Turnovers	1	0
Penalties–yards	0–0	3–22

Source:[5]

References

"Alabama trio benched for curfew violation". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 31, 1975. p. 11.
McKenize, Mike (November 17, 1975). "Alabama vs. Penn State in Sugar". Tuscaloosa News. p. 9. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
McKenize, Mike (November 18, 1975). "Bryant defends picking Penn State as foe". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 9. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
"Sugar, Peach Bowls on tap". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. December 31, 1975. p. 1B.
Axelrod, Phil (January 1, 1976). "Lions bow to Alabama". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 48. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
Wilson, Austin (January 1, 1976). "Sugar Bowl is sweet for Alabama". The Gadsden Times. The Associated Press. p. 17. Retrieved January 19, 2011.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[curfwv-1] "Alabama trio benched for curfew violation". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 31, 1975. p. 11.

[November_17,_1975-2] McKenize, Mike (November 17, 1975). "Alabama vs. Penn State in Sugar". Tuscaloosa News. p. 9. Retrieved January 19, 2011.

[November_18,_1975-3] McKenize, Mike (November 18, 1975). "Bryant defends picking Penn State as foe". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 9. Retrieved January 19, 2011.

[spbot-4] "Sugar, Peach Bowls on tap". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. December 31, 1975. p. 1B.

[PITJanuary_1,_1976-5] Axelrod, Phil (January 1, 1976). "Lions bow to Alabama". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 48. Retrieved January 19, 2011.

[GADJanuary_1,_1976-6] Wilson, Austin (January 1, 1976). "Sugar Bowl is sweet for Alabama". The Gadsden Times. The Associated Press. p. 17. Retrieved January 19, 2011.

Sugar Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Tulane Stadium Georgia Dome Caesars Superdome College Football Playoff Broadcasters Southeastern Conference Big 12 Conference
Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 (Jan) 1972 (Dec) 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (Jan) 1995 (Dec) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (Jan) 2022 (Dec) 2024
Notes	The 2006 game took place in Atlanta, Georgia due to Hurricane Katrina. The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. There was a Sugar Bowl in January and December in 1972, 1995 and 2022. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015, 2018, and 2021 editions.