2018 Orange Bowl

The 2018 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on Saturday, December 29, 2018, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.[5] The 85th edition of the Orange Bowl was one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games, the game featured two of the four teams selected by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee—Alabama from the SEC, and Oklahoma from the Big 12 Conference. Alabama took off with a 28-0 lead in the early 2nd quarter and never looked backed to win 45-34. They advanced to face the winner of the Cotton Bowl (Clemson) in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. It was one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Capital One Financial Corporation, the game was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl.

2018 Capital One Orange Bowl
College Football Playoff Semifinal
85th Orange Bowl
Oklahoma Sooners Alabama Crimson Tide
(12–1) (13–0)
Big 12 SEC
34 45
Head coach: 
Lincoln Riley		 Head coach: 
Nick Saban
APCoachesCFP
444
APCoachesCFP
111
1234 Total
Oklahoma 0101014 34
Alabama 2110014 45
DateDecember 29, 2018
Season2018
StadiumHard Rock Stadium
LocationMiami Gardens, Florida
MVPTua Tagovailoa (QB, Alabama)
Xavier McKinney (S, Alabama)[1]
FavoriteAlabama by 14.5 (80.5) [2]
National anthemNicole Henry
RefereeDuane Heydt (ACC)
Attendance66,203[3]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN and ESPN Radio
AnnouncersChris Fowler (play-by-play)
Kirk Herbstreit (analyst)
Maria Taylor and Laura Rutledge (sideline) (ESPN)
Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay (ESPN Radio)
Nielsen ratings10.4 (19 million viewers)[4]
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes Radio
AnnouncersKenneth Garay
Sebastian Martinez-Christensen

Teams

The game featured top-ranked Alabama of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) against fourth-ranked Oklahoma of the Big 12 Conference.[6] The programs had previously met five times, with Oklahoma leading the series, 3–1–1.[6] They first met in the 1963 Orange Bowl, won by Alabama, 17–0.[7] Their most recent meeting was in the 2014 Sugar Bowl, a 45–31 Oklahoma victory.[6]

Alabama Crimson Tide
Main article: 2018 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Alabama defeated Georgia in the 2018 SEC Championship Game on December 1, then received their bid to the Orange Bowl with the release of final CFP rankings on December 2.[6] The Crimson Tide entered the bowl with a 13–0 record (8–0 in conference). On December 25, it was announced that three Alabama players, including starting offensive lineman Deonte Brown, would not play in the game due to an unspecified violation of team rules.[8]

Oklahoma Sooners
Main article: 2018 Oklahoma Sooners football team

Oklahoma defeated Texas in the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game on December 1, then received their bid to the Orange Bowl with the release of final CFP rankings on December 2.[6] The Sooners entered the bowl with a 12–1 record (8–1 in conference); their only loss was to Texas, by a score of 45–48 in the 113th Red River Showdown on October 6.

Game summary

Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP OKLA BAMA
1 11:54 7 75 3:06 BAMA Damien Harris 1-yard touchdown run, Joseph Bulovas kick good 0 7
1 5:54 8 55 3:57 BAMA Henry Ruggs III 10-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Joseph Bulovas kick good 0 14
1 1:33 5 61 2:35 BAMA Damien Harris 1-yard touchdown run, Joseph Bulovas kick good 0 21
2 13:01 5 48 2:04 BAMA Josh Jacobs 27-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Joseph Bulovas kick good 0 28
2 11:48 4 75 1:13 OKLA Trey Sermon 2-yard touchdown run, Austin Seibert kick good 7 28
2 7:30 10 41 3:14 OKLA 26-yard field goal by Austin Seibert 10 28
2 0:25 12 55 7:05 BAMA 38-yard field goal by Joseph Bulovas 10 31
3 9:42 14 66 5:18 OKLA 26-yard field goal by Austin Seibert 13 31
3 3:03 6 75 2:03 OKLA Charleston Rambo 49-yard touchdown reception from Kyler Murray, Austin Seibert kick good 20 31
4 13:08 9 75 4:55 BAMA DeVonta Smith 10-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Joseph Bulovas kick good 20 38
4 8:31 14 80 4:37 OKLA CeeDee Lamb 10-yard touchdown reception from Kyler Murray, Austin Seibert kick good 27 38
4 6:08 5 46 2:23 BAMA Jerry Jeudy 13-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Joseph Bulovas kick good 27 45
4 4:23 6 74 1:45 OKLA Kyler Murray 8-yard touchdown run, Austin Seibert kick good 34 45
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 34 45

Statistics
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 4 Sooners 0 10 10 14 34
No. 1 Crimson Tide 21 10 0 14 45
Statistics OKLA BAMA
First downs2628
Plays–yards69–47170–528
Rushes–yards32–16342–200
Passing yards308328
Passing: comp–att–int19–37–025–28–0
Time of possession23:5236:08
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Oklahoma PassingKyler Murray19/37, 308 yds, 2 TD
RushingKyler Murray17 car, 109 yds, 1 TD
ReceivingCeeDee Lamb8 rec, 109 yds, 1 TD
Alabama PassingTua Tagovailoa24/27, 318 yds, 4 TD
RushingJosh Jacobs15 car, 98 yds
ReceivingDeVonta Smith6 rec, 104 yds, 1 TD

References
  1. Potter, Charlie (December 29, 2018). "Recap: Alabama outlasts OU in Orange Bowl, will play for title". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  2. "Orange Bowl Odds: College football". Vegasinsider. January 1, 2003. p. C10. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  3. @977ESPN (December 29, 2018). "Tonight's Orange Bowl attendance 66,203" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2018 – via Twitter.
  4. Bromberg, Nick (December 30, 2018). "College Football Playoff semifinal TV ratings down from 2017 when games were on New Year's". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  5. "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  6. Houck, Mike (December 2, 2018). "OU to Face Alabama in the Orange Bowl". soonersports.com.
  7. "Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Oklahoma Sooners football series history games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  8. Scarborough, Alex (December 25, 2018). "OL Deonte Brown among 3 Alabama players suspended for Orange Bowl". ESPN. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
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