Crimson Tide Top 10 Sugar Bowls: No. 5, 1980 Alabama vs. Arkansas

The Crimson Tide capped a perfect season with a dominating performance against the Razorbacks to leave no doubt about being the national champions.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will be making its 17th appearance in the Sugar Bowl, the most of any team, when it squares off against the No. 9 Kansas State Wildcats inside Caesars Superdome on Dec. 31 (11 a.m. CT on ESPN).

BamaCentral is counting down the Top 10 Sugar Bowls for Alabama:

#1 Alabama 24 (Final: 12-0-0, #1)
#6 Arkansas 9 (Final: 10-2-0, #8)

Alabama felt it had been robbed by voters in the final polls of the 1977 (when Notre Dame leapfrogged past the Crimson Tide from No. 5) and 1978 (when Alabama won a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup vs. Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, only to split the national title with Southern California) seasons, but in both cases a loss left the door open for another team to sneak into the top spot.

So there was only one thing to do, remove any doubt by going undefeated in 1979 and cap the most dominating decade in college football.

Led by three first-team All-Americans, guard Jim Bunch, center Dwight Stephenson and tackle Don McNeal, second-teamers E.J. Junior and Byron Braggs on the defensive line, and five other All-SEC selections, that’s exactly what the Crimson Tide did, with Coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant winning his sixth and final national title.

Thanks to numerous starters returning, the Crimson Tide was the preseason No. 2 team in the national polls and lived up to the high expectations by outscoring its first five opponents 219-9. But like most championship seasons, Alabama did have its share of close calls and scares, including a 3-0 victory at LSU, and, led by backup quarterback Don Jacobs, stormed back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to beat Tennessee 27-17.

Once again, the national championship would be settled at the Sugar Bowl, with Alabama paired against future Southeastern Conference addition Arkansas. After turning an early fumble into a field goal, the Razorbacks didn’t know what hit them until it was 17-3 in the third quarter. The game’s most valuable player, Major Ogilvie, scored two touchdowns and had a 50-yard punt return, and Shealy led a 98-yard touchdown drive for a dominating 24-9 victory.

At 12-0, there would be no debate over which team should be No. 1, and no split national championship. Alabama was the lone contender with a perfect record, and Southern California narrowly missing at 11-0-1.

The Tide defense yielded only 67 points, compared to 383 scored, with five shutouts, against Baylor, Wichita State, Florida, LSU and Miami. Except for LSU, the fewest points Alabama scored against an opponent was 24.

Excerpt from "100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die."

Alabama recap

A tweak in the offensive scheme played a major role as the University of Alabama reached a new pinnacle of success by beating Arkansas, 24-9, in the 46th annual Sugar Bowl. In the process of winning its fifth straight bowl, four of them Sugar Bowls, this unbeaten Alabama team became the first Tide squad in the school’s history to win 12 games in a season. A record Sugar Bowl crowd of 77,468 and millions of viewers on national television watched Alabama win.

In the weeks preceding the Sugar Bowl game, Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant installed a double wing with motion off the wishbone formation. The Crimson Tide could run its basic plays off the set, but its real value was in catching the Arkansas players and coaches off-guard.

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Bryant’s troops were at their best when it counted, racing 98 yards in nine plays to the touchdown. Steve Whitman ran for six yards to start the drive. [Major] Ogilvie rushed for seven to the Tide 15. Billy Jackson’s 35-yard sprint with a [Steadman] Shealy pitchout keyed the march, reaching the 50-yard line. Jackson came right back on the next play with a 14-yard run up the middle to the Arkansas 36. Ogilvie gained six off guard, then Shealy ran an option keeper for 22 yards at the Arkansas 11.

After two plays and a five-yard penalty on the Tide, Alabama faced third-and-11 at the Arkansas 12-yard line. Offensive coordinator Mal Moore suggested the play, “43 Read”, to Shealy, who ran the option play to the right side of the line and handed to Whitman, who raced through the Arkansas defense for the clinching touchdown. The 98-yard drive, Alabama’s longest of the season, sealed the outcome.

Sugar Bowl Summary 

There was a new look to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl – a look Arkansas Coach Lou Holtz didn’t like. He liked it less after the game.

In the time since the end of the regular season, Bear Bryant installed a double wing with motion off the wishbone formation. The Crimson Tide could run its basic plays off the set – and give something else to concern Arkansas coaches.

After the Razorbacks got a 34-yard field goal, courtesy of a lost Alabama fumble on the opening kickoff, the Tide showed its new look.

Holtz watched a seven-play, 82-yard drive featuring a fullback in motion and a lot of counter-action to slow the Hogs’ defensive charge. Major Ogilvie scored from 22 yards out after quarterback Steadman Shealy pitched out at precisely the last instant. It was the third straight year in which Ogilvie scored a Sugar Bowl touchdown.

“We weren’t expecting as much double wing,” Holtz admitted. “We weren’t expecting an unbalanced line. We knew they’d run at least two wide-outs and two tight ends … but with five freshmen (in his defensive alignment) we made some mistakes. We got in wrong calls, shifted the wrong way, and did a lot of wrong things.”

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The two teams gained 696 yards between them. The double wing took the Hogs out of planned defensive schemes. Holtz addressed the change succinctly: “Alabama’s defense is fourth best in the nation, and it’s their major weakness. How could we know the nation’s best team would play a perfect game?

Excerpted from the book “Sugar Bowl Classic: A History” by Marty Mulé.

Sugar Bowl

See Also:

Bonus: 1964 Alabama vs. Ole Miss

No. 6: No. 6, 1966 Alabama vs. Nebraska

No. 7: 2018 Alabama vs. Clemson (CFP semifinal)

No. 8: 1978 Alabama vs. Ohio State

No. 9: 1945 Alabama vs. Duke

No. 10: 1975 Alabama vs. Penn State

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