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Thanks to Alabama’s dominance, Sugar Bowl Playoff semifinal turns into SEC celebration
By Les East
Published:
NEW ORLEANS — It was clearly the SEC’s night.
The signs were there right from the beginning.
Fans attending the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Sugar Bowl between Clemson and Alabama were keeping tabs on Georgia’s comeback against Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, which delayed the kickoff of their game in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome by some 11 minutes.
Clemson and Alabama had just gotten under way when SEC champion Georgia prevailed, 54-48, in double overtime to secure the first spot in the Jan. 8 national championship game in Atlanta.
When the final was finally announced in the Superdome, there was a loud cheer and some Alabama fans started chanting, “S-E-C,” “S-E-C.”
Then the Crimson Tide made an even louder statement for the league as it methodically took apart the defending national champions, 24-6, to set up an all-SEC championship game.
Just a few weeks ago the debate was whether the SEC deserved a second team in the four-team Playoff. Did Alabama, which didn’t even win its division after losing to Auburn in the regular-season finale, deserve a spot over Big Ten champion Ohio State?
Now the talk is about the resurgence of the SEC, which won seven of the last eight BCS championships but just one of the first three CFP championships.
This New Year’s night in New Orleans was a celebration of the SEC right from the start.
The pregame festivities included the recognition of the first Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame class, a 12-member group of college football royalty with an appropriately healthy inclusion of SEC legends, given the historical connections between the SEC and the Sugar Bowl.
The seven representatives that were on hand included Archie Manning (Ole Miss), Chuck Dicus (Arkansas), and Johnny Majors (Tennessee) as well as two Alabama reps — Major Ogilvie and Gene Stallings. Herschel Walker (Georgia) and Bo Jackson (Auburn) also were honored but weren’t present, and Bear Bryant (Alabama), Frank Broyles (Arkansas) were honored posthumously.
The post-game presentations included the Sugar Bowl trophy being handed to Tide coach Nick Saban, who won a national championship with LSU by beating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl after the 2003 season but had gone 0-3 in previous Sugar Bowl appearances with Alabama.
The Offensive MVP award went to quarterback Jalen Hurts, who threw two touchdown passes, and the Defensive MVP went to defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne, who made a game-turning interception that started a possession that ended with him as the unlikely recipient of a 1-yard scoring pass from Hurts.
As the hardware was being handed to Saban, Hurts and Payne, the “S-E-C” chant began again.
Alabama didn’t make it to Atlanta to play for the SEC championship, but now it’s headed there to play the Georgia team it would have faced had it won the West.
It’s reminiscent of the 2011 season, the last time two teams from the same conference met for a national championship. You know, of course, which conference that was.
The 2011 Tide team also failed to win the West, losing to LSU, 9-6, in an epic overtime game that was decisive in the division race.
The No. 1-ranked Tigers beat Georgia for the SEC Championship and drew No. 2 Alabama in a rematch for the BCS title in the Sugar Bowl.
Saban recalled that matchup, in which Alabama prevailed, 21-0, after Monday’s game.
“We were fortunate several years ago to play LSU right here in the same kind of circumstance and the same kind of situation,” Saban said. “I think it speaks volumes of the quality of programs that we have, especially to have two programs, two teams that are in the national championship game.
“I think sometimes people try to put a little hate on the SEC because of some of the success that we have and I don’t think that is really fair because I think it’s a great competitive league with a lot of great coaches and a lot of great institutions. And I have always thought it was one of the best competitive venues to be involved in in my time at LSU and also at Alabama.”
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
