1978 Sugar Bowl

(9–2)

(10–1)

Head coach:
Woody Hayes

Head coach:
Bear Bryant

AP	Coaches
9	8

AP	Coaches
3	3

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio State	0	0	0	6	6
Alabama	0	13	8	14	35

Date

January 2, 1978

Season

1977

Stadium

Louisiana Superdome

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana

Attendance

76,811

United States TV coverage

Network

ABC

Announcers

Keith Jackson and Ara Parseghian

The 1978 Sugar Bowl, part of the 1977 bowl game season, took place on January 2, 1978, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The competing teams were the Alabama Crimson Tide, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Ohio State Buckeyes, representing the Big Ten Conference (Big 10). Alabama won the game 35–6.

Teams

Alabama

The 1977 Alabama squad finished the regular season as SEC champions with a record of 10–1. The only defeat was a 31–24 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in week two. On November 19, bowl officials announced that Alabama would face Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.^[1] The appearance marked the eighth for Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and their 31st overall bowl appearance. It was also the Tide's first bowl game against a Big 10 opponent, and their second overall game against a Big 10 opponent.^[1]

Ohio State

The 1977 Ohio State squad finished the regular season as co-Big 10 champions with a record of 9–2. Their only defeats were a 29–28 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in week three and a 14–6 loss to the Michigan Wolverines to close the regular season. On November 19, bowl officials announced that Michigan would play in the Rose Bowl and that Ohio State would face Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.^[1]^[2] The appearance marked the first for Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, and their 12th overall bowl appearance.^[1]

Game summary

After a scoreless first quarter Alabama scored the first points of the evening on a one-yard Tony Nathan touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 76-yard drive.^[3] On their next offensive possession, Bama scored again on a 27-yard Jeff Rutledge touchdown pass to Bruce Bolton to take a 13–0 lead at the half.^[3] Rutledge had his second touchdown of the evening on a 3-yard pass to Rick Neal. Following a successful two-point conversion pass to Nathan, Alabama led 21–0 going into the fourth quarter.^[3] The Buckeyes scored their only points of the game early in the fourth when Rod Gerald threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jim Harrell, and after a failed two-point try cut the Alabama lead to 21–6.^[3] Bama closed the game with a pair of touchdown runs. The first was scored by Major Ogilvie on a one-yard run and the second by Johnny Davis on a seven-yard run to make the final score 35–6.^[3]

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	Ohio State	Alabama
2	11:31		10 plays, 76 yards		Alabama	Tony Nathan 1-yard touchdown run, Roger Chapman kick good	0	7
2	4:08		11 plays, 76 yards		Alabama	Bruce Bolton 27-yard touchdown reception from Jeff Rutledge, Roger Chapman kick no good	0	13
3	1:13		13 plays, 67 yards		Alabama	Rick Neal 3-yard touchdown reception from Jeff Rutledge, 2-point pass good	0	21
4	13:34				Ohio State	Jim Harrell 38-yard touchdown reception from Rod Gerald, 2-point pass failed	6	21
4	6:30		14 plays, 84 yards		Alabama	Major Ogilvie 1-yard touchdown run, Roger Chapman kick good	6	28
4	5:09		4 plays, 24 yards		Alabama	Johnny Davis 7-yard touchdown run, Roger Chapman kick good	6	35
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							6	35

References

1 2 3 4 Hayes, Hal (November 20, 1977). "It's Bear vs. Woody on Bourbon Street". The Tuscaloosa News. p. B1. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
↑ UPI Reporters (November 19, 1977). "Michigan defense rosy beating Ohio State, 14–6". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press International. p. D2. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
1 2 3 4 5 Staff Reporters (January 3, 1978). "How Bama won Sugar". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 12. Retrieved January 14, 2011.

1977–78 NCAA football bowl game season

Independence (Dec. 17) Liberty (Dec. 19) Hall of Fame Classic (Dec. 22) Tangerine (Dec. 23) Fiesta (Dec. 25) Gator (Dec. 30) Peach (Dec. 31) Sun (Dec. 31) Bluebonnet (Dec. 31) Sugar (Jan. 2) Cotton (Jan. 2) Orange (Jan. 2) Rose (Jan. 2)

Sugar Bowl Game

History & conference tie-ins	History Tulane Stadium Georgia Dome Mercedes-Benz 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 1972 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

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 and 1995. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015 edition.

Alabama Crimson Tide bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

Ohio State Buckeyes bowl games

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

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