The Sugar Bowl: A Season Revisited And a Look Ahead

Here we take a look back at the season and preview Auburn’s game against Oklahoma on Jan. 2 in the Sugar Bowl.

It would have been reasonable to predict this Auburn season relying on an Alabama A&M victory to take a bowl berth. It would have been reasonable to say that Ole Miss, Arkansas and LSU would have had their way with Auburn this season. Naturally, the way of the season went in a completely different direction than that first glance originally offered.

More from Auburn Football

Auburn would go on to having another 1,000-yard rusher and, had his ankle not kept him away, potentially a second from Kerryon Johnson. Better yet, quarterback Sean White showed signs of greatness despite being in a fairly awkward rotation with John Franklin III. With the whole drama surrounding a Jarrett Stidham transfer, White still has the capacity to do great things as an Auburn Tiger. Who would’ve guessed that.

Of course, scoring points often relied on the leg of Daniel Carlson rather than the arms or legs of a wide receiver. But, as he’s a back-to-back finalist for the Lou Groza award, an award given at the end of the year to the best collegiate placekicker, there’s no shame in breaking all those records and winning games. There’s nothing wrong with being clutch – that LSU onslaught was acceptable as long as it was a win.

As for defense, it went better than expected. Carl Lawson finished tied for third in the SEC for sacks at nine, with Montravius Adams the next in line tied at No. 18 with five. A defense that finished fourth in FBS for red zone defense, the Tigers held Clemson, a playoff team and the ACC champions, to just 19 points and a frightening toss in the end zone with no time remaining.

Discipline and tenacity has also become the norm for the defense, as they finished fifth in the country for scoring defense and fifth for fewest penalty yards per game. This is a defense that, come next year, has the ability to be one of the nation’s best – if not the best.

Then there’s Oklahoma. It’s not your usual Oklahoma.

This is a team that is constantly regarded every single year as one of the nation’s best. They’re the Sooners, and they’ll always be up in the top 25. This year, they just happened to be explosive on offense.

The Sooners finished third in total offense averaging 557.3 yards per game, 1.5 yards less than a Louisville team with Lamar Jackson. Considering this is also just 7.2 yards less than Texas Tech, a team that threw for over 5,000 yards and 734 over Oklahoma in a loss, it’s a tad scary to consider how consistent this Sooners team actually is. They had Landry Jones as a quarterback for who knows how many years, and an offense that hardly ever stepped up to the plate. Now there’s two Heisman finalists and the third best offense in the country.

They also finished ranked first in team passing efficiency, third in scoring offense and fifth in third down conversion percentage. This is one of the best offenses in the country going up against a sprouting defense that could be considered one of the best in years to come. There’s no tell in the narrative for this to swing one way or the other – all that matters is that Oklahoma has the capacity to either implode or explode.

There’s hope growing in the concept of an Auburn football team dominating the face of the Big 12 and winning a Sugar Bowl in dramatic fashion. It’s understandable, and it’d be just another take of a season that hasn’t made too much sense.

For Auburn’s sake, let’s hope for more things to not make sense.

Next: The Playoffs are in Danger of Ruining the Sport

Here’s to Lou Groza.

War Eagle!

Home/Auburn Football