Ohio State vs. Alabama: 1994's Citrus Bowl (1/2/1995)

In case you haven't noticed, we are set to play Alabama this New Year's Day in the Sugar Bowl as part of round one of the first College Football Playoff. Ohio State and Alabama have faced off three times before, with the Crimson Tide victorious each time.

The last time Ohio State met Alabama was at the end of the 1994 season, in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. Alabama fielded a great team in 1994, led by quarterback Jay Barker, and the Crimson Tide were real contenders for the national title. They went undefeated in the regular season and were ranked No. 3 going into the SEC Championship Game, which they lost to Florida. No. 5 Florida went on to the Sugar Bowl and played a rematch against No. 7 Florida State. Alabama had to settle for the Citrus Bowl and play Ohio State.

The Buckeyes were also great in 1994; under John Cooper's guidance the talent on that team was amazing. Eddie George was a junior and was already making his name as college football's eventual best player. Joey Galloway was a senior and was finishing up his 1,894-yard career as a Buckeye. Orlando Pace and Mike Vrabel were sophomores, and Corey Stringer was a first team All-American as a junior.

1994 started out fine, Ohio State was ranked No. 20 in the preseason, but in week three they went on the road to No. 25 Washington and lost. Despite that, the Buckeyes started out 3-1 and were back where they started at No. 20 when conference play began. They barely beat Northwestern and lost to Illinois in Columbus, which practically ruined all hopes of rising to the top of the rankings. However, the Buckeyes rebounded with wins over Michigan State and Purdue. Then, in week ten, they suffered an embarrassing 63-14 loss to No. 1 Penn State. The Nittany Lions went on to win the Big Ten and compete for the national title. Ohio State finished the regular season with convincing wins over Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan (yes, this was one of the two years that John Cooper's Buckeyes actually beat Michigan. It's totally worth watching that Michigan game -- the crowd at Ohio Stadium is so happy to see the first win over UM since 1987.).

Ohio State quarterback Bobby Hoying is chased out of the pocket in the 1995 Citrus Bowl

To the Citrus Bowl: Alabama's head coach Gene Stallings ran a really tough defense, as did John Cooper, so there was not a lot of scoring in this game. In the first quarter, the Buckeyes missed a field goal and then blocked an Alabama field goal. The Crimson Tide scored a touchdown on the ground in the second quarter, but Joey Galloway promptly made a 69-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 7. After blocking a punt and hitting Galloway in the end zone for another touchdown, the Buckeyes took a 14-7 lead. However, Alabama's Sherman Williams scored on the ground before half time, sending the teams into the locker room tied 14-14.

The third quarter was scoreless, but full of excitement with turnovers going back and forth. At the end of the third, Alabama was knocking on the door of the end zone, but had to settle for a field goal try at the beginning of the fourth, which was missed. The score remained 14-14. With ten minutes left in the game, Ohio State managed a field goal, putting them ahead 17-14. A few minutes later, Alabama tied it up with a field goal of their own. Ohio State punted the ball away with 1:31 left in the game, with Cooper thinking he could rely on his defense to get a stop. Well, Sherman Williams, who had been running all over the field all day, caught a short pass at midfield and outran the Buckeye defense for a touchdown. Alabama 24, Ohio State 17 was the final score.

Watch highlights from the game here:

This game didn't exactly spoil the season, since we weren't about to win the conference or the national title, but it was still painful. The end of the season had been going so well, and to have this bowl win over Alabama within reach and let it slip away was just terrible. With an 0-3 all time record against the Crimson Tide, an Ohio State win over Alabama is overdue.

Ohio State vs. Alabama: 1977's Sugar Bowl (1/1/1978)

As you surely know, we are set to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on New Year's Day in the Sugar Bowl, which is round one of the inaugural College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes have never beaten Alabama, although we have met on the field three times in the past.

The first time Ohio State took on Alabama was at the end of the 1977 season, also in the Sugar Bowl, pitting two of college football's legendary coaches against each other: Woody Hayes and Bear Bryant. At Ohio State, Woody Hayes had won five national championships and thirteen conference titles; at Alabama, Bear Bryant had won four national championships and eleven conference titles.

The Buckeyes were ranked No. 5 to start the season in 1977, so the national title was certainly within reach. The trouble with this season, though, came with a one-point, last-second loss to No. 3 Oklahoma early on and a loss to Michigan in the final game of the year. No. 4 Michigan won the Big Ten and went to the Rose Bowl, where they lost to the No. 13 Washington Huskies. Ohio State (ranked No. 8) went on to the Sugar Bowl to face No. 3 Alabama.

The game was dominated by the Crimson Tide, although the first quarter was scoreless. Alabama opened the game driving 61 yards to the Ohio State three yard line, but was stopped on fourth and goal. Ohio State did not come close to scoring in the first quarter. Alabama's first second quarter drive ended in a touchdown, putting them up 7-0. Ohio State was forced to punt on their next possession and Alabama put together another touchdown drive to go up 13-0 (they missed the PAT).

The Buckeyes found some rhythm and started driving the ball, with the help of running back Ron Springs, who turned the corner and went 42 yards to get the ball to the Alabama 12 yard line. Soon faced with a fourth and seven on the five yard line, Woody decided to go for it, calling a short pass to Jim Harrell, who was brought down at the three, a yard short of the first down. Half time came and the score remained in Alabama's favor: 13-0.

Alabama put the game out of reach late in the third quarter, scoring on a 67-yard drive and converting for two to go up 21-0. It seems that Bear Bryant outsmarted Woody Hayes by setting up the offense in a wishbone (and other sets that look like run plays) and passing the ball while the linebackers are looking for the run. Also the Crimson Tide defense blew up a lot of Ohio State plays in the third quarter.

Ohio State wide receiver Jim Harrell is brought down by Alabama defenders in the 1977 Sugar Bowl.

Finally, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes scored a touchdown (on a beautiful catch from Jim Harrell). We went for two and could not convert, so the score became 21-6. The Crimson Tide scored two more touchdowns before the end of the game, making the final score 35-6. This, along with the loss to Michigan, was a disappointing end to a season that started out with a lot of potential.

Watch a video of the Alabama-Ohio State Sugar Bowl here:

After all of the bowls were settled at the end of the 1977 season, No. 1 Texas had lost to No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 2 Oklahoma had lost to No. 6 Arkansas and No. 4 Michigan had lost to No. 13 Washington. This left the pollsters with a mess to deal with. The AP and UPI both ranked Notre Dame No. 1 and Alabama No. 2. Back then, there was a Notre Dame bias, whereas today the SEC bias would have probably put Alabama ahead of Notre Dame and given them the 1977 national title.

By the way, this week Eleven Warriors has a great look at all of our Sugar Bowls.