Sugar Bowl 2015: TV Info, Schedule, Predictions and More
One-half of the inaugural College Football Playoff semifinals comes at fans from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 1 and pits two of the nation's best teams against one another with everything on the line.
The counterpart to the Rose Bowl semifinal matchup pits the No. 1 seed in the final CFP poll (released on December 7) against the No. 4 seed.
When the Sugar Bowl is not busy hosting the CFP, it will feature the winner of the SEC Championship Game against the Big 12 conference champion.
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At this rate, that is how things appear to be shaping up this year, too.
When: Thursday, January 1, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Watch: ESPN
Predictions
Alabama and TCU Collide
Alabama is tops in the latest polls for good reason. Ditto for TCU, which comes in at fourth.
It is hard to see how the Crimson Tide do not keep a tight grip on the No. 1 slot at this point. Though many have hoped to see Nick Saban's dynasty take a fall, the team has instead overcome quite a laundry list of impressive opponents, including West Virginia, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn.
The most recent win was the most impressive, though, as Blake Sims and Co. survived the Iron Bowl against the Tigers with a 55-44 triumph. Sims threw four touchdowns to three interceptions while wideout Amari Cooper torched the defense on his way to 224 yards and three scores.
As SportsCenter points out, the win bodes well for Alabama's chances in the Sugar Bowl and beyond:
All that stands in Alabama's way at this point is a 10-2 Missouri Tigers team that ranks 13th nationally in terms of scoring defense. But the Tigers have been erratic all season, with notable losses to Indiana and Georgia, and they boast a 70th-ranked offense that will struggle to move the ball against the Crimson Tide defense.
The competition for the fourth spot and the right to face Alabama is vast, but expect TCU to pull through.
With Ohio State losing starting quarterback J.T. Barrett for the rest of the season and Baylor struggling as of late, the Horned Frogs figure to sneak into the fray.
TCU has wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Minnesota, West Virginia and Kansas State this season, not to mention the third-ranked offense in the country. A recent 48-10 win over Texas has coach Gary Patterson and Co. riding high.
Patterson said, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com): "You know, this team deserves to go home and win a championship. We've got one more to do it, and I'm very proud of them. I'm finally going to go maybe smile once, but we've got to get ready to play Iowa State."
All that stands between the Horned Frogs and the CFP now is 2-9 Iowa State—and the fact that Baylor owns a small head-to-head decision over the Horned Frogs this year and can cause some chaos to end the season if it can overcome Kansas State.
Right now, though, TCU is in the driver's seat. Baylor looked shaky one week ago with a two-point win over Texas Tech and even a season-ending win may not be enough to encourage the committee to make a swap at this point.
Alabama Rolls
Now that the who is out of the way, things can get to the heart of the matter—how it plays out.
Call it a war of strengths in this scenario, really. TCU has a top-three offense thanks to dual-threat quarterback Trevone Boykin. A total of 3,254 yards and 26 touchdowns through the air and 598 yards and eight scores on the ground can attest to his Heisman candidacy.
Quality dual-threat quarterbacks have given Alabama problems this year, too. Mississippi State's Dak Prescott threw for 290 yards and two scores to three interceptions with 82 more yards on the ground in a close loss.
Nick Marshall threw for 456 yards and three touchdown passes in the Iron Bowl with another 49 yard on the ground.
That said, the inverse certainly applies, meaning TCU would need to come up with a way to stop Sims and Cooper. The former has 2,988 yards and 24 touchdowns through the air and 302 yards and six scores on the ground.
Cooper is in a class of his own on the way to the pros. An eye-popping 103 grabs for 1,573 yards and 14 scores might just make him the favorite for the Heisman.
Considering TCU ranks 26th in total defense with an average of 21.9 points allowed per game and in its lone loss allowed Baylor to rush for 272 yards, it seems the Crimson Tide have a distinct advantage in that they can play strong defense and control the pace of the game.
Alabama certainly has a strong cast of rushers who can ride this weakness for all it is worth:
Boykin deserves more credit than he gets this season, but against the experienced Crimson Tide, Alabama figures to pull away in the second half and advance to the final.
Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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