Sugar Bowl 2015: Key Matchups to Watch in Ohio State vs. Alabama Clash
When Ohio State and Alabama take the field on Jan. 1 at the Sugar Bowl, all eyes will be focused upon head coaches Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.
After all, they are two of the rock stars in the sport who have crystal footballs to back it up. It will be a renewal of the coaching rivalry fans saw in SEC Championship Games when Meyer was at Florida, only this time, he will be leading the scarlet and gray from the Big Ten.
However, the actual matchups on the field will go a longer way toward determining the outcome of this game than the coaching showdown. With that in mind, here is a look at the schedule for the Sugar Bowl and some key matchups to watch in the College Football Playoff semifinal clash.
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2015 Sugar Bowl
Matchup: Ohio State vs. Alabama
Date: Thursday, Jan. 1
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Place: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana
Channel: ESPN
Key Matchups
Doran Grant vs. Amari Cooper
Ohio State’s defense cost it a chance at a national title last season with multiple collapses against Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game, but it bounced back admirably this year. Never was that more apparent than during the 59-0 beatdown the Buckeyes handed Wisconsin in this season’s conference title game.
One reason for the improvement was the country’s 17th-ranked passing defense, which also finished fourth in the nation with 21 interceptions.
Doran Grant is the best cornerback in a talented secondary and will be tasked with the nearly impossible job of at least slowing down Alabama’s all-world wide receiver, Amari Cooper. Grant stepped up on the big stage with two picks against Wisconsin and a formidable game against Michigan State (Tony Lippett only had 64 receiving yards), but Cooper is an NFL star in the making.
Grant is certainly going to need some help from the rest of the secondary if he wants to contain Cooper, who finished the season with 1,656 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com discussed how talented Cooper is and the potential Cooper has for the next level:
Interestingly, Alabama’s second-leading receiver this year was DeAndrew White, who only tallied 439 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Don’t be surprised if the Buckeyes apply bracket coverage with a safety over the top on Cooper in an effort to force the other receivers to win the game.
Alabama’s Offensive Line vs. Ohio State’s Defensive Line
One thing that would really help Ohio State’s secondary against Cooper is if Joey Bosa, Michael Bennett and the rest of the defensive line can get a consistent pass rush on Blake Sims.
Something will have to give in the matchup between the Buckeyes defensive line and Alabama’s offensive line. Ohio State was seventh in the nation with 40 sacks, and Alabama was 11th in the nation with only 13 sacks allowed.
Bosa, who led the Big Ten with 13.5 sacks and was named a first-team Associated Press All-American, and Bennett, who was named a third-team Associated Press All-American, will be key in this battle.
Even if Bosa and Bennett fail to rack up significant sack numbers, they can force Sims to throw the ball earlier than he wants, which will give the secondary a better chance against Cooper. Bosa and Bennett also need to get penetration against the run in order to allow the linebackers to come up and make plays in the backfield.
Ohio State’s Receivers vs. Alabama’s Secondary
Patrick Maks of Eleven Warriors passed along some statistics for the Ohio State wide receiver corps and a quote from Meyer about that group:
"The group has caught 225 passes for 3209 yards and 39 touchdowns through 13 games. And unlike years past, Meyer can rely on a rotation of players instead of one or two to make plays on a semi-weekly basis.
'We have five guys I have no problem throwing the ball to,' Meyer said.
"
Those five guys are presumably Devin Smith, Evan Spencer, Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson (who is expected to return for the playoffs after missing the majority of the final month with a broken foot).
Smith consistently beats defenders on deep routes, Thomas is Ohio State’s go-to guy on slant routes who is capable of making one defender miss and racing the rest of the way for a touchdown, Spencer is an excellent blocker who can also make plays underneath, and Marshall and Wilson are the speedsters from the slot who can take shovel passes or reverses and break them for long touchdowns.
Marshall can also play some Wildcat quarterback and may even be the second-stringer during the playoff game behind Cardale Jones.
The Sugar Bowl is a battle between the country’s No. 4 scoring offense in Ohio State and No. 4 scoring defense in Alabama. On paper, that is a strength vs. strength matchup; however, Alabama was a decidedly mediocre 60th in the country against the pass.
The Crimson Tide have been the kings of college football for years, but they have proven vulnerable in the secondary down the stretch, as JBook of Bucknuts.com noted:
Jones proved in the Big Ten Championship Game with three deep touchdown passes to Smith that he is not afraid to throw it downfield. He will have to do just that against a beatable Alabama secondary if the Buckeyes are going to shock the college football world in the Sugar Bowl.
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