Sugar Bowl 2015: Alabama vs. Ohio State Schedule, Live Stream and TV Info
Ohio State vs. Alabama is an old school matchup with a new school twist. The 2015 Sugar Bowl matchup isn't an unusual one. College football fans should be used to the Big 10 power running into the best the SEC can offer at this point, but the stakes have been raised this year.
This is the beginning of a new era in college football.
The two traditional powers will face off for the chance to play in the first national championship decided by a playoff.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
After all of the #hottakes and heated discussion about who should or shouldn't be in the inaugural four-team tournament, the teams have finally been decided. It's time to sit back and actually enjoy the festivities.
Here's a look at when and where to catch the historic contest along with the biggest questions surrounding the matchup.
When: Jan. 1, 2015 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
What Matters More? Metrics or Narrative?
The oddsmakers have this pegged as a comfortable win for Alabama. The Crimson Tide opened up as a nine-point favorite, according to Odds Shark.
However, a look at some metrics shows that this matchup is much closer.
Football Outsiders' F/+ metric has the two schools as the best in the country with Alabama at No. 1 and Ohio State No. 2. Team Rankings, Ed Feng and ESPN also have them as comparable teams.
| 2 | F/+ | 1 |
| 5 | Team Ranking Predictive | 2 |
| 9 | The Power Rank (Ed Feng) | 2 |
| 3 | ESPN FPI | 2 |
So why is Alabama such a big favorite?
It's hard to deny there is a narrative behind the expected result. Ohio State has built a reputation as a team pickers can't depend on. The Buckeyes can claim just one bowl win since 2007.
For all the accomplishments and hype that have come with the Urban Meyer era, he has yet to capture a bowl win. The team was unable to participate in the postseason in his debut season and were upended by Clemson in last year's Orange Bowl.
Meyer, for his part, doesn't even feel like the Buckeyes are preparing for a bowl, though.
“It's completely different,” Meyer said (via Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch). “That is one of the negatives of it. You don't even think about the bowl. The Sugar Bowl is one of the great bowls in college football history and football playoffs (from the Bowl Championship Series days).
“So it will be interesting how that evolves over the years. … I love bowl games. (But) It's a playoff game.”
The Buckeyes will be hoping that a new approach to postseason preparation will yield new results. However, the oddsmakers seem less than confident that will be the case.
Can Cardale Jones Step Up Once Again?
The Ohio State quarterback situation in 2014 is a tale of resilience. As anyone who has access to TV or the Internet can tell you, the Buckeyes lost star quarterback Braxton Miller weeks before the season opener only to watch J.T. Barrett step up in his stead and become a Heisman contender.
Barrett was then lost for the season in the Michigan game. Backup Cardale Jones proceeded to take the helm in a 59-0 drubbing of Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship Game.
Essentially, the signal-caller went from "the guy that said 'we ain't come to play school'" to a legend in Columbus.
Urban Meyer even commented on how much the sophomore has matured via 11 Warriors:
The question is now whether he can do it against an Alabama defense that will have nearly a month to prepare for the Ohio State offense.
It's a question that no one really knows the answer to. Jones only had two pass attempts and 17 rushes in his first season as a Buckeye. This year, he only has 34 passes and 34 rushes to his credit. Nick Saban won't have much film to work with. That could mean that he's difficult to game-plan for or his conference title performance will prove to be a fluke.
If that's the case, the Buckeyes are going to have a difficult time pulling off the upset.
Who Will Have His Team More Prepared? Urban Meyer or Nick Saban?
Ask anyone who the best coaches in college football are, and you're likely to hear Nick Saban and Urban Meyer in quick succession. The two have each built impressive resumes as titans within the profession.
Once upon a time, the college football world was treated to an annual matchup against the two minds in the SEC.
The two now have the opportunity to meet once again on a grander stage. Meyer will be looking to even up the series at two each. He won the initial meeting when Florida beat Alabama 31-20 in the 2008 SEC Championship Game.
From there, Saban's squad dominated Florida in the 2009 conference title game 32-13. Saban's Alabama team blew out Meyer's Florida squad again in the 2010 regular season.
Saban will now look to make the last two lopsided results the norm in this coaching rivalry.
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