Redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Knight and the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners defeated the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide, 45-31, in the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Knight had a career-high night throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns for the Sooners and was named the game’s most valuable player.
Sooners head coach Bob Stoops did not decide on who would start at quarterback until game time in which he gave Knight the nod.
Knight got off to a rough start in the game throwing an interception on the first offensive drive for Oklahoma after Alabama marched down the field in the first 1:49 of the game for a 75-yard touchdown.
It was the Sooners only turnover for the game.
Alabama senior quarterback A.J. McCarron threw an interception on the following play, which was the first of five for the Crimson Tide.
The Sooners answered back immediately with a one play drive for a 45-yard touchdown from Knight to Lacoltan Bester.
Jumping into the fourth quarter with 56 seconds left in regulation to drive down the field, the Crimson Tide had a chance to potentially tie or win the game trailing, 38-31.
The Sooners’ defense had different ideas.
McCarron was sacked by Eric Striker to force a fumble.
The fumble was recovered by Geneo Grissom on the Alabama 8-yard line and ran into the end zone for a Sooners’ touchdown to seal the win.
“As a team, we did not play well enough to win and Oklahoma really outplayed us,” said Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
Oklahoma and Alabama entered the game with a combined 61 bowl victories, which was the most between any two programs playing in a bowl game.
The Oklahoma football program now has 28 bowl victories and is third for all-time bowl wins behind Alabama (34 wins) and USC (32 wins).
The win also made Stoops the first coach to win the Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Rose Bowl games in the BCS era.
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