NEW ORLEANS — Traditional national and Southeastern Conference power Alabama and newly crowned Big 12 champion Kansas State will meet for the first time when they square off on the last day of the year.
Alabama (10-2) is headed to the Sugar Bowl for the 17th time after narrowly missing out on the four-team College Football Playoff because of losses at Tennessee and LSU on the last play of each game. The Crimson Tide were fifth in the CFP selection committee's final rankings Sunday.
"We had opportunities in both of those games but weren't able to take advantage of it. I think our team learned a lot, you know, from that," said coach Nick Saban, who has led the program to six national championships since taking over in 2007 and lost last season's CFP final to Georgia. "We played well as a team in the last three games. So hopefully we can continue to build on that."
Kansas State (10-3, No. 9 CFP), by handing No. 3 TCU its first loss of the season in overtime of Saturday's Big 12 title game in the Dallas area, might have helped Alabama's chances for a playoff berth — even though Wildcats coach Chris Klieman after the game said he believed the Horned Frogs should be one of the chosen four.
They were in the end, with TCU (12-1) facing No. 2 Michigan (13-0), the Big Ten champ, in the Fiesta Bowl national semifinal at 4 p.m. on Dec. 31. The other CFP matchup has No. 1 Georgia (13-0), the SEC winner, against No. 4 Ohio State (11-1) at 8 p.m. in the Peach Bowl.
As for Klieman's Cats, they're headed to the Big Easy for New Year's Eve, with the Sugar Bowl set to kick off at noon eastern. It's the first time the program has appeared in this bowl.
"I don't think a lot of people thought that K-State would be in that Big 12 championship game, let alone win it," Klieman said Sunday. "We're looking forward to coming to New Orleans. I know our guys, when they saw Alabama come up (as the Sugar Bowl opponent), they were excited about getting a chance to play one of the traditional powers for decades in college football. Especially in the time that Coach Saban has been there."
Alabama has played in 75 postseason games overall and is 9-7 at the Sugar Bowl, and this edition could be the final college game for quarterback and 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, if he plays at all. Young is eligible for the 2023 NFL draft and might even be the top player selected after passing for 3,007 yards and 27 touchdowns this seson for the Tide.
Like Young, Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. also is expected to enter the draft, putting his playing status in doubt. Saban said he wasn't sure whether Young and Anderson would suit up in New Orleans or skip the game to prepare for the draft.
"They participated in the workouts that we had last week," Saban said. "We'll get an opportunity to talk to them at some point in time this week.
"This is still a tremendous opportunity to play against a really, really good team. And we have a lot to prove as a team in terms of who we are and what's the legacy of this team, how are we going to be remembered. So it's each guy's choice as to what they do. We — and they — have a lot of choices now."
Alabama has played in the Sugar Bowl four times since the 2008 season, losing all three when the game was not part of the national championship structure. The Tide beat Ohio State in a CFP semifinal at the end of the 2017 season before a national title victory over Georgia in Atlanta.