The 1993

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

took place on January 1, 1993, in the

Louisiana Superdome The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. It was the final game of the 1992 college football season and served as the first

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

game selected by the

Bowl Coalition The College Football Bowl Coalition was formed through an agreement among Division I-A college football bowl games and conferences for the purpose of forcing a national championship game between the top two teams and to provide quality bowl game ...

, predecessor to the

Bowl Alliance The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games (specifically the Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta Bowls) for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship game and to provide quality bowl game match ...

and later the

Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including ...

. The game featured two unbeaten teams in the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

and the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

. Alabama would get the win over Miami, 34–13, to finish the season 13-0 and lay claim to the 12th national championship in program history.

Teams

Miami Hurricanes

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, out of the

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

conference, was led by

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

-winning quarterback

Gino Torretta Gino Louis Torretta (born August 10, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami, won the Heisman Trophy in 1992, and w ...

, and was playing for back-to-back undefeated seasons and consecutive National Championships.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

also entered the matchup undefeated, following their 28–21 victory over the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

in the inaugural SEC Championship Game.

Game summary

This was the inaugural season of the

, which was intended to ensure that the national championship would be decided on the field. Its formula worked perfectly, as it forced the first bowl matchup between the consensus #1 and #2 teams in the nation since the end of the 1987 season. As Big East champion, #1 Miami was not contractually obligated to a bowl. The Hurricanes were thus free to face #2 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, which the Crimson Tide hosted as SEC champion. Miami was heavily favored and came into the game on a 29-game winning streak; the Hurricanes hadn't lost since a 29–20 loss to Notre Dame in 1990. Alabama's defense held the Hurricanes to just 13 points, intercepting Torretta three times, en route to a consensus national championship. Alabama rushed for 267 yards—67 more yards than the Hurricanes had allowed all season. At one point, the Tide lined up all eleven players on the line of scrimmage. The confused Torretta was picked off by

George Teague George Theo Teague (born February 18, 1971) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. He played college football at the University of Ala ...

, who returned it for a touchdown. A legendary play in Alabama football lore, known as "The Strip", occurred when Miami wide receiver

Lamar Thomas Lamar Nathaniel Thomas (born February 12, 1970 in Ocala, Florida) is a former American football Wide Receiver and current Wide Receivers coach for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. College career Thomas played college football and college bas ...

caught a deep pass from Torretta and was sprinting for what seemed like an 89-yard touchdown. However, Teague caught Thomas from behind, stripped the ball from him, and started running the other way before being tackled. The play became famous following Thomas's pre-game comments regarding the SEC, the superiority of the Miami receiving corps, and the manhood of the Alabama defensive backs. While the play was negated by an Alabama offside penalty, it still ultimately prevented a Miami touchdown, as Miami would have simply declined the penalty had the strip not taken place. Torretta threw three interceptions after only throwing four in the entire season. It drew parallels to

Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the Hei ...

's five-interception performance in the

1987 Fiesta Bowl The 1987 Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game that served as the final game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Part of the 1986–87 bowl game season, the 1987 Fiesta Bowl also served as the National Championship Game, between ...

. Following the poor performance, some reporters began to question whether Torretta deserved the Heisman. The Crimson Tide's victory meant not only their 12th national championship but the first since legendary coach

Paul "Bear" Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of t ...

died in 1983 less than five weeks after coaching his last game. Alabama's coach

Gene Stallings Eugene Clifton Stallings Jr. (born March 2, 1935) is a retired American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University (1954–1956), where he was one of the "Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach at ...

was one of the

Junction Boys The Junction Boys were the "survivors" of Texas A&M Aggies football coach Bear Bryant's 10-day summer camp in Junction, Texas, beginning September 1, 1954. The ordeal became the subject of a 2001 book by Jim Dent, ''The Junction Boys'',

, the group of

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

players who endured Bryant's punishing 1954 summer camp.

Scoring summary

References

External links

Alabama vs. Miami George Teague's rundown of Lamar Thomas
via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{1992–93 NCAA Division I championships navbox

Sugar Bowl Alabama Crimson Tide football bowl games Miami Hurricanes football bowl games Bowl Coalition