The 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 75th annual edition of the annual college football

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

that is part of the 2008–09 bowl season of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS)

2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 28, 2008 and ended on D ...

. The game was played on Friday, January 2, 2009 at 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, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

between the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...

, champions of the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...

, and 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 me ...

, representing the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

. The Sugar Bowl usually takes the champion of the SEC and pits them against an At-Large BCS team. However, with the 2008 SEC Champion, Florida Gators being selected to play for the national championship game, the Sugar Bowl selected two At-Large BCS teams. The bowl kept their traditional ties with the Southeastern Conference for the second consecutive year though, in selecting the Alabama Crimson Tide with an at-large selection. In the 2009 edition of this bowl game, the No. 6 Utes pulled off an upset of the heavily favored No. 4 Crimson Tide by a score of 31–17. Utah quarterback

Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

was named Most Outstanding Player of the game. With this win, Utah completed the 2008 season as the only undefeated, 13–0

Division I FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

team in the nation, along with becoming the first team from a BCS non-AQ conference to win two BCS bowls. It was also Utah's first win over a Southeastern Conference school. Andre Smith (Alabama starting left tackle and 2008 Outland Trophy winner) was suspended for the game because he declined to cooperate with an investigation by the school's compliance staff on the issue with his uncle's illegal contact with a sports agent. A few days later, he declared himself for the NFL Draft and was the 6th overall pick.

Andre Smith (offensive tackle) Andre Dewayne Smith Jr. (born January 25, 1987) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Alabama, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was drafted by the Cincinn ...

Scoring summary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugar Bowl, 2009 2008–09 NCAA football bowl games 2009 2009 2009 2009 in sports in Louisiana 21st century in New Orleans January 2009 sports events in the United States