# 2022 Sugar Bowl (December)

The 2022 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2022, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 89th annual Sugar Bowl, the game featured Kansas State from the Big 12 Conference and Alabama from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game began at 11:00 a.m. CST and was aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by insurance company Allstate, the game was officially known as the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
This game was the final Sugar Bowl with its conference tie in of SEC vs Big 12 before the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams in 2024 (2025 Calendar year) and hosting the final four team playoff semifinal in 2023 (2024 Calendar year).
Due to National Football League (NFL) scheduling considerations, New Year's Day bowl games are rescheduled when January 1 falls on a Sunday. As the NFL's 18-week regular season resulted in Monday Night Football (which Sugar Bowl rightsholder ESPN is committed to broadcast) being played in Week 17 on January 2, the Sugar Bowl was moved to December 31 for the first time since its 1995 edition.

## Teams

Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured Alabama from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Big 12 Conference champion Kansas State. In the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, they were ranked fifth and ninth, respectively. This was the first meeting between the two programs.

### Alabama

Alabama entered the season as one of the favorites to win both the SEC and the national championship, however, after getting off to a 6–0 start, they fell to Tennessee on a last-second field goal and were defeated by LSU in overtime. The later loss cost Alabama the SEC West title. The Crimson Tide finished their regular season with a 10–2 record, 6–2 in SEC play.
As SEC champion, Georgia finished with the number-one seed in the final CFP rankings, and thus advanced to the national semifinals, Alabama was selected for the Sugar Bowl as the next-highest ranked SEC team. This was Alabama's 17th Sugar Bowl appearance, having a record of 9–7 in prior appearances.

### Kansas State

Kansas State began the season unranked, but after compiling a 7–2 conference record, they qualified for the Big 12 Championship Game, where they upset TCU, 31–28 in overtime. Kansas State had lost to TCU during the regular season, along with losses to Tulane and Texas. They defeated two ranked teams, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. As a result of winning a Power Five championship, the Wildcats earned an automatic bid to a New Years Six game. The Wildcats were invited to the Sugar Bowl, which, since the 2015 season, normally invites the Big 12 champion, notwithstanding CFP semifinal scheduling. This was Kansas State's first appearance in the Sugar Bowl. They enter the bowl with an overall 10–3 record.

## Game summary

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 5 Alabama | 7 | 14 | 21 | 3 | 45 |
| No. 9 Kansas State | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
at Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana
* Date: Saturday, December 31, 2022
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
* Game weather: n/a (game played indoors)
* Game attendance: 60,437
* Referee: Larry Smith
* TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), and Tom Luginbill (field analyst)
* Box score
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | Alabama | Kansas State |
| 1 | 6:17 | 11 | 38 | 4:45 | Kansas State | 41-yard field goal by Ty Zentner | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | 3:40 | 1 | 88 | 0:14 | Kansas State | Deuce Vaughn 88-yard touchdown run, Ty Zentner kick good | 0 | 10 |
| 1 | 0:32 | 6 | 69 | 2:46 | Alabama | Isaiah Bond 6-yard touchdown reception from Bryce Young, Will Reichard kick good | 7 | 10 |
| 2 | 11:33 | 6 | 63 | 3:09 | Alabama | Cameron Latu 1-yard touchdown reception from Bryce Young, Will Reichard kick good | 14 | 10 |
| 2 | 0:10 | 7 | 98 | 0:51 | Alabama | Jermaine Burton 12-yard touchdown reception from Bryce Young, Will Reichard kick good | 21 | 10 |
| 3 | 13:54 | 3 | 46 | 1:05 | Alabama | Ja'Corey Brooks 32-yard touchdown reception from Bryce Young, Will Reichard kick good | 28 | 10 |
| 3 | 13:00 | 1 | 17 | 0:08 | Alabama | Jase McClellan 17-yard touchdown run, Will Reichard kick good | 35 | 10 |
| 3 | 6:33 | 8 | 54 | 2:17 | Kansas State | 28-yard field goal by Ty Zentner | 35 | 13 |
| 3 | 0:00 | 3 | 51 | 1:32 | Alabama | Kobe Prentice 47-yard touchdown reception from Bryce Young, Will Reichard kick good | 42 | 13 |
| 4 | 11:00 | 6 | 19 | 2:31 | Alabama | 49-yard field goal by Will Reichard | 45 | 13 |
| 4 | 3:06 | 10 | 71 | 4:27 | Kansas State | Jordan Schippers 1-yard touchdown run, Ty Zentner kick good | 45 | 20 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 45 | 20 |

## Statistics

Team statistical comparison :
| Statistic | Alabama | Kansas State |
| First downs | 17 | 18 |
| First downs rushing | 8 | 5 |
| First downs passing | 9 | 12 |
| First downs penalty | 0 | 1 |
| Third down efficiency | 4–10 | 7–18 |
| Fourth down efficiency | 0–0 | 2–3 |
| Total plays–net yards | 55–496 | 74–401 |
| Rushing attempts–net yards | 33–175 | 39–191 |
| Yards per rush | 5.3 | 4.9 |
| Yards passing | 321 | 210 |
| Pass completions–attempts | 15–22 | 18–35 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Punt returns–total yards | 1–15 | 1–1 |
| Kickoff returns–total yards | 2–31 | 5–67 |
| Punts–average yardage | 5–38.4 | 5–42.0 |
| Fumbles–lost | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Penalties–yards | 5–45 | 6–40 |
| Time of possession | 24:56 | 35:04 |
Alabama statistics :
| Crimson Tide passing ||||||
| | C–A | Yds | TD–INT |
| Bryce Young | 15–21 | 321 | 5–0 |
| Jalen Milroe | 0–1 | 0 | 0–0 |
| Crimson Tide rushing ||||||
| | Car | Yds | TD |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | 15 | 76 | 0 |
| Jamarion Miller | 3 | 44 | 0 |
| Jase McClellan | 7 | 42 | 1 |
| Roydell Williams | 5 | 23 | 0 |
| Bryce Young | 3 | -10 | 0 |
| Crimson Tide receiving ||||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD |
| Jermaine Burton | 3 | 87 | 1 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | 2 | 66 | 0 |
| Cameron Latu | 5 | 54 | 1 |
| Ja'Corey Brooks | 2 | 51 | 1 |
| Kobe Prentice | 1 | 47 | 1 |
| Jase McClellan | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Isaiah Bond | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Kansas State statistics :
| Wildcats passing ||||||
| | C–A | Yds | TD–INT |
| Will Howard | 18–35 | 210 | 0–2 |
| Wildcats rushing ||||||
| | Car | Yds | TD |
| Deuce Vaughn | 22 | 133 | 1 |
| DJ Giddens | 9 | 67 | 0 |
| Adrian Martinez | 2 | 12 | 0 |
| Malik Knowles | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Jordan Schippers | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Team | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Will Howard | 3 | -23 | 0 |
| Wildcats receiving ||||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD |
| Ben Sinnott | 3 | 48 | 0 |
| DJ Giddens | 3 | 48 | 0 |
| Kade Warner | 5 | 48 | 0 |
| Phillip Brooks | 4 | 44 | 0 |
| Jadon Jackson | 2 | 16 | 0 |
| Malik Knowles | 1 | 6 | 0 |