| Year Game Played: | 1980 |
| Game Name: | Sugar Bowl |
| Subheader: | 46th edition |
| Football Season: | 1979 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Alabama |
| Visitor Nickname: | Crimson Tide |
| Visitor School: | University of Alabama |
| Home Name Short: | Arkansas |
| Home Nickname: | Razorbacks |
| Home School: | University of Arkansas |
| Visitor Record: | 11–0 |
| Visitor Conference: | SEC |
| Home Record: | 10–1 |
| Home Conference: | SWC |
| Visitor Coach: | Bear Bryant |
| Home Coach: | Lou Holtz |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 2 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 1 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 6 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 7 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 6 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Stadium: | Louisiana Superdome |
| City: | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Mvp: | Major Ogilvie (Alabama RB) |
| Odds: | Alabama by 6½ to 10 points[1] |
| Referee: | Bill Jennings (Big 8) |
| Attendance: | 77,484 |
| Us Network: | ABC |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Keith Jackson and |
The 1980 Sugar Bowl was the 46th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1979–80 bowl game season, it matched the undefeated and second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the #6 Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southwest Conference (SWC). Favored Alabama won and gained their third national championship of the decade.[2]
See main article: 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season.
See main article: 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Alabama entered the game undefeated, and had won two national championships already in the decade, in 1973 and 1978. Three of their conference victories in 1979 were by close margins, including a 3–0 win at LSU.
See main article: 1979 Arkansas Razorbacks football team. Led by head coach Lou Holtz, the Razorbacks entered the game at 10–1, sharing the SWC title with 1979 Houston Cougars and the Texas Longhorns. Greg Kolenda was an offensive tackle and quarterback Kevin Scanlon was the Southwest Conference Player of the Year. The Hogs' defense gave up 9.8 points per game on the year, the sixth-best scoring defense in Division I.
The game kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. CST, televised by ABC, at the same time as the Cotton Bowl on CBS.[3]
Arkansas scored first in the first quarter, on a 34-yard Ish Ordonez field goal, to give the Razorbacks a 3–0 advantage. Alabama running back Major Ogilvie scored on touchdown runs of 22 and 1 yard and Alabama led 14–3 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Alan McElroy kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Crimson Tide, and they held a 17–3 advantage at halftime.
In the third quarter, Kevin Scanlon of Arkansas threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Robert Farrell and the score tightened to 17–9. In the fourth quarter, Steve Whitman scored on a 12-yard run as Alabama won by a 24–9 margin. Ogilvie was named Sugar Bowl MVP. He rushed for a touchdown in three consecutive Sugar Bowls, all Crimson Tide victories.
| Statistics | Alabama | Arkansas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 18 | 21 | |
| Rushing yards | 53–284 | 41–97 | |
| Passing yards | 70 | 245 | |
| Passing | 4–7–2 | 22–40–2 | |
| Total offense | 60–354 | 81–342 | |
| Punts–average | 8–36.2 | 7–36.2 | |
| Fumbles–lost | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 | |
| Penalties–yards | 7–61 | 1–15 |
Later in the day at the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was defeated For the first time since 1964, Alabama was voted to the top spot in It was the Tide's first perfect season since 1966.