Alabama's season ends in Sugar Bowl thud

NEW ORLEANS — A football game can’t be won in the first quarter, but it can be lost in the opening minutes.

As the Sugar Bowl celebrated its 75th anniversary Friday night, Alabama didn’t turn back the clock far enough. The Tide played like its recent .500 teams early in the game.

Alabama could not rally from an early 21-0 deficit and lost, 31-17, in the Louisiana Superdome.

Of course, Utah won the game as much as Alabama lost it. The Utes finished 13-0, extending the nation’s longest win streak to 14 games and the longest current bowl win streak to eight.

“This means the world,” Utah captain and linebacker Stevenson Sylvester said. “We’re the third 13-0 team in history. Alabama gave us a good game. There’s no other way to celebrate the end of this year. I love it. I love this team. I’m happy for our seniors to go out like this.”

The Utes scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. Senior quarterback Brian Johnson was razor sharp and didn’t need any help. He got it anyway as the Alabama defense missed a couple tackles, looked a step slow and gave up big plays that created a 21-0 deficit.

“We didn’t tackle. Missed tackles in the secondary hurt us badly,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We had missed tackles on consecutive big plays that led to a touchdown when they went up 28-17.”

“I think that was the difference in the game tonight,” All-American safety Rashad Johnson said about the missed tackles. “We did it at practice everyday. I don’t know why it didn’t carry over to the game tonight.”

The Alabama offense looked out of sync without Outland Trophy winner Andre Smith at left tackle. Smith was suspended for the game.

Senior quarterback John Parker Wilson paid the price. He was sacked eight times for 53 yards. He fumbled on the seventh sack and Utah recovered on the Alabama 42 with 5:46 remaining, setting up a final field goal and clinching the outcome.

Left guard Mike Johnson, who started a left tackle, limped off the field with a gimpy right ankle. Alabama moved Drew Davis from right tackle to left tackle and brought in freshman John David Boswell at right tackle.

“We lost two of our best three offensive linemen in this game,” Saban said. “That’s been the trademark of our team — our front. We could not run the football against them. We had a tough time blocking the edges.”

In the first half, Wilson was intercepted on Alabama’s second possession, sacked four times and was pressured several more.

“We just didn’t get it done,” senior center Antoine Caldwell said. “For whatever reason, we made some key mistakes at key times and you just can’t do that.”

Utah’s Johnson was 5-for-5 on a five-play, 68-yard drive that gave the Utes a 7-0 lead.

Touted defensive end Paul Kruger hit Wilson as he delivered on the next possession. The ball sailed and Utah’s Robert Johnson picked it off and returned it 7 yards to the Alabama 32. Five plays later, running back Matt Asiata took a direct snap, faked a handoff and charged up the middle for 2 yards and a touchdown.

Johnson then led the Utes on a seven-play, 65-yard drive that ended with an 18-yard pass to Bradon Godfrey. The pass was intentionally underthrown. Godfrey, covered tightly by Mark Barron, came back to the ball, then lurched into the end zone for a 21-0 lead.

“It was tough to start off 21-0, but we in no way panicked,” said Wilson, who finished 18-for-30 for 177 yards and two interceptions. “It was the first quarter. We didn’t change anything up.”

Alabama fought back into the game — and seemed to adjust to its speed — in the second quarter.

Leigh Tiffin hit a 52-yard field goal on the first play of the second period. But the big boost came from another special teams star.

Javier Arenas set a Sugar Bowl record with a 73-yard punt return, during which three Utes touched him. It was his third punt return of the season and sixth of his career.

That was crucial for Alabama, but not as key as shutting out Utah in the second quarter.

The defense started the second half with a big play. On the opening series, freshman linebacker Dont’a Hightower stripped Johnson of the ball and Bobby Greenwood recovered at the Utah 30.

Alabama converted a third down when Coffee picked up four yards on third-and-3. Wilson ended the march with a 4-yard touchdown pass, rolling to his right and hitting Coffee in the right flat that cut the lead to 21-17.

“I was really proud of the way our players fought back in the game,” Saban said.

But the Utes answered. Johnson took them on another long, but fast, scoring march. A 33-yard catch to Freddie Brown that included missed tackles by Kareem Jackson and Rashad Johnson put the ball on the Alabama 38. On third-and-10 from there, he found Godfrey for 10 yards and another first down.

The touchdown came on another third-and-long pass, to David Reed. Jackson gambled on an interception, missed, and Reed cruised to the end zone to make it 28-17.

Tiffin missed a 49-yard field goal and Alabama trailed by 11 into the fourth quarter.

“Their quarterback sort of picked us apart in the secondary,” Saban said. “He was great. We didn’t match up with them good enough in the secondary. ...

“It was a difficult matchup for us, four and five receivers in the game. We tried to keep it too simple early and didn’t create a lot of pass rush.”