2018 Orange Bowl

The 2018 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on Saturday, December 29, 2018, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.^[4] The 85th edition of the Orange Bowl was one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games, the game featured two of the four teams selected by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee—Alabama from the SEC, and Oklahoma from the Big 12 Conference. Alabama took off with a 28-0 lead in the early 2nd quarter and never looked backed to win 45-34. They advanced to face the winner of the Cotton Bowl (Clemson) in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. It was one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Capital One Financial Corporation, the game was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl.

2018 Capital One Orange Bowl
College Football Playoff Semifinal 85th Orange Bowl
Oklahoma Sooners Alabama Crimson Tide (12–1) (13–0) Big 12 SEC 34 45 Head coach:  Lincoln Riley Head coach:  Nick Saban AP Coaches CFP 4 4 4 AP Coaches CFP 1 1 1
1 2 3 4 Total Oklahoma 0 10 10 14 34 Alabama 21 10 0 14 45
Date	December 29, 2018
Season	2018
Stadium	Hard Rock Stadium
Location	Miami Gardens, Florida
MVP	Tua Tagovailoa (QB, Alabama) Xavier McKinney (S, Alabama)[1]
Favorite	Alabama by 14½ (80½)
National anthem	Nicole Henry
Referee	Duane Heydt (ACC)
Attendance	66,203[2]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN and ESPN Radio
Announcers	Chris Fowler (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Maria Taylor and Laura Rutledge (sideline) (ESPN) Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay (ESPN Radio)
Nielsen ratings	10.4 (19 million viewers)[3]
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes Radio
Announcers	Kenneth Garay Sebastian Martinez-Christensen
Orange Bowl  < 2017  2019 >  1 vs. 4 Seed CFP Semifinal Game  < 2018 Sugar 2019 Peach >

Teams

The game featured top-ranked Alabama of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) against fourth-ranked Oklahoma of the Big 12 Conference.^[5] The programs had previously met five times, with Oklahoma leading the series, 3–1–1.^[5] They first met in the 1963 Orange Bowl, won by Alabama, 17–0.^[6] Their most recent meeting was in the 2014 Sugar Bowl, a 45–31 Oklahoma victory.^[5]

Alabama Crimson Tide

Main article: 2018 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Alabama defeated Georgia in the 2018 SEC Championship Game on December 1, then received their bid to the Orange Bowl with the release of final CFP rankings on December 2.^[5] The Crimson Tide entered the bowl with a 13–0 record (8–0 in conference). On December 25, it was announced that three Alabama players, including starting offensive lineman Deonte Brown, would not play in the game due to an unspecified violation of team rules.^[7]

Oklahoma Sooners

Main article: 2018 Oklahoma Sooners football team

Oklahoma defeated Texas in the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game on December 1, then received their bid to the Orange Bowl with the release of final CFP rankings on December 2.^[5] The Sooners entered the bowl with a 12–1 record (8–1 in conference); their only loss was to Texas, by a score of 45–48 in the 113th Red River Showdown on October 6.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP OKLA BAMA 1 11:54 7 75 3:06 BAMA Damien Harris 1-yard touchdown run, Joseph Bulovas kick good 0 7 1 5:54 8 55 3:57 BAMA Henry Ruggs III 10-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Joseph Bulovas kick good 0 14 1 1:33 5 61 2:35 BAMA Damien Harris 1-yard touchdown run, Joseph Bulovas kick good 0 21 2 13:01 5 48 2:04 BAMA Josh Jacobs 27-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Joseph Bulovas kick good 0 28 2 11:48 4 75 1:13 OKLA Trey Sermon 2-yard touchdown run, Austin Seibert kick good 7 28 2 7:30 10 41 3:14 OKLA 26-yard field goal by Austin Seibert 10 28 2 0:25 12 55 7:05 BAMA 38-yard field goal by Joseph Bulovas 10 31 3 9:42 14 66 5:18 OKLA 26-yard field goal by Austin Seibert 13 31 3 3:03 6 75 2:03 OKLA Charleston Rambo 49-yard touchdown reception from Kyler Murray, Austin Seibert kick good 20 31 4 13:08 9 75 4:55 BAMA DeVonta Smith 10-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Joseph Bulovas kick good 20 38 4 8:31 14 80 4:37 OKLA CeeDee Lamb 10-yard touchdown reception from Kyler Murray, Austin Seibert kick good 27 38 4 6:08 5 46 2:23 BAMA Jerry Jeudy 13-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Joseph Bulovas kick good 27 45 4 4:23 6 74 1:45 OKLA Kyler Murray 8-yard touchdown run, Austin Seibert kick good 34 45 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 34 45

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Sooners	0	10	10	14	34
No. 1 Crimson Tide	21	10	0	14	45

Statistics	OKLA	BAMA
First downs	26	28
Plays–yards	69–471	70–528
Rushes–yards	32–163	42–200
Passing yards	308	328
Passing: comp–att–int	19–37–0	25–28–0
Time of possession	23:52	36:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma	Passing	Kyler Murray	19/37, 308 yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Kyler Murray	17 car, 109 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	CeeDee Lamb	8 rec, 109 yds, 1 TD
Alabama	Passing	Tua Tagovailoa	24/27, 318 yds, 4 TD
	Rushing	Josh Jacobs	15 car, 98 yds
	Receiving	DeVonta Smith	6 rec, 104 yds, 1 TD