1980 Sugar Bowl
      
The 1980 Sugar Bowl featured the second ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, and the sixth ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. Alabama defeated Arkansas, 24-9, winning their third national championship of the decade.[1]
Setting
Arkansas
The Razorbacks entered the game at 10-1, sharing the Southwest Conference title with Houston. Greg Kolenda was an All-American offensive tackle. Arkansas' defense gave up 9.8 points per game on the year, the sixth-best scoring defense.
Alabama
Alabama entered the game undefeated, and had won two national championships already in the decade. The Tide did have three close calls however, including a 3-0 win at LSU.
Game Summary
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 as Alabama led 14-3 at the end of the 1st quarter. In the second quarter, Alan McElroy kicked a 25-yard field goal giving the Crimson Tide a 17-3 advantage. In the third quarter, Kevin Scanlon threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Robert Farrell as the score became 17-9. In the fourth quarter, Steve Whitman scored on a 12-yard run as Alabama won by a 24-9 margin.
Major Ogilvie was named Sugar Bowl MVP. He also rushed for a touchdown in three consecutive Sugar Bowls.
| Scoring summary | 
| 
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | 
|---|
 
| Plays | Yards | TOP | UA | ARK |  
| 1 | 12:54 |  | 3 | 8 | ARK | 34-yard field goal by Ish Ordonez | 0 | 3 |  
| 1 | 6:37 |  | 82 | 7 | UA | Major Ogilvie 22-yard touchdown run, Alan McElroy kick good | 7 | 3 |  
| 1 | 3:48 |  | 22 | 4 | UA | Major Ogilvie 1-yard touchdown run, Alan McElroy kick good | 14 | 3 |  
| 2 | 0:25 |  |  |  | UA | 25-yard field goal by Alan McElroy | 17 | 3 |  
| 3 | 11:37 |  | 80 | 11 | ARK | Robert Farrell 3-yard touchdown reception from Kevin Scanlon, 2-point run no good | 17 | 9 |  
| 4 | 8:59 |  | 98 | 9 | UA | Steve Whitman 12-yard touchdown run, Alan McElroy kick good | 24 | 9 |  
| "TOP" = time of possession.  For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 24 | 9 |  | 
References
- ↑  "46th Annual Sugar Bowl Classic ~ January 1, 1980." Article. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
 
| | 1979–80 NCAA football bowl game season | 
|---|
 |  |  |  | 
 | 
| |  | 
|---|
 |  |  | 
Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game. | 
 |