2017 Sugar Bowl

The 2017 Sugar Bowl is a bowl game that was played on January 2, 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This 83rd Sugar Bowl was played between a team from the Big 12 Conference and the Southeastern Conference. It is one of the 2016–17 bowl games that concluded the 2016 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Allstate insurance company, the game is officially known as the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Teams

The two teams were selected by the College Football Playoff committee on December 4, 2016. The highest-ranked team from the SEC and the Big 12 were to be selected. However, the highest-ranked team from the SEC, Alabama, was selected in the semifinals of the playoff, so the second highest ranked SEC team went in their place. Auburn was the second highest ranked team at 14th in the playoff rankings, so they were selected for the Sugar Bowl. Oklahoma was the Big 12 champion and the conference's highest ranked at 7th, therefore sending the Sooners to the Sugar Bowl.

This was the second meeting between the two schools; the previous meeting was the 1972 Sugar Bowl, which saw the Sooners defeat the Tigers by a score of 40–22.

Auburn

After a disappointing 2015 season, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was considered to be at risk of losing his job if a similar season followed. The season started out poorly for the Tigers, as they started 1–2, with both losses coming to nationally-ranked teams. However, in week 4, the Tigers played rival LSU. LSU was #18 heading into the game, but it was Auburn that won 18–13. That started a six-game win streak that put the Tigers into the national Top 10. Towards the end of the season, injuries began to plague the Tigers, and they lost 2 of their final 3 games. However, losses by Tennessee and Florida sent the Tigers to the Sugar Bowl.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma made the playoff in the 2015 season, and many experts expected them to compete for another playoff berth. However, much like Auburn, the Sooners started 1–2, with both losses coming against nationally-ranked opponents. That start ended any hope of going back to the playoff. In the annual rivalry game against Texas, the Sooners won a close and hard-fought victory over the Longhorns, which started a turnaround and a nine-game win streak for the Sooners. Included in that win streak was a win against Oklahoma State which gave the Sooners the Big 12 championship and the Sugar Bowl berth.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	AUB	OKLA
1	9:04	14	75	5:56	AUB	Chandler Cox 3-yard touchdown run, Daniel Carlson kick good	7	0
2	11:24	14	90	6:39	OKLA	Mark Andrews 13-yard touchdown reception from Baker Mayfield, Austin Seibert kick good	7	7
2	7:16	12	43	4:08	AUB	49-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson	10	7
2	3:37	9	75	3:39	OKLA	Joe Mixon 3-yard touchdown run, Austin Seibert kick good	10	14
2	0:41	11	63	2:56	AUB	39-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson	13	14
3	12:39	6	75	2:21	OKLA	Dede Westbrook 7-yard touchdown reception from Baker Mayfield, Austin Seibert kick good	13	21
3	2:28	7	85	3:02	OKLA	Joe Mixon 4-yard touchdown run, Austin Seibert kick good	13	28
4	12:40	8	71	3:57	OKLA	Samaje Perine 2-yard touchdown run, Austin Seibert kick good	13	35
4	0:00	10	91	2:30	AUB	Jalen Harris 1-yard touchdown reception from Kerryon Johnson, no conversion attempted / kick none^β	19	35
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							19	35

^β NCAA rules state "the try shall not be attempted unless the point(s) would affect the outcome of the game."^[3]

Statistics

Statistics	Auburn	Oklahoma
First Downs	30	36
Plays-yards	73/339	71/524
Third down efficiency	5/15	5/10
Rushes-yards	185	228
Passing yards	154	296
Passing, Comp-Att-Int	13/27, 1 int.	19/28, 0 int.
Time of Possession	26:42	33:18

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Auburn	Passing	Sean White	4/10, 35 yards, 0 TD, 0 int., QB rating = 69.4
	Rushing	Kamryn Pettway	24/101 yards, 0 TD
	Receiving	Eli Stove	4/39 yards, 0 TD
Oklahoma	Passing	Baker Mayfield	19/28, 296 yards, 2 TD, 0 int., QB rating = 180.2
	Rushing	Joe Mixon	19/91 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Dede Westbrook	6/59 yards, 1 TD

References

^ "Sports Betting News and Vegas Odds". Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
^ http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=155858
^ http://newsok.com/article/3788492

[1] "Sports Betting News and Vegas Odds". Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2017.

[2] ttp://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=155858

[3] ttp://newsok.com/article/3788492

[3]

v t e 2016–17 NCAA football bowl game season
New Mexico (Dec. 17) Las Vegas (Dec. 17) Camellia (Dec. 17) Cure (Dec. 17) New Orleans (Dec. 17) Miami Beach (Dec. 19) Boca Raton (Dec. 20) Poinsettia (Dec. 21) Famous Idaho Potato (Dec. 22) Armed Forces (Dec. 23) Bahamas (Dec. 23) Dollar General (Dec. 23) Hawaii (Dec. 24) Quick Lane (Dec. 26) St. Petersburg (Dec. 26) Independence (Dec. 26) Heart of Dallas (Dec. 27) Military (Dec. 27) Cactus (Dec. 27) Holiday (Dec. 27) Russell Athletic (Dec. 28) Pinstripe (Dec. 28) Texas (Dec. 28) Foster Farms (Dec. 28) Alamo (Dec. 29) Birmingham (Dec. 29) Belk (Dec. 29) Orange (Dec. 30) Liberty (Dec. 30) Arizona (Dec. 30) Music City (Dec. 30) Sun (Dec. 30) TaxSlayer (Dec. 31) Citrus (Dec. 31) Outback (Jan. 2) Rose (Jan. 2) Sugar (Jan. 2) Cotton (Jan. 2)
College Football Playoff games: Peach (semifinal) (Dec. 31) Fiesta (semifinal) (Dec. 31) National Championship Game (Jan. 9)
All-Star Games: East–West Shrine Game (Jan. 21) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl (Jan. 21) Senior Bowl (Jan. 28)

v t e Sugar Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Tulane Stadium Georgia Dome Caesars Superdome College Football Playoff Southeastern Conference Big 12 Conference
Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 (Jan) 1972 (Dec) 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (Jan) 1995 (Dec) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (Jan) 2022 (Dec) 2024 2025
Notes	The 2006 game took place in Atlanta, Georgia due to Hurricane Katrina. The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. There was a Sugar Bowl in January and December in 1972, 1995 and 2022. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2024 editions.