Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 2, 1993 TAG: 9301020115
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Medium
TIDE TURNS ON 'CANES 34-13
Alabama recaptured the glory of the Bear Bryant era Friday night by winning the national championship and depriving Miami of its fifth title in a decade of dominance.The Crimson Tide defense humbled the No. 1-ranked Hurricanes 34-13 in the Sugar Bowl, giving No. 2 Alabama its first championship in 13 years.
Alabama officially will be crowned college football's champion today when The Associated Press poll is released.
Miami was trying to become the first back-to-back champion since Alabama in 1978-79 under Paul "Bear" Bryant, and the first school to win five titles in 10 years.
However, the Tide controlled the showdown between the last two unbeaten, untied teams in the country, helping Alabama capture its sixth national title and snapping Miami's 29-game winning streak.
"We had a great game plan for the the Miami offense," Alabama linebacker Antonio London said, "They talked a lot of noise all week long. They was talking a lot of trash, [but] they couldn't get it done."
The Tide's top-rated defense, inspired by a screaming, Crimson-clad crowd of 76,789 in the Superdome, broke the game open by intercepting Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta on Miami's first two plays of the second half and scoring two touchdowns in a 16-second span.
After Tommy Johnson's interception led to a 1-yard TD run by Derrick Lassic, George Teague picked off another Torretta pass and returned it 31 yards to put the Tide ahead 27-6 - Miami's biggest deficit since a 35-7 loss to Tennessee in the 1986 Sugar Bowl.
"I've been dreaming about one of those for about four years now," Teague said of the interception return for a touchdown. "Gino just happened to throw it right to me."
Miami pulled to 27-13 on a Sugar Bowl-record 78-yard punt return by Kevin Williams with 12:08 left in the game. However, the Hurricanes could score no more points against a stifling Alabama defense, and the Tide padded its cushion with a 4-yard touchdown run by Lassic.
The victory extended Alabama's winning streak to 23 games and made the Tide only the third Division I-A team to go 13-0 and win the national championship. The others were Nebraska in 1971 and Brigham Young in 1984.
It was a particularly rewarding win for Alabama coach Gene Stallings, who played for Bryant at Texas A&M and worked for him as an assistant at Alabama. Stallings is one of "Bear's boys," a group of Bryant disciples who have carried on his tradition of hard-nosed defense and simple, straight-ahead offense - a formula that helped Bryant win five national titles in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lassic, the Sugar Bowl most valuable player, provided the offensive punch. He rushed 28 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns against a Miami defense that was giving up only 121 yards rushing and 11.5 points per game.
The Alabama defense did its part by intercepting Torretta three times and limiting the Hurricanes to a pair of field goals and Williams' punt return. Torretta, who suffered only his second loss in 28 games as a starter, completed 24 of 56 passes for 278 yards but did not throw a TD pass for only the third time this season.
In the closing minutes, Alabama fans shouted "We're No. 1!" and "Roll Tide!" then stormed the field to celebrate. A group of Tide players dumped a bucket of water on Stallings, and even the stoic coach had to smile.
Alabama quarterback Jay Barker passed for only 18 yards, but the Tide didn't need a passing attack because it outrushed Miami 267 yards to 48.
It was the fifth straight time the No. 2 team beat the No. 1 team in a bowl matchup, giving No. 2 a 5-4 lead overall.
The Tide, an eight-point underdog, rolled to a 13-6 halftime lead behind its powerful ground game and dominating defense. Alabama outrushed Miami 152-6 and limited the Hurricanes to two field goals by Dane Prewitt.
Alabama took a 3-0 lead on Michael Proctor's 19-yard field goal with 10:56 left in the first quarter. Miami tied it later in the quarter on a career-best 49-yard field goal by Prewitt.
The next three possessions ended with turnovers. Miami stopped Alabama when Casey Greer and Ryan McNeil picked off passes by Barker, who had more interceptions than completions at that point. The Tide halted the Hurricanes when Tommy Johnson stripped the ball from Lamar Thomas and the ball was recovered by Willie Gaston.
The Tide went ahead 6-3 on Proctor's 23-yard field goal with 10:48 remaining in the half.
Lassic was grabbed by the face mask as he ran 10 yards to the Miami 1, but he was penalized for taunting Miami by spinning the ball on the ground after the play. The flag brought the ball back to the Miami 15, and Alabama was forced to settle for the field goal.
A 33-yard interception return by Sam Shade set up an Alabama touchdown that put the Tide ahead 13-3, Miami's largest deficit since 1990. Five plays after Shade's theft, Sherman Williams ran over from the 2 for the touchdown.