By BJ Bennett
SouthernPigskin.com

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In a 42-35 loss to Ohio State, Alabama allowed 537 total yards, 281 rushing yards and threw three interceptions.

Alabama football, in recent years, has developed into a clinic on the fundamentals. A focus on play in the trenches, ball security and consistency has defined the Crimson Tide and been the catalyst for their championship teams. Late Thursday night in the Sugar Bowl, those program stalwarts were surprisingly not on display. An atypical performance resulted in an atypical result.

In a 42-35 loss to Ohio State, Alabama allowed 537 total yards, 281 rushing yards and threw three interceptions.

Perhaps the signature play of the night, for the Buckeyes, was Ezekiel Elliott’s 85-yard touchdown scamper late in the fourth quarter. After quarterback Cardale Jones converted a critical 3rd-and-1 at Ohio State’s 14-yard line, Elliott burst through the line of scrimmage for the longest rushing play ever allowed during NIck Saban’s tenure with the Crimson Tide, giving the Buckeyes a 42-28 advantage following a two-point conversion.

Elliott rushed for a Sugar Bowl-record 230 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Per ESPN.com’s game research notes, Ohio State compiled eight runs inside the tackles that gained ten yards or more; Alabama had previously allowed only nine such plays all season. The Buckeyes scored twice on the ground after the Crimson Tide gave up just three rushing touchdowns in 13 games in 2014.

“I mean he’s obviously a very, very good player, and we didn’t do a very good job of executing what we needed to do to be able to control him in the game, and consequently he made lots of good plays,” head coach Nick Saban explained of Elliott.

Absolutely stellar for most of the year, quarterback Blake Sims tied a career-high with three interceptions. Though one was recorded on a final heave on the game’s last play, his second pick came at the Ohio State goaline and his first was returned 41 yards for a score. Sims’ 6.6 yards per pass attempt was his second-lowest total this season. The Georgia-native did compile three total touchdowns, but 35 points against the Buckeyes was not quite enough.

“Ohio State’s a great defense. They played with a lot of passion today. The way they played we didn’t have good looks here and there. And the things that didn’t happen good for the team, not good for the team, I take full responsibility for it, because it’s probably something that I could have done better to help my team win. And that’s all,” Sims stated.

From late in the second quarter to late in the third quarter, the Buckeyes outscored Alabama 28-0.

“We did not control the football game like we usually do and it wasn’t anything that they did differently. They had a good plan. They executed it well against us. And we gave up far too many big plays in the game,” Saban added. “When you give up big plays you don’t get off the field on third down, you’ve got lots of problems.”

Though they had their chance at the end, the Crimson Tide did not play traditional Alabama football. Ohio State will now meet Oregon for the College Football Playoff national championship.