1999 Sugar Bowl

The 1999 Sugar Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on January 1, 1999. It was the 65th edition of the Sugar Bowl and featured the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Texas A&M Aggies. Ohio State entered the game ranked number 4 in the BCS at 10–1, whereas Texas A&M entered the game at 11–2, and ranked number 6 in the BCS. Sponsored by Nokia, the game was officially known as the Nokia Sugar Bowl.

1999 Nokia Sugar Bowl
BCS Bowl Game 65th Sugar Bowl
Texas A&M Aggies Ohio State Buckeyes (11–2) (10–1) Big 12 Big Ten 14 24 Head coach:  R.C. Slocum Head coach:  John Cooper AP Coaches BCS 8 9 6 AP Coaches BCS 3 3 4
1 2 3 4 Total Texas A&M 7 0 7 0 14 Ohio State 21 3 0 0 24
Date	January 1, 1999
Season	1998
Stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	David Boston (WR, Ohio State)
Favorite	Ohio State by 12 points (49.5)
Referee	Al Ford (SEC)
Attendance	76,503
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Brent Musburger, Dan Fouts and Jack Arute
Nielsen ratings	11.5

Teams

The Sugar Bowl during the BCS era usually selected the SEC champion, however the winner of the SEC, Tennessee was selected to play in the Fiesta Bowl for the national title. The next-highest ranked SEC team, Florida was selected to play in Orange Bowl instead, leaving no SEC representatives for the Sugar Bowl. As a result, Big 12 champion Texas A&M and Big Ten co-champion Ohio State were selected.

Texas A&M Aggies

Main article: 1998 Texas A&M Aggies football team

Texas A&M defeated Kansas State in the 1998 Big 12 Championship Game to earn a BCS berth as their conference's champion. Texas A&M entered the bowl with an 11–2 record (7–1 in conference).

Ohio State Buckeyes

Main article: 1998 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Ohio State ended up in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten with Michigan and Wisconsin. At the time, the Big Ten awarded the Rose Bowl invitation to the tied team which had gone the longest period of time without an invitation: Michigan had been in the 1998 Rose Bowl, Ohio State had been in the 1997 Rose Bowl, while Wisconsin had last been in the 1994 Rose Bowl, meaning the Badgers would get the invitation. Ohio State entered the bowl with a 10–1 record (7–1 in conference).

Game summary

Texas A&M scored first on a 9-yard touchdown run by Dante Hall to open the game 7–0. Joe Germaine threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Germany to tie the game at 7–7. Later in the quarter, running back Joe Montgomery rushed 10 yards for a touchdown, and Ohio State opened up a 14–7 lead.

Derek Ross blocked an A&M punt, that Kevin Griffin returned 16 yards for a touchdown. Ohio State led 21–7 after the first quarter. Ohio State kicked a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter to open up a 24–7 halftime lead. Texas A&M closed to 24–14 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Branndon Stewart to Leroy Hodge. Ohio State's defense was stout throughout the contest, and they held on to win, 24–14.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP A&M OSU 1 10:53 6 59 2:26 A&M Dante Hall 9-yard touchdown run, Russell Bynum kick good 7 0 1 8:34 8 71 2:19 OSU Reggie Germany 18-yard touchdown reception from Joe Germaine, Dan Stultz kick good 7 7 1 4:10 6 71 2:41 OSU Joe Montgomery 10-yard touchdown run, Dan Stultz kick good 7 14 1 1:59 1 16 0:10 OSU Kevin Griffin 16 yd blocked punt return, Dan Stultz kick good 7 21 2 0:16 9 40 1:45 OSU 31-yard field goal by Dan Stultz 7 24 3 5:24 11 68 3:32 A&M Leroy Hodge 7-yard touchdown reception from Branndon Stewart, Russell Bynum kick good 14 24 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 24

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Aggies	7	0	7	0	14
No. 4 Buckeyes	21	3	0	0	24

Statistics	A&M	OSU
First downs	17	25
Plays–yards	66–283	80–432
Rushes–yards	27–96	42–210
Passing yards	187	222
Passing: comp–att–int	22–39–0	21–38–0
Time of possession	28:18	31:42

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas A&M	Passing	Branndon Stewart	22/39, 187 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Ja'Mar Toombs	10 car, 62 yds
	Receiving	Chris Taylor	5 rec, 52 yds
Ohio State	Passing	Joe Germaine	21/38, 222 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Joe Montgomery	9 car, 96 yds
	Receiving	David Boston	11 rec, 105 yds