The 2009 Sugar Bowl will feature No. 4 Alabama, from the Southeastern Conference, and No. 6 Utah, from the Mountain West Conference. This year's sold out game will be played on Friday, Jan. 2. The game will be televised live by Fox Sports beginning at 7 p.m. EST from the Louisiana Superdome. It is the first time since 1988 (Auburn vs. Syracuse) that the Sugar Bowl has featured two top-six teams in a non-championship contest.

"For the 75th anniversary of the Sugar Bowl, we were hoping to have two great teams and with No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Utah, we have one of the highest ranked match-ups in a non-championship game in the Allstate Sugar Bowl's history," Sugar Bowl Chief Executive Officer Paul Hoolahan said. "Both of these programs have electrifying star players and outstanding coaches who have proven themselves on the field all season long. We cannot wait to welcome them to town and witness the match-up in this year's Allstate Sugar Bowl."

Alabama is led by a tremendous defense which has allowed just 256.9 yards (third in the nation) and 13.0 points (sixth in the nation) per game. Sophomore linebacker Rolando McClain leads the team and ranks sixth in the SEC with 91 tackles while senior safety Rashad Johnson has 82 tackles and a team-best five interceptions. Offensively, senior quarterback John Parker Wilson, who has started the last 39 games for the Crimson Tide, has thrown for over 2,000 yards this year with nine touchdowns and just six interceptions. Junior running back Glen Coffee has rolled to 1,347 yards on the ground, the 11th highest total in the nation. Wide receiver Julio Jones is one of the top freshmen in the nation and leads the Crimson Tide with 51 catches for 847 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Javier Arenas ranks second in the SEC and 13th in the nation with 14.4 yards per punt return.

Utah also has a formidable defense, having allowed just 17.3 points (12th in the nation) and 295.9 yards (18th in the nation) per game, while the Ute offense also ranks highly, averaging 37.4 points per game, No. 15 in the country. Leading the way for the Utes is senior quarterback Brian Johnson, a finalist for the Manning Award who has thrown for over 2,600 yards and 24 touchdowns with nine interceptions. Senior Darrell Mack and junior Matt Asiata have combined to rush for over 1,200 yards and 14 carries while senior receiver Freddie Brown has 65 receptions for 775 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, sophomore defensive end Paul Kruger has 56 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss. Senior Brice McCain and junior Sean Smith (five interceptions) are both all-conference cornerbacks, while junior linebacker Mike Wright leads the team with 74 tackles. Punter/kicker Louie Sakoda is a finalist for both the Ray Guy Award and the Lou Groza Award, just the second time that a player has been a finalist for both the national punter and kicker awards. (more)

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Personal Note - for my Alma Mater (Utah) this will be the biggest game in which they have ever played. They went undefeated in '04 and had the BCS been fair to them, they would have been matched against undefeated Auburn in the #2 BCS game ... instead, they went to the Fiesta Bowl where they played Pitt, who they thrashed 35-7

If you have no vested interest in Alabama, consider being a Ute fan for the day ... they are an exciting and innovative team, but are underdogs against the powerful Crimson Tide ...