Alabama winds up on the wrong end of history on Deuce Vaughn touchdown run in Sugar Bowl

Deuce Vaughn is one of the more dynamic players in college football, and he showed that in the first quarter of Saturday’s Sugar Bowl against Alabama. The Kansas State running back took a hand-off 88 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 10-0 lead — and he put the Crimson Tide on the wrong end of history in the process.

Vaughn’s touchdown run was the longest Alabama has allowed in the last 20 seasons, according to ESPN Stats and Info. It was part of an impressive first quarter for Vaughn, who had 105 total yards in the first 15 minutes.

After his touchdown, though, the Crimson Tide answered back right away. Bryce Young found Isaiah Bond for a six-yard touchdown to make it a 10-7 K-State lead after Jahmyr Gibbs put Alabama deep in Wildcats territory with a 60-yard reception.

Nick Saban confident in Alabama preparation for Kansas State in Sugar Bowl

Alabama plays a non-College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl against Kansas State Saturday, but that did not change the preparation, according to Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide head coach was confident in his team’s ability to practice throughout the last month, considering the last time Alabama took the field was the Iron Bowl victory over Auburn.

Alabama missed out on the SEC Championship Game due to a head-to-head loss to LSU and eventually missed out on the playoff with two total losses. However, the Sugar Bowl is no ordinary consolation prize.

Saban made it clear that his team had to have its head on a swivel against a hungry Wildcats team.

“Well, I think they have practiced well,” Saban said on College GameDay. “I think they’ve done a really good job of staying focused on the things they need to do to prepare for a game. But you know, when you play these 11 o’clock games, you know, you got to get your mind right. When your feet hit the ground in the morning, you got to be ready to go. So that’s going to be important for us as well.”