The 1975 Alabama squad finished the regular season as SEC champions with a record of 10–1. The only defeat was a 20–7 loss to the Missouri Tigers in week one. On November 17, bowl officials announced that Alabama would face Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.[1] The appearance marked the seventh for Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and their 29th overall bowl appearance.
The 1975 Penn State squad finished the regular season with a record of 9–2. Their only defeats were a 17–9 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in week three and a 15–14 loss to the NC State Wolfpack in week ten. On November 17, bowl officials announced that Penn State would face Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.[1] The invitation for Penn State was controversial as Alabama's Bryant personally selected Penn State as their opponent instead of a higher ranked team from the Big 8 or Big 10.[2] The appearance marked the second for Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, and their 14th overall bowl appearance.
After Penn State's Chris Bahr missed a 62-yard field goal, Alabama scored on a 25-yard Danny Ridgeway field goal to take a 3–0 lead.[3] After a scoreless second quarter, Penn State tied the game at 3–3 on a 42-yard Bahr field goal in the third.[3] Bama responded on the following drive with the lone touchdown of the game on a 14-yard Mike Stock run to take a 10–3 lead.[3][4] After cutting the lead to 10–6 on a 37-yard Bahr field goal, the Crimson Tide responded with an extended drive resulting in a 28-yard Ridgeway field goal in bringing the final score to 13–6.[3][4] For his 210 yards passing after completing ten of twelve pass attempts, Alabama quarterbackRichard Todd was named the games Most Valuable Player.[3]
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