The SEC and the Sugar Bowl go together like the ingredients to a Cajun gumbo.

The conference was is its infancy when New Orleans hosted its first Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1935. Since then, some of the most legendary players and coaches in college football history have made their mark on New Year’s Day (or close to it) in the Big Easy.

The SEC has participated in all but 10 of 83 Sugar Bowls (all except for 1939, ’42, ’46, ’48, ’72, ’95, ’98, ’99, 2000 and 2012) and will be there again for the 84th edition on Jan. 1, 2018, when Alabama takes on Clemson in a College Football Playoff semifinal.

The Crimson Tide will extend their event record with their 16th appearance, three ahead of LSU. But did you know that LSU was not the first Louisiana school to participate in the Sugar Bowl? We’ll start with that and revisit many other memories as we look at the SEC’s 10 greatest Sugar Bowl moments.

10. Green Wave rally kicks things off

Score: Tulane 20, Temple 14  ♦  Date: Jan. 1, 1935

Tulane was a founding member of the SEC in 1933 and left in 1965.

Why it’s memorable: The inaugural Sugar Bowl matched SEC co-champion Tulane in its home stadium against Eastern representative Temple.

In just the SEC’s second season after its members split off from the Southern Conference, the Green Wave shared the league title with Alabama (both were unbeaten but Tulane was 8-0 in the SEC while the Crimson Tide were 7-0). At 9-1, Tulane surely would have been ranked high, except the Associated Press poll was two years from inception.

This Sugar Bowl was of course historic for being first, but the game itself was a dandy too, as Tulane came from 14-0 down to defeat the Owls. The first two minutes of this video are sufficient to get a flavor of the occasion:

9. Tebow’s grand finale

Score: Florida 51, Cincinnati 24  ♦  Date: Jan. 1, 2010

Why it’s memorable: Tim Tebow’s final season at Florida didn’t end in a national championship as his freshman and junior seasons did, but the former Heisman Trophy winner sure ended his college career with a bang.

Tebow set Sugar Bowl records — all of which still stand — for total yards (533), passing yards (482, a career high), touchdowns responsible for (four) and consecutive completions (13).

He also tied the Sugar Bowl mark and set a career high with 31 completions, since broken by Oklahoma’s Trevor Knight with 32.

8. Auburn unbeaten but also uncrowned

Score: Auburn 16, Virginia Tech 13  ♦  Date: Jan. 3, 2005

Why it’s memorable: It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time not long ago when an SEC team could go unbeaten and not even get a chance at a national championship. That was exactly what happened to Auburn in the 2004 season.

The Tigers were ranked 17th in the preseason AP poll and slowly marched up the rankings on their way to a 12-0 regular season capped by a victory over Tennessee in the league title game. The problem was, USC started the season ranked No. 1 and Oklahoma started No. 2, and neither one ever lost a game. They stayed 1-2 the entire season and met in the BCS championship game while Auburn was left on the outside.

Jason Campbell was named game MVP as the Tigers had to settle for a No. 2 ranking and their first undefeated season since 1993.

7. Ole Miss perfection

Score: Mississippi 17, Arkansas 13  ♦  Date: Jan. 1, 1963

Why it’s memorable: With their victory in New Orleans, the Rebels capped a remarkable 39-3-1 four-year run with a 10-0 mark, the only unbeaten, untied season in school history to this day.

It’s no wonder John Vaught, the coach at that time, has Vaught-Hemingway Stadium partly named after him.

Ole Miss captured its fourth Sugar Bowl title in six years behind quarterback Glynn Griffin, who threw for one touchdown and ran for the other as the Rebels held off the Razorbacks.

Little-known fact: The Rebels are tied for second all-time with six Sugar Bowl victories, trailing only Alabama (eight).

6. Krauss helps Tide slam door

Score: Alabama 14, Penn State 7  ♦  Date: Jan. 1, 1979

Why it’s memorable: The Crimson Tide defense stuffed the top-ranked Nittany Lions to help Alabama coach Bear Bryant claim his fifth national championship.

No. 2-ranked Alabama took the lead 14-7 on Major Ogilvie’s third-quarter touchdown run. Penn State drove deep into Alabama territory in the fourth quarter but linebacker Barry Krauss, the game MVP, and friends stuffed the Nittany Lions on the goal line on fourth down.

There were 6 minutes left and PSU got the ball back late but couldn’t get close to scoring again, certainly not as close as the Nittany Lions had been when Bama denied them on one of college football’s most famous goal-line stands.

5. Tigers add final jewel to crown

Score: LSU 7, Clemson 0  ♦  Date: Jan. 1, 1959

Why it’s memorable: Back then, the final AP and coaches polls came out before the bowls, so a champion was already chosen and bowls were just exhibitions to reward the best teams (yeah, it just sounds weird, right?)

Anyway, LSU was declared the national champion for the first time after going undefeated in 1958. The famed “Chinese Bandits” defense and star junior Billy Cannon, who won the Heisman Trophy the following year, led the Tigers to glory that year and Cannon was named game MVP in New Orleans as LSU closed a legendary chapter with its fourth shutout of the season.

Side note: This is Clemson’s only Sugar Bowl appearance; its second, of course, will come in this season’s CFP.

4. LSU splits with half a title

Score: LSU 21, Oklahoma 14  ♦  Date: Jan. 4, 2004

Why it’s memorable: Under Nick Saban, the 2003 LSU Tigers went 12-1 and beat Georgia in the SEC title game to reach the Sugar Bowl, which doubled as the BCS National Championship.

Marcus Spears, now an SEC Network analyst, had a critical interception return for a touchdown against No. 1-ranked Oklahoma and Sugar Bowl MVP Justin Vincent rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown.

But at the time, the AP poll was still considered part of the national championship process and so LSU, named the coaches’ poll champion, had to share the honors with AP national champion USC — an example of the split national title scenario that the BCS was supposed to prevent.

3. Teague, Tide roll

Score: Alabama 34, Miami 13  ♦  Date: Jan. 1, 1993

Why it’s memorable: Perhaps two of the most famous defensive plays in Alabama history came in the same game courtesy of George Teague.

The inaugural Bowl Coalition championship game matched the top-ranked Hurricanes, the defending co-national champions, against the also unbeaten and No. 2 Crimson Tide.

Miami was an eight-point favorite and entered on a 29-game winning streak, but Alabama picked off Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta three times, including Teague’s 31-yard pick-six, which gave the Crimson Tide a 27-6 lead in the third quarter. The safety later stripped Miami receiver Lamar Thomas of the ball on a would-be touchdown reception, and though the play was called back because of an offsides penalty, the Hurricanes stalled on the drive.

By the time they scored again it was too late, and Gene Stallings owned his lone national title as Crimson Tide coach.

2. Herschel and the big prize

Score: Georgia 17, Notre Dame 10  ♦  Date: Jan. 1, 1981

Why it’s memorable: It’s Georgia’s first and to date only consensus national championship (of course the Bulldogs have another shot this year in the CFP semifinals, but they’re going to the Rose Bowl for that one).

Freshman sensation Herschel Walker carried the ball 36 times — still a Sugar Bowl record — for 150 yards and both of Georgia’s touchdowns.

Georgia had been ranked in the Top 5 of the final AP poll four times before this game but never ended the season on top until this bunch, led by Walker and legendary coach Vince Dooley, brought the big prize home to Athens with this victory.

1. Finally, Florida

Score: Florida 52, Florida State 20  ♦  Date: Jan. 2, 1997

Why it’s memorable: The Gators clinched their first national title in about as satisfying a fashion as any Florida fan could have dreamed.

UF spent a good chunk of the 1996 season ranked No. 1, but a 24-21 loss to No. 2 Florida State in the regular-season finale seemed likely to end national championship aspirations in Gainesville.

Then the Gators, now ranked No. 3, got a rematch with new No. 1 FSU in the Sugar Bowl under the Bowl Alliance. New Orleans found itself hosting a de facto national title game when No. 2 Arizona State fell to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl earlier in the day.

Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel threw for three touchdowns and also ran for a score against the Seminoles as coach Steve Spurrier’s Gators not only set a Sugar Bowl record for points scored, but won their first national title at last.