Alabama football vs. Clemson and Georgia vs. Oklahoma were markedly different college football battles. The Rose Bowl was a bonanza of explosive plays as gaudy as its setting. The Sugar Bowl was more like hand-to-hand combat between infantrymen.
For college football fans who value teams for offensive potency, the Rose Bowl was a beauty. To those same fans, the Sugar Bowl was ugly, almost plodding. But to the few remaining college football fans who revere defense over games where the last team with the ball wins, the Sugar Bowl was far from ugly.
Searching for non-football descriptions, the Rose Bowl was a dance contest while the Sugar Bowl was a street fight.