Rece Davis, Pete Thamel pick Alabama over Oklahoma

In one of the biggest games of the college football season so far, No. 4 Alabama and No. 11 Oklahoma will clash in Tuscaloosa Saturday afternoon. The matchup holds monstrous College Football Playoff implications, as Oklahoma could all but wrap up a berth if it can knock off the Crimson Tide on the road. As for Alabama, a win over the Sooners would mark its fifth against a ranked conference opponent this season.

While this is the first Alabama/Oklahoma conference matchup in Tuscaloosa, it isn’t the first Alabama/Oklahoma matchup in Tuscaloosa. Back in 2003, the Sooners knocked off the Tide 20-13 on the road thanks to eventual Heisman Trophy winner Jason White‘s 259 passing yards and two scores.

Ahead of the matchup, ESPN‘s Rece Davis and Pete Thamel gave their predictions on the latest edition of the ‘College GameDay Podcast‘. The duo agreed on Alabama taking down Oklahoma this Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

“I like the Tide here,” Thamel said. “They probably don’t get enough credit for how low they were after week one. I just remember the shock and awe coming out of Tallahassee. Their ability to build and grow and find an identity… I give (Offensive Coordinator Ryan) Grubb a lot of credit. He’s done an excellent job.

“I think they will push on here and handle the Sooners. It is interesting that (John) Mateer is getting healthy now. He’s running more, but I do think they’re hesitant to run him because they want to watch the hand. The hand is hard to protect. But I think it’ll be kind of a wild, fun game. Maybe a little high scoring. But I like the Tide.”

Since Mateer returned from his hand injury in the ‘Red River Rivalry’ game against Texas, he boasts 734 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, four interceptions, 116 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown in four games.

“I think it’s going to be relatively low-scoring,” Davis responded. “I thought (Greg) McElroy might have been a little aggressive. He thinks it might be first to 20. He’s hoping for more, because he’s calling the game. But I will say, these are two of the top-15 scoring defenses in the country. Oklahoma is only giving up 14 points per game. Alabama just 17.”

“I’m gonna say Alabama pulls it out. You keep living on the edge as the Tide have, sooner or later it’s going to get you. But, I think they’ll barely pull it out with a lot of scares. I imagine Mateer makes a lot of big plays and it’ll be classic, slugfest. I think 24 (points) wins the game. If somebody gets to 24, I think they’ll win the game.”

Kick-off for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET. The game can be seen on ABC.