Alabama overview (again): What's happened since the Sooners beat them?
Well, it’s Groundhog Day. Oklahoma will host a familiar foe in the first round of the College Football Playoff next Friday.
The No. 8-seeded Sooners will face off against No. 9-seeded Alabama in Norman on Friday, Dec. 19 (7 p.m. ABC). It’s an odd decision by the playoff committee, considering the Sooners beat the Crimson Tide, 23-21, in Tuscaloosa last month. It’s one of two rematches in the first round, along with Ole Miss and Tulane.
But alas, the Sooners will need to beat the Crimson Tide again to continue their quest for the program’s eighth national championship. The sports books are casting doubt on that, considering the Crimson Tide are a 1.5-point favorite to win in Norman.
Here’s a refresher on what happened the last time these two teams played and what’s happened to Alabama since that game:
Alabama Season Overview
Scoring offense: 31.2 points per game (41st nationally)
Scoring defense: 17.4 points per game (12th)
Total offense: 389.4 yards per game (69th)
Total defense: 283.3 yards per game (12th)
Offense Over the Last Month
LSU: 56 rushing yards, 288 passing yards, 344 total yards, 20 points
OU: 80 rushing yards, 326 passing yards, 406 total yards, 21 points
Auburn: 158 rushing yards, 122 passing yards, 280 total yards, 27 points
Georgia: -3 rushing yards, 212 passing yards, 209 total yards, 7 points
AVERAGE: 72.7 rushing yards, 237 passing yards, 309 total yards, 22.7 points per game
*excluding matchup vs. Eastern Illinois
The Last Time These Teams Played
The Sooners beat the Crimson Tide by two points behind stellar defense and special teams.
The defense forced a three-and-out on the opening possession, and a 42-yard punt return by Isaiah Sategna set up a Tate Sandell field goal. Eli Bowen then intercepted Ty Simpson and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown to give the Sooners a 10-0 lead.
The Sooners’ lone offensive touchdown came on a run from John Mateer, which was set up by a fumble forced by OU’s special teams. But the Sooners forced three turnovers and Sandell made three field goals, which proved to be enough.
Simpson found some explosive plays in the passing game. But the Sooners sacked him four times and stifled Alabama’s running game.
Since then?
For all the talk about Oklahoma’s issues on offense, Alabama hasn’t been much better.
The Sooners appeared to crack the code on stopping Alabama’s offense. The Crimson Tide struggled against a underrated Auburn defense before completely falling apart against Georgia in the SEC Championship game.
Running back Jam Miller’s absence didn’t help things, but the Crimson Tide finished with -3 rushing yards. And their only scoring drive came in the third quarter after several costly penalties by Georgia, including a dumb personal foul that kept Alabama from facing a third-and-forever.
The Sooners went after Simpson relentlessly. Auburn and Georgia did the same thing. Over the last two games, Simpson has been sacked six times and blitzed on 45 of his 83 drop backs. He completed 18 of 40 passes for 191 yards on those drop backs.
The Crimson Tide will hope to get some guys back from injury. But over the last month, the Crimson Tide’s offense has simply looked out of sync. And the Sooners are well-positioned to replicate the formula that helped them win in Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago.
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