The college football season is wrapping up for the Oklahoma Sooners and Alabama Crimson Tide. The teams, along with head coaches Brent Venables and Kalen DeBoer have had difficult seasons this year. Both are looking for a comeback in this game, but who is more likely to achieve that?
Alabama vs. Oklahoma Sooners Predictions
Down But Not Out
The Oklahoma Sooners’ first season in the SEC would never be easy. The high hopes at the beginning of the season are long gone now, and each week brings another new heartbreak. Unless the Sooners have been planning something special in the bye week, it’s looking to be another long weekend.
Life has been difficult for Coach Venables between mounting injuries, weekly losses, and firing his offensive coordinator. Meanwhile, Joe Jon Finley, the interim coordinator, has had the unenviable job of creating success amidst disaster. Jackson Arnold, the starting quarterback, is also coming under fire for possibly fumbling the season against Missouri.
There’s still some measure of hope, though, to salvage the season. Oklahoma needs just one more win to come away with bowl eligibility. While many saw Missouri as the best chance to do that, there are still two more opportunities. One is against Alabama, and the final chance is at LSU.
How Can Oklahoma Win?
There are, surprisingly, still some factors on Oklahoma’s side in this match-up. Firstly, this is a home game. A good start can keep the fanbase on Oklahoma’s side and give them the momentum to overcome the Crimson Tide.
The second is to keep the ball on the ground. The passing game is one of the bigger drawbacks to Arnold’s skillset. Focusing on the ground game solves this, as Arnold is an excellent scrambler. He’s also had to practice escaping the pocket on essentially every drive of the season, and when he does so on time he’s able to gain at least four to ten yards. Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes are also out with injuries, which leaves it to Arnold to make up the yards. If Venables and Finley can work within the confines of a limited playbook, focusing on runs and short passes to the tight ends, they can control the tempo of the game.
Lastly is to take advantage of Alabama’s weaknesses. Currently, the Crimson Tide is one of the most penalized teams at the FBS level. While it isn’t the most honorable thing to do, baiting Alabama into penalties could keep offensive drives moving. Additionally, given that Alabama’s hopes of playing in the SEC Championship are on the line, the Sooners need to take advantage of that desperation. Baiting them into taking risks and then punishing them is the best way to do that. Venables may not want to win that way, but, frankly, he might not have much choice.
Crimson Tide Rolls On
Coach DeBoer, like Venables, had his doubters coming into this season. After all, being the next guy in line after Nick Saban is no easy feat. As the year winds down, though, it is clear that DeBoer knows how to win. Despite some close calls, the Crimson Tide has been rolling steadily.
Now, in the most chaotic year of college football, they’re looking to capture a shot at the SEC Championship. A loss to Oklahoma will, unquestionably, ruin those chances. So what can the Crimson Tide do to stop that from happening?
First off, they’re No. 8 when it comes to points per game this season. Secondly, Alabama has some of the best players in the nation. Talents such as Jalen Milroe, Jam Miller, Devonta Smith, DaShawn Jones, and Ryan Williams are all future NFL superstars. It is difficult to imagine them not putting up, at minimum, over three hundred yards of offense against Oklahoma.
Prediction for Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Ultimately, this game goes one of two ways: A blowout win or an edged-out upset. Alabama has the best in the nation and years of momentum behind it. Oklahoma is struggling to stay afloat whilst planning for next season. It simply isn’t much of a contest.
In the first scenario, the blowout, Alabama ends the game by halftime. Milroe and the offense will run roughshod over a shell-shocked Oklahoma defense and it’ll be a repeat of the South Carolina collapse. Despite this, Arnold and the Sooners will get one or two touchdowns. They’ll earn these by overcoming Alabama’s backups in the second half.
The second scenario is that Oklahoma gets momentum early. Despite a season-long decline, the Sooners defense makes things difficult enough for Alabama that they get a lucky break. A turnover or interception swings momentum back to Oklahoma. In the fourth quarter, Arnold pushes Oklahoma over the line to gain a lead of just a few points. Then, when the defense makes one more stop, they learn from the mistakes at Missouri and run the clock out. The game ends somewhere in the range of 32 to 35 in a match that will go down alongside Auburn versus Alabama.
No matter what happens, be sure to check back in with Last Word On Sports after the Alabama versus Oklahoma game for all the details of what is sure to be an unforgettable match-up.
