The College Football Playoff gets underway on Friday evening, and the opening game will be an all-SEC regular-season rematch between #9 Alabama and #8 Oklahoma.
After the Sooners defeated the Crimson Tide 23-21 in Tuscaloosa, Oklahoma will look to continue its dominance over the Tide when the stakes are the highest. In a stunning reversal, the Sooners are now the betting favorites over Alabama after opening up as slight underdogs in Norman.
Oklahoma’s Defense Pushed Them Past Tide in Tuscaloosa
When the two teams squared off this regular season, it was Oklahoma’s defense that pushed them over the edge, coming up with 17 points off of three turnovers to overcome Sooners quarterback John Mateer’s lackluster 161 total yards and just 138 passing yards.
Eli Bowen’s 87-yard interception return came up huge, while OU also recovered two Alabama fumbles, one from quarterback Ty Simpson and one from star receiver Ryan Williams. In addition to the turnovers, the Crimson Tide missed a 36-yard field goal and allowed a 46-yard punt return that set up a short field for Oklahoma’s first score of the game.
Although Simpson had a productive day running the offense for Alabama, going 28-42 with 326 yards and a passing touchdown, along with the interception, the game also showed Bama’s offensive deficiencies. Despite a quiet day for the Sooners’ offense, they were able to walk out of Bryant-Denny Stadium with a season-defining win.
The three turnovers were costly, while the Tide’s leading receiver was tight end Josh Cuevas with six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. The running game also struggled, with Daniel Hill the leading rusher for Alabama with 15 carries for 60 yards, although he scored two touchdowns. Jam Miller had nine carries for 27 yards, with neither back eclipsing four yards per carry.
Injury Updates Swing Betting Lines in Sooners’ Favor
After many sports betting sites listed Oklahoma as 1.5-point underdogs, most major sportsbooks now have the Sooners as 1.5-point betting favorites over Alabama. The spread has been the smallest of the four opening-round CFP games, with the next smallest being #7 Texas A&M listed as a 3.5-point home favorite over #10 Miami.
What may have been the biggest cause for the change was the release of the first availability report on Tuesday evening. Star defensive end Mason Thomas was not listed on the report, which signals that he will be available on Friday evening against the Crimson Tide.
Although the Sooners beat Bama without their star pass rusher, having Thomas back in the fold only means that the defensive line will be that much more ferocious on Friday night. Having the home crowd behind them to get loud on third downs will amplify that factor as well.
With approximately three weeks since the end of the regular season having passed, the Sooners used their time to rest and get their lineup healthy, having one of their shortest injury reports of the season. Even Alabama’s list of unavailable players was considerably longer than OU’s list.
Thomas leads the Sooners with 6.5 sacks on the year, even after missing the final three games of the regular season due to a quad injury suffered against Tennessee. Oklahoma may also benefit from the return of starting center Jake Maikkula, who missed the LSU game with an infection.
Maikkula was listed as questionable and has participated in practice this week. Despite right guard Febechi Nwaiwu performing well as the makeshift center against the Tigers, Maikkula’s return would ensure that the entire starting offensive line is present and in their usual spots for the biggest game of the season.
The CFP is set to kick off with a blockbuster conference rematch, but it looks like the Sooners will be favored to continue their win streak against Alabama after shocking them 24-3 last year in Norman and topping them in Tuscaloosa during the regular season.
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