Alabama Crimson Tide Visits Oklahoma Sooners In First Round Of College Football Playoff
Back in September, when the sky was supposedly falling in Tuscaloosa, nobody had this on their bingo card. The Alabama Crimson Tide had just dropped the opener to Florida State. The dynasty was “dead” (again). Kalen DeBoer was already on the hot seat before he’d even unpacked his office. The narrative was written in Sharpie: The Saban era is gone, and Alabama is mortal.
Fast forward to December, and we’re staring down the barrel of a College Football Playoff first-round tilt that feels like a fever dream. Alabama, fresh off a gut-punch loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship, is heading back to Norman. Yes, the same Norman where Oklahoma fans rushed the field earlier this year. The same place where the Sooners handed the Tide a 23-21 loss that still stings.
It is the beauty and the cruelty of this new 12-team playoff format. It gives you a second chance, but it also forces you to face your demons immediately.
Ty Simpson’s Hardest Lesson
There was a moment on Monday when Alabama Quarterback Ty Simpson stood at the podium, and you could see the weight of the last few weeks on him. He wasn’t rattling off coach-speak just to hear his own voice. He looked like a guy who had just watched the film of that SEC Championship game and wanted to throw a tablet through a wall.
“Certainly not our best performance,” Simpson said, reflecting on the Georgia loss, where he threw for 212 yards and a pick. “It goes back to communication… the little details. Whether it’s in the routes, our footwork, my footwork.”
It is the kind of accountability you want to hear, sure. But talk is cheap when you’re staring down an Oklahoma defense that already figured you out once. Simpson knows it. He called the upcoming trip to Norman “a great opportunity.”
“We know what happened last year. We know what happened this year,” Simpson said. “But we can’t worry about that… We’re going to prepare like we’ve never won, and perform like we’ve never lost.”
The Sooners Aren’t Buying the Hype
On the other side of the field, you’ve got Oklahoma Head Coach Brent Venables. If you think he’s sitting back and admiring his previous win over Bama, you don’t know Venables. The guy is intense enough to scare a caffeinated squirrel.
Despite the 23-21 victory in November, Venables knows his squad got a little messy. “We didn’t play or coach in the cleanest way,” he said. He is gushing respect for DeBoer and the Tide, calling Alabama’s roster “one of the most talented in the country.” It is the smart play. You don’t poke the bear, especially when the bear is wounded and coming to your house on a Friday night with its season on the line.
Even with the home-field advantage and the psychological edge of the previous win, the Sooners are dealing with their own drama. They’ve had recruiting decommitments and the general chaos that comes with the modern transfer portal era. But for 60 minutes on Friday, none of that matters.
Why This Rematch Feels Different
Here is the reality: Beating the same team twice in one season is one of the hardest things to do in sports. It is a cliché because it’s true. Familiarity breeds contempt, but it also breeds adjustments.
Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle isn’t reinventing the wheel, but he is demanding perfection. “You shouldn’t just throw the same script out there and expect the same result,” Arbuckle said. He knows the Alabama defense has seen his cards. Now, he has to bluff, pivot, and execute better than he did in November.
For Alabama, this is about pride. It is about proving that the dynasty isn’t dead—it just looks different now. For Oklahoma, it is about validating their arrival in the SEC and proving that the first win was not a fluke.
