The Oklahoma Sooners will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide this Saturday night in one of the more highly-anticipated matchups of the new-look SEC.
Even if the Sooners have struggled through the 2024 season, a battle of two of college football’s blue blood programs is the stuff reserved for the postseason or the occasional nonconference heavyweight tilt.
It’s been 22 years since the Crimson Tide stepped foot in Norman. When Alabama comes to town this week, they’ll seek to solidify their position as a College Football Playoff contender. The SEC title game isn’t out of the question, but they’ll need some help to get there. A win over Oklahoma and then next week in the Iron Bowl will pretty much solidify the Crimson Tide’s as at least an at-large bid.
Can the Oklahoma Sooners play spoiler this weekend and knock the Crimson Tide out of the playoff discussion? They’ll need to play a great game to do so and win these key matchups.
1. Oklahoma Run Game vs. Alabama Defense
The Alabama Crimson Tide come to Norman with a run defense allowing 132.2 yards per game, which is good for 53rd in the nation. Alabama held LSU to just 104 yards rushing on 24 attempts in a game that got away from the Tigers. The week before Bama allowed 169 yards rushing in their shutout win over Missouri.
In their losses to Tennessee and Vanderbilt, Alabama allowed 204 and 166 rushing yards.
It’s a unit that can be run, but much of it will depend on how much Alabama respects Oklahoma’s passing attack. They’re likely to crowd the box and force Oklahoma to beat them through the air. Still, even against crowded boxes, the Sooners need to lean into the running game.
The passing attack hasn’t been consistent all season, but the Sooners have found success on the ground over the last month.
The Sooners have to slow the game down and rely on the running game to keep the offense in favorable down and distances. Oklahoma doesn’t want to get into second- and third-and-long situations and be forced to pass.
Even if the game begins to get away from Oklahoma, they need to continue to lean into the running game with Xavier Robinson, Jovantae Barnes, Taylor Tatum, and Jackson Arnold.
Up Next: Can Oklahoma limit Explosive Plays?
2. Oklahoma Secondary vs. Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard
The Oklahoma Sooners secondary has arguably been the weak link of the defense in 2024. They’ve had some good moments but have been susceptible to explosive plays.
Two weeks ago against Missouri, playing with a lead with less than two minutes to go, the Sooners surrendered big plays to Theo Wease to start the drive and to Luther Burden on third-and-16 to extend a drive, which ultimately led to a game-tying touchdown by Wease.
The Sooners’ defense has been really good on early downs but have given up some third-and-longs because they’ve been vulnerable in pass defense.
True freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams has seven receptions and five touchdowns of 20 yards or more on the season. He’s averaging 19.2 yards per reception in 2024. He’s third in the SEC in receiving yards this season. Again, as a true freshman.
Germie Bernard has been a really good No. 2 for the Crimson Tide as well. He has six receptions of 20 yards or more on 10 targets and is averaging 15.5 yards per reception. He’s a reliable target, catching 68.6% of the passes thrown his way, and has just two drops on the year.
The Sooners will be challenged against Alabama’s dynamic duo when Jalen Milroe drops back to pass. They’ll have to be locked in for a full 60 minutes in coverage.
Up Next: Can Oklahoma contain Milroe?
3. Oklahoma Front Seven vs. Jalen Milroe
The Oklahoma Sooners have quite the challenge ahead of them as they get ready to take on Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe. Milroe has been playing great football of late, leading the Alabama Crimson Tide during their three-game winning streak.
Milroe has been pressured on 31.6% of his dropbacks this season, according to Pro Football Focus. But that’s where he can be dangerous. He’s scrambled for 174 yards this season. He’s also been incredibly dangerous in the quarterback run game. On designed runs, Milroe leads the SEC with 537 yards rushing. He also leads SEC quarterbacks in runs of 15 yards or more with 9.
Oklahoma’s strength has been their run defense but Milroe is the most dynamic running quarterback they’ve faced this season. In addition to the big yardage he can pick up, Milroe’s got the size to grind out yards and is effective in short yardage.
44 of his 110 rushing attempts have gone for first downs, which is first in the SEC and first in the Power Four.
It’ll be a strong challenge for Danny Stutsman, Dasan McCullough, and the rest of the Oklahoma Sooners front seven as they try to deal with the physically imposing Milroe.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: 3 Key matchups for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide
