Oklahoma offers a unique test for the Alabama defense, but it’s not something that’s totally unfamiliar.

Safety Xavier McKinney said the closest comparison in opponents of the Crimson Tide is Auburn, who attempted a similar strategy that Alabama expects from the Sooners in the College Football Playoff semifinal Orange Bowl.

“I think it’s going to be a challenge for us because we don’t face that too much where they get a whole bunch of people trying to put us out there in space,” the Alabama safety said. “I think it’s exciting for us because we get to try something new, and face something different.”

A foot/ankle injury may keep Oklahoma WR Marquise Brown out of the game, but his status will not change how Alabama prepares for the Oklahoma offense, McKinney said.

But it all comes down to QB Kyler Murray, the recent Heisman Trophy winner.

“He can throw the ball, he can run the ball, he can do all of it,” McKinney said. “He doesn’t really have a whole bunch of negative sides to him, that I can see. He does a lot of good things, a lot of things that helps his team win. We’re trying to focus on that and see where we can find something to where we can to attack it, and make him feel pressure. So that way he doesn’t have all the time to make all the plays that he makes.”

McKinney wasn’t sure which team played Oklahoma the best, although Texas did well, he said.

From Alabama’s perspective, it helps having both Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts because they offer the best of both types of quarterbacks, he said.