ESPN analyst gives score prediction for Alabama-Oklahoma Playoff game
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The College Football Playoff is finally upon us. After 14 weeks of regular season play (and conference championship weekend), we’re finally ready to begin deciding a national champion.
And we’ll see 2 SEC schools take center stage to open the event when No. 9 Alabama (10-3) and No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2) collide in Norman on Dec. 19.
The Sooners have already played and defeated the Crimson Tide once this season. Oklahoma prevailed 23-21 over Alabama on Nov. 15 on the back of 3 takeaways. The Crimson Tide outgained the Sooners by nearly 200 yards (406 to 212) in the contest, but fell short due to those aforementioned turnovers and a missed field goal.
Alabama held the ball for 9 more minutes than Oklahoma in their first matchup. But the locale — and the stakes — are different for this playoff battle. Fittingly, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg sees a different winner emerging from it. In his CFP and bowl predictions piece, he picked the Crimson Tide to beat the Sooners 20-17.
Here’s an excerpt of his analysis:
Alabama was clearly worn down toward the end of the season, not looking impressive in its victory at Auburn, and being held scoreless for more than 47 minutes against Georgia in the SEC championship. But teams that squeak into the CFP can gain some momentum from being granted a second life… Quarterback Ty Simpson has a chance to reset and reclaim his accuracy, and running back Jam Miller will likely return for the CFP. Coach Kalen DeBoer and the Tide are no strangers to this stage, and they’ll find a way to win a close one.
The Sooners are currently 1.5-point home underdogs, per the latest college football betting lines. Alabama and Oklahoma will kick off the CFP at 8:00 p.m. E.T. on Dec. 19 (ABC).
