Germie Bernard explains how stadium lights affected him during Alabama’s last visit to Oklahoma
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Germie Bernard doesn’t want a repeat of what happened to Alabama the last time it played Oklahoma on the road.
In 2024, the Crimson Tide took a 3-0 first-quarter lead in what was just the program’s second-ever visit to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Sooners took over from there, pitching a shutout the rest of the way en route to a 24-3 win.
After losing to the Sooners again in 2025 — this time in Tuscaloosa — the Tide hope to come out on top when the two teams meet in Norman on Friday, this time in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Playing there last time was a bit of a struggle for a couple of reasons, including the configuration of the stadium lights, Bernard said on Tuesday.
“Their lights, it kind of got me last time that we played,” Bernard said, via a video from AL.com. “The lights were kind of, I don’t know, in a weird position, I guess you could say.”
The senior, who had four catches for 60 yards against the Sooners in 2024, also mentioned issues with the playing surface.
“I think our equipment staff has done a great job at putting us in the right cleats and whatnot, so we won’t have that issue (on Friday),” he said.
Bernard, to his credit, had a decent performance. Outside of that, though, Jalen Milroe was just 10-of-26 for 102 yards and threw three interceptions as his receivers dropped five passes during that game, per 247Sports’ Mike Rodak. Alabama couldn’t run the ball either, going for just 70 yards on 30 carries. Meanwhile, Oklahoma rolled up 257 yards on 50 carries as both Jackson Arnold and Xavier Robinson ran for over 100 yards.
Kickoff from Norman on Friday night is set for 8 p.m. ET.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
