No. 8 seed Oklahoma will host a first round game in the College Football Playoff and will face No. 9 seed Alabama on Friday, Dec. 19 at 7:00 p.m. at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by ABC and ESPN.
The winner will face No. 1 seed and Big Ten champion Indiana in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 at 3:00 p.m. CST in Pasadena, Calif. Indiana along with the other top four teams in the CFP receive a first round bye: No. 2 seed Ohio State, No. 3 seed Georgia and No. 4 seed Texas Tech.
“I’m really proud of our football team and our staff,” said OU head coach Brent Venables during a media Zoom call after the CFP schedule was announced on Sunday. “You’ve got a fantastic body of work and put in a lot of time and effort, sacrifice and energy to get to this moment, and we’re really excited.”
This will be the second meeting between OU and Alabama this season. Oklahoma defeated the Crimson Tide, 23-21 on Nov. 15 in Tuscaloosa. OU also beat Alabama 24-3 in Norman last season, and the Sooners hold a 5-2-1 series lead all-time and has won five of the last six meetings between the two teams.
“We talked to the team after the announcement was made,” Venables said. “This is an opportunity for us to kind of start completely over and have a season of its own in the playoffs. Like it’s been all year, the margin for errors is incredibly small.”
The Sooners have an overall record of 10-2 and were 6-2 in the SEC this season. Oklahoma won its last four regular season games to qualify for the CFP for the fifth time, but it’s the first time for the Sooners to be in the CFP since 2019.
Alabama is currently 10-3 overall and 7-1 in the SEC. The Crimson Tide lost 28-7 to Georgia in the SEC Championship game. Bama ranks 41st nationally in scoring offense (31.2 ppg) and 12th in scoring defense (17.4 ppg).
On the other hand, Oklahoma has one of the best defenses in the country. The Sooners lead the country in sacks (3.4) and tackles for loss (9.6) per game, No. 3 in touchdowns allowed (16), and No. 5 in rushing defense (81.4 yards/game), rushing TDs allowed (six) and passing TDs allowed (nine), among other categories.
Oklahoma is the only team in the country that is perfect in “Red Zone” opportunities this season. The Sooners are 32 for 32, with 23 touchdowns and nine field goals.
The Sooners are led by quarterback John Mateer who has completed 221-of-356 passes for 2578 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has also rushed for 558 yards and seven touchdowns. Also, Isaiah Sategna III has led the Sooners’ receivers this season. He has caught 65 passes for 948 yards and seven touchdowns.
“Every game we’ve played this year has been the biggest game of my career,” Venables said. “Not a lot of people have believed we would do what we’ve done. We’re just thankful to have an opportunity.”
The other first-round games feature No. 12 seed James Madison at No. 5 Oregon, No. 11 seed Tulane at No. 6 seed Ole Miss and No. 10 seed Miami at No. 7 seed Texas A&M.
Instead of a rematch with a regular season opponent, it would have been more interesting to see OU play Tulane or Miami, but it’s not a perfect system.
TICKET INFORMATION
An exclusive presale for season ticket holders began on Monday, and tickets to the public went on sale on Tuesday. Ticket prices begin at $173 per seat. All student season and partial-plan ticket holders can also purchase tickets at a lower cost.