Kyler Murray may win the Heisman

No. 4 Oklahoma should have no problem with motivation in the upcoming College Football Playoff game with No. 1 Alabama.

Oklahoma (12-1, 9-1 in the Big 12) decisively won the Big 12 Championship Saturday 39-27 over Texas – avenging a three-point loss earlier in the season to the Longhorns. It was the fourth Big 12 title in a row – a new league record. Alabama had to come from behind to beat No. 5 Georgia 35-28 to win the Southeastern Conference championship.

Some television commentators and fans think the Sooners aren’t worthy of a trip to the playoff and think that No. 6 Ohio State (the Big Ten champion) or Georgia should be playing Alabama.

“Oklahoma was ranked No. 4 because they’re a one-loss conference champion with a dynamic offense, and their one loss was a close game to a ranked team at a neutral site,” said Rob Mullens, chairman of the playoff committee. “Georgia was ranked No. 5 because of their wins against highly ranked teams, their impressive performance against Alabama in the conference championship game, and because of how balanced a team they are.”

Las Vegas oddsmakers already have OU listed as an 14-point underdog to the Crimson Tide. That is one of the biggest point spreads in the five-year history of the four-team College Football Playoff.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for the team that we’re getting ready to play, no question about that,” said OU coach Lincoln Riley said. “But we’ve got a formula that we believe in and we’ve got a program that’s used to winning and players that are used to winning, and we know it’s going to be a great challenge. But we’re going to go prepare like we do. Our goal will be for us to be at our very best. We can’t control any of the outside factors.”

The game is at 7 p.m. on December 29 in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida. No. 2 Clemson will face No. 3 Notre Dame at 3 p.m. December 29 in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas. The national championship game will be at 7 p.m. January 7 in Santa Clara, California.

Alabama is seen as a more balanced team. OU has been criticized for a weak defense even though the Sooners have the best offense in the nation.

OU’s defense rose to the occasion against Texas Saturday, holding the Longhorns to 27 points. OU has won seven games in a row and 34 of their last 37 games. Oklahoma held Texas scoreless in the fourth quarter and forced a punt. They sacked the Texas quarterback for a safety and got an interception.

“I feel like we can score points on people and I feel like we can stop people and… I feel like we’re gaining traction defensively,” Riley said after the game. “I feel like we have our highest performances in the last couple of weeks in huge games against dynamic offenses, and I don’t think we’ve played our best yet this year and I think we’re going to get there.

“I absolutely feel like it. I know how close we were to it last year, to being right there in the last one, and I have every bit as much confidence in this team, this offense, this defense and special teams as I did sitting on this stage last year at this time. I know we can. I have zero doubt.”

Texas led by 14-6 in the first half but was outscored by Oklahoma 33-13 the rest of the way.

“We obviously didn’t make enough plays down the stretch,” said Texas coach Tom Herman. “That’s a heck of a football team that they have there with an unbelievable offense.”

The OU-Alabama game will feature quarterbacks who are the Top 2 candidates for Heisman, Kyler Murray of Oklahoma and Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama. Tagovailoa has been the favorite all year but ESPN is predicting Murray will win on Saturday night.

“Well, I haven’t watched him much,” Saban said of Murray. “I’ve seen him on TV a couple times, and I think he’s about as dynamic as any player I’ve seen all season long. He’s got great quickness, he does a good job of executing their offense, he can run, he can throw and make a lot of explosive plays. They’ve got a really good offensive scheme, and the system is something that he flourishes in.”

Saban said Tagovailoa suffered a high-ankle sprain against Georgia on Saturday. They did an MRI and Saban thinks he could be back at practice in as little as two weeks. Jalen Hurt, a former Alabama starter, led the comeback against Georgia.

Against Texas, Murray hit 25 of 34 pass attempts for 379 yards and three touchdowns (and no interceptions). Murray set a new total offense season record (4,053 passing, 892 rushing) for Oklahoma.

“I said it all year, we’ve got a great receiving room,” Murray said. “Everybody sees the flash of Marquise (Brown) and CeeDee (Lamb), but they’re not the only guys in that room. We all know what we have. These guys go to work every day and come to practice every day and work hard, work on their craft and you saw when the time came, we needed everybody today, and they stepped up.”

Would Herman vote for Murray for the Heisman Trophy?

“I don’t get to vote in the Heisman, so I haven’t been following any other teams or players,” Herman said. “But I do know he is an elite player. He’s really good and he deserves all the credit in the world.”

Oklahoma and Alabama have played only five times, with OU holding a 3-1-1 lead. The Sooners have won the last three games with the Crimson Tide. On January 1, 2014, OU upset No. 3 Alabama 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl under coach Bob Stoops.

In 2003, Stoops led OU to a 20-13 win in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A year before, the Sooners defeated Alabama 37-27 in Norman. OU and Alabama played to a 24-24 tie in 1970 in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston. Alabama’s only win over OU was in the Orange Bowl in 1962.

Oklahoma has been to the Orange Bowl 19 times with a 12-7 record. Four of those victories culminated in national championship wins.

“They’ve obviously had a tremendous year winning the SEC and going to certainly be a great opponent,” Riley said of Alabama. “It’s been a really fun year. Really, really proud of our guys for fighting through and being able to find a way to win the Big 12 and getting back to the Orange Bowl where Oklahoma has such an illustrious history at. It’s very, very special to us. So, we’re very much looking forward to the challenge and really appreciate the opportunity to be in the playoff again and have a chance to make another run.”