Oklahoma's Defense Utilizes Confusion to Create Game-Changing Plays

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 9 Alabama travels to Norman for a first-round College Football Playoff game against No. 8 Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide has an opportunity at redeeming its only SEC loss of the season after the Sooners utilized multiple game-changing plays to win in Tuscaloosa 23-21.

Alabama managed to muster 406 yards of offense in Bryant-Denny Stadium, but had two offensive turnovers that crippled its efforts at staying unbeaten in league-play.

"They do a great job of creating confusion," offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. "That's what they're good at. Their guys are well-executing; you can see that they've been in the system a couple years now. They've kind of moved forward a little bit, compared to even last year. I think it's just really trying to get your eyes in the wrong spots. Their guys play physical and fast. So they're confident in the scheme that they run, which I think is really, really important in any scheme, and they certainly do that. So they play with an edge that you've got to make sure that you're matching their intensity and go above it."

The Sooners turned their two defensive turnovers into 10 points, as Eli Bowen took his interception for an 87-yard touchdown and Oklahoma's standout kicker Tate Sandell turned Kendal Daniels' fumble recovery into a 24-yard field goal.

The Sooners rank 7th in the nation in total defense, allowing 13.9 points per game and first in the nation in sacks with 41 on the season. They sacked Ty Simpson four times in November and accrued five tackles for loss, keeping the Alabama offense guessing throughout the regular season game in November.

"They check the checks," Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard said. "So whenever we check the play, they'll make a check. They do a really good job of disguising their defense, showing us different looks and bringing another look. We're at a late point in the season, there's only so much you can do now. Our coaches have done a great job of preparing and scheming up the right things. So now it's just for the players to watch film, analyze what they do, get used to it. We run it in practice. We just have to trust ourselves, trust our instincts when we get out there on the field and just prepare so the game will come to us easily."

The Crimson Tide's offense has shown moments of brilliance throughout the 2025 season, but in its most recent outings has struggled as they've faced some of the strongest defenses in college football. If Alabama can lean on its strengths and avoid the Sooners' havoc plays on Friday they can advance in the College Football Playoffs and leave with the program's first win in Norman.