What Nick Saban Thinks the Most Important Thing for Alabama Is at Oklahoma

The former Crimson Tide head coach had glowing remarks about the Oklahoma defense on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday.

Dec. 3, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; The Nick’s Kids Foundation Teacher Excellence Awards Luncheon honored 70 teachers from across West Alabama at Tuscaloosa River Market. This was the 14th year for the awards luncheon. Nick Saban speaks during the luncheon. | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Alabama football faces a win-or-go-home test on Friday night at No. 8 Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban is very familiar with Sooners coach Brent Venables, one of the other premier defensive minds in the modern college game.

Venables, formerly Clemson's defensive coordinator, played a key role in handing Saban his most lopsided loss as the Alabama coach. The Tigers defeated the Crimson Tide 44-16 in January of 2019 to win the national title for the 2018-19 campaign.

Oklahoma is 2-0 against Alabama in Kalen DeBoer's tenure, including a 23-21 victory last month at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Turnovers, of which the Sooners (10-2) forced three, were the major area where the pendulum swung in the visitors' favor.

"The pressure package that they have, and I think that was the big difference in the first game, when you watch the game, when they [Alabama] got their pressures blocked up, they made a lot of explosive plays," Saban said Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show. "When they didn't, it was devastating, in terms of sack-fumbles, pick-sixes, sacks that led to stopping drives. It was like feast or famine in the game. How they can execute against the pressures, to me, is the most important thing."

The No. 9 Crimson Tide (10-3) still made it to the SEC Championship Game despite the upset loss, and a defeat in that contest led DeBoer and Alabama back to a team that has had its number. However, the Crimson Tide had successes in the first meeting between the teams this year, including on the line of scrimmage.

"Alabama had over 400 yards versus Oklahoma's 200," Saban said. "Three turnovers, all in negative field position, that led to 17 points helped Oklahoma tremendously in the game. You can't have those kind of plays. If you have those kind of plays, Oklahoma will be successful. That's how they win. They've not scored a lot of points. Their defense is outstanding."

Quarterback Ty Simpson threw a pick-six in the opening quarter and later lost a fumble near the end of the third frame that led to the Sooners' Tate Sandell kicking the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter. Saban believes a cohesive effort on offense (specifically in the trenches) will help Simpson to get back to the level of play he experienced midway through this season, when the team won four straight games from late September to mid-October against ranked opponents.

"Some of the issues that have been created on Alabama's offense come from the fact that there's more pressure, more sacks. They've [other teams] been able to affect the quarterback," Saban said. "Quarterback's a hard place, a hard position to play. Maybe the hardest position in sports, if the people around you don't play well. So, their ability to run the ball, their ability to protect, pick up pressures. The offensive line needs to play a little more consistently. That'll help the quarterback."

Friday night's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff from Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The matchup will air nationally on ESPN and ABC.