A Look at the Rosters of Alabama and Oklahoma Reveal One Big Thing ... or Two, Actually

Looks like Alabama should have a pretty easy time with Oklahoma on Friday.

If you believe recruiting rankings, that is.

Oddsmakers at Draft Kings, Fan Duel and elsewhere show the Crimson Tide is only a 1 1/2-point favorite over OU in Friday night’s College Football Playoff game at Owen Field. Some, like MGM, actually favor OU by 1 1/2.

But we all know recruiting is the lifeblood of college football, right?

If that’s true, then Bama should win by three touchdowns.

Oh wait, it says here that these teams already played this year and — would you look at that, Oklahoma won the game. In Tuscaloosa, at that. The Sooners won the crimson showdown 23-21 thanks to a trio of takeaways.

And if you look a little further, you see that — yep, says right here that these same two teams played a game last year, too. In Norman, even. And the Sooners won that one as well.

By three touchdowns.

How can that be?

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The rosters of these two teams are comprised of recruits who simply don’t compare.

Going back to 2021 — we’ve taken out the transfers and just used annual team recruiting rankings — it’s not even close.

Alabama has signed classes that ranked No. 1, No. 2, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 nationally. That averages out to 1.8.

OU’s classes in that same five-year span ranked seventh, eight, sixth, ninth and 16th, an average of 9.2.

That’s according to Rivals.

Checking in with 247Sports, the disparity is even greater: Alabama’s classes ranked the same, but OU’s dropped to 10, 8, 6, 8 and 17 (9.8 average).

Per Rivals, OU signed just seven 5-star recruits from 2021-25, while Alabama signed 23.

According to 247Sports, the Sooners brought in just six 5-stars, while Bama landed 25.

Four stars? Sure, let’s take a look.

Rivals says OU signed 66 4-stars. Alabama got 88.

And the folks at 247Sports record 72 4-stars for the Sooners, and 92 for the Tide.

Those would appear to be two completely different programs — and yet here they are, competing for the same prize.

The winner of Friday’s game remains alive in the CFP and will advance to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, where top-seed and undefeated Big Ten champion Indiana awaits. The loser’s season is over.

Should we look ahead to the Hoosier’s recruiting rankings from the last five classes?

Something tells me we shouldn’t. Anyway, we can do that next week — if the occasion arises.

Instead, let’s ask Oklahoma coach Brent Venables how he feels about his “grimy” Sooners’ chances of beating the Bama Blue Chippers three times in a row.

“You're always careful to have that underdog thing become a life of its own,” Venables said. “Again, this is a game of doing, a game of proving it on the field, a game of earning it on the field — for doing the hard work and the competitive things and being able to do what winning requires. I don't think it's just this week. This is a football team, all of us together, that have been doubted for a long time. So this week is a comfort zone for us.

“And listen, you're talking about Alabama as being the gold standard in college football for the last 15 years. So we got incredible respect. But we look at it, instead of focusing on being the underdog, we look at it — this moment — as being more about the opportunity that's in front of us than we do of, you know, what people might be saying or thinking or point spreads, things of that nature.”

Venables and his underrated, unwanted recruits would love nothing more than another “grimy” two-point win over the Crimson Tide on Friday night.