Joel Klatt gives CFP score prediction for Alabama football vs Oklahoma

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Fox Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt knows the Alabama Crimson Tide haven’t looked great in the final month of the 2025 season.

Alabama (10-3) heads into its first-round College Football Playoff contest against the Oklahoma Sooners after falling to the Georgia Bulldogs, 28-7, in an ugly SEC Championship Game loss just under two weeks ago.

The Crimson Tide have lost two of their past four games since their 23-21 loss to Oklahoma back on Nov. 15 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the first home loss of the Kalen DeBoer era.

Speaking of DeBoer, his name has been linked to the Michigan Wolverines‘ coaching vacancy, though DeBoer has personally quelled any speculation about leaving Tuscaloosa for Ann Arbor no less than three different times: first through a statement he made through Yea Alabama on Sunday, then twice at his Monday press conference.

Klatt, however, wonders if the talk of DeBoer’s future has become a “distraction” for Alabama players.

“I’ve always said on this program (that) the quickest way to be defeated is to be distracted,” Klatt said on the Thursday edition of his video podcast, which is shown in syndication on FS1. “So the distraction meter for Alabama, is it going to play a factor in this game? We don’t know.”

What Klatt does know is that Alabama hasn’t looked great in the past month, and he believes it starts with quarterback Ty Simpson’s play.

Ty Simpson’s recent play ‘not going to cut it,’ Joel Klatt says

Klatt said of Simpson:

“The last four games, he’s been under 60 percent passing, just over 200 yards per game, and he’s only thrown five touchdowns. That’s not going to cut it. This is a guy that has to be throwing the football really well, because (Alabama has) been a one-dimensional team. Because of that, this is a tough matchup against OU, and really it’s the reason OU won in that matchup in Tuscaloosa late in the season.”

Simpson threw for 326 yards against Oklahoma on Nov. 15, and the 147 yards he had against Eastern Illinois a week later was because he only played the first half. He was held to 122 yards in the Iron Bowl vs. Auburn, though, and threw for just 212 against Georgia in Atlanta.

Klatt noted that Oklahoma was tied with Texas A&M for the most sacks in college football with 41.

“This defense for Oklahoma is a relentless, attack-oriented style of defense… They are relentlessly behind the line of scrimmage and they blitz a ton. In fact, they’re in the top five in college football in terms of blitz rate. And you know Brent Venables is going to do that. He calls the defense, and he’s been doing that all the way back to when he was originally the defense coordinator at Oklahoma and then at Clemson.”

What can Alabama do to offset the Sooners’ aggressive blitz? For starters, Klatt noted the Tide out-gained Oklahoma by almost 200 yards (406-212) in the regular season.

It was the turnovers that ultimately doomed Alabama in that game. The Tide’s three turnovers led to 17 Sooner points, including an 87-yard interception return for touchdown by defensive back Eli Bowen.

Home field advantage a big factor in Alabama vs Oklahoma CFP matchup

Klatt believes that Friday’s game being played in Norman is a major factor.

“I don’t think that we, as a college football consumer, truly understand, in the infancy of just a 12-team playoff, what home playoff games actually mean. Last year, it was a drastic difference. The home teams played incredible. The environments were incredible. I’ve long (said) that I think home field advantage in college football is one of the great advantages in all of sports. And a lot of that is great teams at home with a great environment. They tend to play well, and it’s really tough to win on the road.”

Joel Klatt names the biggest question mark for Alabama-Oklahoma matchup in CFP

The biggest question Klatt has entering Friday’s game is: can Oklahoma score? The Sooners were held to 17 points in their last game on Nov. 29 against LSU. They needed a late 58-yard John Mateer touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna III with just over four minutes to play to beat the Tigers.

“We talk about this all the time with Iowa,” Klatt said. “We know (Iowa and Oklahoma are) very good. They’re elite in two of the three areas of their team. What is the offense going to do, and do they have to do a lot? We don’t know.”

Alabama also has the same concern with putting up points.

“Because of the environment and because of the pass rush, I think it’s going to be difficult for Alabama to sit there and throw the ball sustainably without running it. Now, Jam Miller being back? Maybe that helps them out a little bit, but they haven’t shown the ability to be really balanced.”

Alabama football vs. Oklahoma: Joel Klatt’s final score prediction for CFP opener

Klatt closed by mentioning Alabama’s frequent struggles away from Tuscaloosa under DeBoer.

“The ‘Palace on the Prairie’ is one of the great venues in college football,” Klatt said. “Alabama has struggled under Kalen DeBoer — not entirely this year, but they’ve struggled generally on the road. They struggled mightily the last time they were in Norman.” 

For that reason, Klatt is taking the Sooners to beat Alabama for a third time in 13 months. 

“I think OU wins this outright, 20-17. They find a way to get to 20 points. (Tate) Sandell hits a couple of long ones. They get a couple of turnovers, and they win it very similarly to the one they won in Tuscaloosa.” 

Joel Klatt’s record when picking Alabama football games in 2025

Klatt is 5-4 when picking Alabama games this season. He incorrectly predicted the Crimson Tide would beat Florida State in Week 1, and he picked both Georgia and Missouri to beat Alabama in later weeks during the regular season. Klatt also took the Tide to beat Oklahoma in the regular season matchup in Week 12.

He correctly predicted that Alabama would beat Vanderbilt, Tennessee LSU and Auburn, and lose the rematch to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.

TV channel, announcers for Alabama vs. Oklahoma CFP game

Kickoff for Alabama-Oklahoma is 7 p.m. CT Friday. The game will be televised on ABC and ESPN. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will have the call of the game from the broadcast booth at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge will report from the sidelines.

Additionally, the Crimson Tide Sports Network radio feed of the game featuring Chris Stewart and Tyler Watts can be heard on SEC Network, which will feature a “Skycast” presentation of the game.

Alabama football schedule 2025

Here’s a game-by-game look at Alabama football’s 2025 schedule.

All start times Central.

  • Aug. 30: at Florida State (L, 31-17)
  • Sept. 6: vs. UL Monroe (W, 73-0)
  • Sept. 13: vs. Wisconsin (W, 38-14)
  • Sept. 27: at Georgia (W, 24-21)
  • Oct. 4: vs. Vanderbilt (W, 30-14)
  • Oct. 11: at Missouri (W, 27-24)
  • Oct. 18: vs. Tennessee (W, 37-20)
  • Oct. 25: at South Carolina (W, 29-22)
  • Nov. 8: vs. LSU (W, 20-9)
  • Nov. 15: vs. Oklahoma (L, 23-21)
  • Nov. 22 vs. Eastern Illinois (W, 56-0)
  • Nov. 29: at Auburn (W, 27-20)
  • Dec. 6: vs. Georgia (L, 28-7)
  • Dec. 19: at Oklahoma (CFP first round)

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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama football vs Oklahoma, CFP score prediction from Joel Klatt

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