ESPN Predicts Winner Of Alabama vs. Oklahoma

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The 2025 College Football Playoff will begin this Friday night when No. 9 Alabama takes on No. 8 Oklahoma at Memorial Stadium in Norman.

Oklahoma defeated Alabama when they met on Nov. 15 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The main reason the Sooners pulled off the upset is because of their defense. Brent Venables' unit sacked Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson four times and forced three turnovers.

“I think the pressure package that they have, and I think that was the big difference in the first game,” former Alabama coach Nick Saban said, via On3. “You know, when you watch the game, when they got their pressures blocked up, they made a lot of explosive plays. I’m talking about Alabama. But when they didn’t, it was devastating in terms of sack-fumbles, pick-sixes, sacks that led to stopping drives.”

On the flip side, Alabama's defense held Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer to 138 passing yards, 23 rushing yards and a touchdown. It'll be tough to top that effort, especially on the road.

Who'll win the rematch?

Even though Oklahoma will have home-field advantage for this game, Alabama is a slight betting favorite.

ESPN's computer model also likes the Crimson Tide to advance to the quarterfinals, giving them a 50.9% chance of defeating the Sooners.

It's no surprise to see a razor-thin gap between Alabama and Oklahoma. Their previous meeting was decided by two points.

The winner of Friday's game will take on No. 1 Indiana in the next round.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Dec 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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