Top 5 matchups for Week 13 of the 2024 college football season
4. No. 7 Alabama at Oklahoma – Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
The first SEC meeting between Alabama and Oklahoma was expected to hold more significance but remains an important game for the Crimson Tide. The two historic programs have only met six times, including in four bowl games. The Sooners have won three matchups, including the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl, while the Tide picked up one of their two wins the last time the teams met in the 2018 Capital One Orange Bowl.
Alabama is a two-touchdown favorite as it travels to Norman for the first time since 2002 and can position itself for a College Football Playoff berth with a win on Saturday and in the Iron Bowl against Auburn next week. Alabama has victories against Georgia, Missouri and LSU on its resume and looked dominant again in a non-conference matchup with Mercer this past weekend. The Tide鈥檚 defense hasn鈥檛 been as stout as it often was during the Nick Saban era, but their offense has remained strong under Kalen DeBoer, ranking eighth in the country in scoring at over 39 points per game.
Dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe will be tough to handle for Oklahoma whose defense ranks 24th in the country but has uncharacteristically given up a lot of big games this season. The Sooners鈥� five losses have come to teams that are currently ranked, but they haven鈥檛 broken through for a signature win and are just 1-4 in their last five contests. Offense has been the biggest downfall as Oklahoma hasn鈥檛 had good quarterback play from Jackson Arnold or Michael Hawkins Jr. Upsetting Alabama will take a gritty defensive effort, but the Sooners will need to find a way to put points on the board.
