Alabama faces a unique matchup that comes with both pros and cons, which Kalen DeBoer has to sort through in the CFB Playoff
Alabama gets a rematch against Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff. Here’s why it’s different than the Georgia rematch.
The Alabama Crimson Tide came up short in the SEC Championship, but it didn’t matter in the end, as it still locked in a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Alabama will be the No. 9 seed and pulled a familiar face in the first round, as it travels to Norman to take on the No. 8 seed Oklahoma Sooners. It’s not often that a team gets a rematch in the College Football Playoff, but it’s a unique situation that Alabama will have to prepare for to keep its season going.
Alabama faces its second rematch of the season
This isn’t the first time that Alabama has had to prepare for an opponent for the second time, and we all saw how the rematch against Georgia went. The team has to do something different this time around if it wants to move on to the next round to face Indiana. There is one stark difference in the Georgia rematch and the Oklahoma rematch, though, and it’s time.
Alabama played Georgia 10 weeks apart; meanwhile, it just played Oklahoma on November 15th. Georgia was a completely different team this time around, but Oklahoma shouldn’t be that much of a different opponent.
Kalen DeBoer knows the difficulties and advantages of the rematch
Head coach Kalen DeBoer knows that this rematch will be different than the Georgia game, and he has to approach it properly, while respecting the improvements Oklahoma has made since.
“Yeah, I think you have a much better idea [of the team],” DeBoer said. “So even with the Georgia rematch, you could see the growth of their team. You know, what our team has had as far as growth, but as you said, it’s certainly much tighter as far as the timeline here, so you have a better understanding. I’m sure [there were] some guys that were dinged up for them. Oklahoma was looking to get some guys back, including, you know, probably a continuous, stronger quarterback with [John] Mateer. So I know that’s the thing that draws a lot of tension on their end. But, you know, we’re looking forward to this rematch.”
Alabama can’t beat itself this time around
DeBoer is going to watch the tape back and see that Alabama had the first game won. The team beat itself with the turnovers, which resulted in 17 of Oklahoma’s 23 points, including a pick-six. There were way too many missed opportunities for Alabama, and there’s no room for error anymore.
Ty Simpson needs to get back on track for Alabama to win
Ty Simpson has been in a slump over the last few weeks, and he hasn’t been the same since the loss to Oklahoma. He was the clear better quarterback last time the two teams faced off, after finishing the game with 326 passing yards, but the turnovers were a killer. Simpson needs to slow down and stop forcing things for Alabama to have a shot against Oklahoma’s defense. He can’t have the same performance as he did against Georgia in the SEC Championship, or the season will be over.
Luckily, he should have tight end Josh Cuevas back on offense, who was the leading receiver in the first matchup with 80 yards and a touchdown. Cuevas and Jam Miller have both been heavily missed over the last few weeks, and it seems like both will be back.
Alabama has to take advantage of the unique opportunity of having a rematch in the College Football Playoff. Stick to what worked last time, and fix the mistakes that cost Alabama the game the first time around.
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Kalen Deboer throws a subtle jab at Notre Dame when asked what Alabama would have done if it missed the College Football Playoff
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