Alabama Football faces a stern challenge from high-powered Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl.
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For the fifth year in a row, Alabama enters the College Football Playoff, and will be searching for their fourth consecutive trip to the National Championship Game.
The defending National Champions were widely expected to roll through their season undefeated, and they somehow still exceeded expectations with a perfect regular season and then a come-from-behind win for the ages in the SEC Championship over Georgia.
At 13-0, the Crimson Tide will be looking to become the first ever 15-0 National Champion. They came up just short of that in 2016, falling to Clemson in the national title game after spoiling Clemson’s chance for that distinction the year before.
All the chatter surrounding the program in the lead up to the Orange Bowl has been the health of Heisman runner-up Tua Tagovailoa, but the sensational sophomore QB expects to be 100 percent by the time of the game. If not, decorated backup Jalen Hurts has proven more than capable of coming up big when his team needs him the most.
Oklahoma enters the playoff for the third time in its five years of existence, but the Sooners have yet to advance to the title game, losing both of their previous semifinal matchups. They faced off with Clemson in the Orange Bowl in the 2015 playoff and were routed 37-17 by the Tigers. Last season, they blew a big early lead and lost in overtime to Georgia.
For the second straight year, Lincoln Riley produced the Heisman Trophy winner at QB, with Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray edging out Tua Tagovailoa to join Baker Mayfield as back-to-back Heisman winners for the Sooners.
Murray has somehow elevated the QB play in Norman, exceeding the historic season that Mayfield had a year ago. Despite a porous defense, Murray’s virtuoso performances led Oklahoma to a 12-1 mark and a Big 12 Championship, earning them a spot in the playoff.
Alabama enters the game as a two-touchdown favorite, but the Sooners are confident that they have the juice to dethrone the champions, and earn their first berth in a College Football Playoff Championship Game.
Can Oklahoma pull the upset, or will be the Crimson Tide advancing to the title game in search of their sixth national championship in the last 10 years?
Here’s five bold predictions for the Orange Bowl: