Alabama football sets distant home-and-home series with Oklahoma

Oklahoma and Alabama football announced a home-and-home football series for 2032 and 2033 establishing a colossal clash of two college football powers.

There are still 13 years until the two schools meet in this regular-season marquee matchup, but go ahead, start looking forward to a Sooners-Tide rematch.

The Crimson Tide defeated the Sooners in last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal, 45-34, in a highly billed matchup between the defending 2017 national champions and the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner, Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray.

OU recently announced a similar home-and-home series with last year’s national champions, the Clemson Tigers, for the 2035 and 2036 seasons. 13 years is a long time in the future, especially in a college sports world in which five years can seem like an eternity.

Overall, the Sooners hold a 3-2-1 series advantage. OU defeated Alabama 45-31 in the 2013 Sugar Bowl, and the Sooners also beat the Tide in both regular-season meetings from 2002 and 2003.

A lot has changed with the two programs since their last regular-season matchup, a 20-13 Sooners victory in Tuscaloosa. Alabama was in its first season under head coach Mike Shula, who led the team to a 4-9 finish (including a season-concluding loss against Hawaii). OU was in Bob Stoops’ fifth season at the helm during a season in which the Sooners were invited to the national title game despite a Big 12 title game loss to Kansas State. OU would go on to lose 21-14 to LSU in the Sugar Bowl, that year’s national championship game.

It’s difficult to imagine what exactly the two programs will look like in such a long time from now, but it seems likely that they will both be key figures in the national title race. Sure, think back 13 years ago, and things were awfully different: George W. Bush was the U.S. president, I weighed 15 pounds lighter and couldn’t vote yet, hits like “Laffy Taffy” and “Hips Don’t Lie” graced the top hit lists, and Tim Tebow lifted Florida to a national title.

The two programs have combined to produce nine Heisman Trophy winners, claim 18 AP national titles, win 75 conference titles, and feature 155 All-Americans.

With the CFP’s emphasis on strength of schedule, college football fans can hopefully look forward to more top-notch prizefights like this one — even if it isn’t taking place until 2032.