In the only previous meeting between Michigan State and Alabama, the Crimson Tide won 49-7 in the Capital One Bowl in 2011 after the co-Big Ten champion Spartans lost out on a tiebreaker and didn’t get to go to the Rose Bowl. The Tigers and Sooners (11-1) met in Russell Athletic Bowl last season.
Advertisement
“I don’t think any of it is about getting teams back”, Oklahoma cornerback Zack Sanchez said, when asked about the rematch with Clemson.
“We weren’t playing well at the end of past year in, really, all phases”, said defensive coordinator Mike Stoops.
The Tigers have held the No. 1 ranking for much of this season for the first time since winning the 1981 national championship against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
This is the second year to feature the four-team playoff and the 18th with a college football post-season created to name a consensus national champion, a stretch that began in the 1998 season with the introduction of the Bowl Championship Series. Heck, I even remember muttering to myself after that last touchdown that the Spartans’ hopes for a meaningful bowl game were down the drain. The Cardinal might be one of the four best teams, just as Ohio State might actually be one of the four best, but it does not matter.
“He’ll be a challenge to get ready for”, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. Their last three games consisted of beating #6 Baylor, #18 TCU, and #11 Oklahoma Sate.
Like Ohio State last season, Oklahoma made a steep climb into the playoff.
Two of college footballs biggest role players will be performing on the same big stage, as quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Baker Mayfield are both Heisman Trophy contenders.
Iowa came up just short of the playoff, but its first trip to Pasadena sine the 1990 season is a pretty good consolation. The Tigers are second in tackles for loss (108) and fifth in team sacks (38). And that big picture is this: Two years in, the playoff is looking like a great idea and a real success. Three weeks later, the struggling Texas Longhorns pulled off one of season’s biggest upsets against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.
But then there’s the conspiracy theory that the committee didn’t want to put Oklahoma in Dallas in the No. 2-3 matchup, where No. 2 Alabama would have been a de facto road team. Both ranked among the top nine nationally in that department. Watson has been intercepted 11 times this season.
“Oklahoma is a tremendous team”, Swinney said.
Of course, strength of schedule is a criteria in evaluating teams as well, and that’s where you can make a strong case for Oklahoma.
There was no drama for the CFP selection committee after Saturday’s conference title games, which announced its choices on Sunday after deliberating throughout the weekend in Grapevine, Texas. The Sooners defeated the Crimson Tide, 45-31, in the 2014 Sugar Bowl.
Oklahoma slips one spot to No. 4. Bacon expects the Gators could pose a serious threat to U of M, but tells us things get a little harder to predict when it comes to bowl games. Their New Year’s Eve national semifinal matchup with Clemson presents the best chance of capturing a championship for the first time since that 24-14 loss to Florida seven years ago.
Advertisement
The former walk-on has been outstanding this season, combining for 3,809 total yards of offense and 42 total touchdowns. This year the Sooners played what was essentially a championship game in the final regular season game against Oklahoma State, and it turned into a lopsided affair.
