Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Alabama and Oklahoma coming to Orange Bowl
Alabama, Oklahoma headed to South Florida, boast top Heisman candidates
It will be the Crimson Tide and Sooners playing in South Florida on Dec. 29 for a spot in college football’s title game.
It’ll be Alabama and Oklahoma playing in South Florida on Dec. 29 for a spot in college football’s title game.
The Crimson Tide and Sooners were announced on Sunday as the two teams competing in the Orange Bowl, which is a College Football Playoff Semifinal this postseason. Kickoff that Saturday night will be at 8 p.m.
Alabama (13-0) earned the No. 1 seed in the final College Football Playoff rankings after coming back from two touchdowns down against Georgia in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game to win, 35-28.
“It’s really the first opportunity that we’ve been in that situation. Not saying I was happy to be in it. We didn’t execute really well at times in the game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said on a
conference call Sunday. “The perseverance that we showed, the competitive spirit to keep fighting in the game and finding a way to come back and win the game.
“It was a real character check, and I was really proud of the way our players responded.”
Oklahoma (12-1), topping Texas, 39-27, in the Big 12 Championship Game, combined with Georgia’s loss, swooped into the No. 4 and final spot over the Bulldogs.
“That’s what these games should be like,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said on the phone with ESPN on Sunday. “Different champions from all across the country going against each other.”
The Sooners were No. 5 entering Championship Saturday, and there was debate nationally over whether Georgia (11-2) deserved to remain in the playoff after putting up the best fight any Alabama opponent has had all season against the top-ranked Tide. Ohio State (12-1) was also in the conversation after winning the Big Ten championship, 45-24, over Northwestern.
The final rankings had Georgia finish fifth and the Buckeyes sixth. Oklahoma will be perceived as a significant underdog to Alabama.
“We just go about our business the way we always do,” Riley said on a conference call Sunday. “It’s going to be a great challenge, but we’re going to go prepare like we do. Our goal will be for us to be at our very best.”
In the other semifinal, Clemson will face Notre Dame in a 4 p.m. kickoff to the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. The winners of the semifinals will meet in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., for the national championship on Jan. 7.
The Orange Bowl will feature the top two scoring offenses in the nation with Oklahoma No. 1 at 49.5 points per game and Alabama second at 47.9. In scoring defense, however, the Crimson Tide are fourth (14.8 ppg allowed per game) and Sooners 96th (32.4) out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
The matchup also pins two Heisman hopefuls against each other in Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Oklahoma signal caller Kyler Murray. Tagovailoa injured his ankle in the SEC title game, and backup Jalen Hurts finished off the comeback. Whether Tagovailoa can play on Dec. 29 will be one of the major storylines going into the Orange Bowl.
“We did an MRI on his ankle [Sunday] morning. He had a high ankle sprain,” Saban said. “It’s usually about a two-week deal. We’ll reevaluate him in about two weeks, and see where he is.”
Last time the Orange Bowl was a College Football Playoff semifinal following the 2015 season, Clemson topped Oklahoma to reach the National Championship Game, which it lost to Alabama.
In addition to Saban returning to Miami where he coached the Dolphins for two seasons, the Orange Bowl will be a homecoming for players on both teams.
The Crimson Tide have standout sophomore receiver Jerry Jeudy (Deerfield Beach), freshman cornerback Patrick Surtain II (American Heritage), sophomore DB Daniel Wright, freshman receiver Xavier Williams (ChaminadeMadonna) and freshman safety Josh Jobe, who played at Miami Columbus.
The Sooners have star wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown hailing from Chaminade-Madonna, as well as redshirt freshman defensive end K’Jakyre Daley (Suncoast), freshman linebacker Nik Bonitto and freshman cornerback Miguel Edwards (Deerfield Beach) on the roster. Like Tagovailoa, Brown’s status will be up in the air after exiting the Big 12 Championship Game early with a lower-leg injury.