The Oklahoma Sooners already beat the Alabama Crimson Tide once this season, but Vegas oddsmakers don't like the chances of that happening again, even on OU's own Owen Field.
The No. 8 Sooners will host No. 9 Alabama at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Dec. 19, in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The two college football blue bloods already met once this season just last month in Tuscaloosa, and the Sooners won 23-21 to continue their undefeated November that ultimately propelled them into the playoff.
Crimson Tide open as betting favorites over Sooners in College Football Playoff
Despite the Sooners winning Round 1 just over a month before the rematch, FanDuel on Sunday opened Alabama as a 1.5-point favorite over OU. It was the closest opening spread of the four first-round games, with the next being No. 7 Texas A&M as a 4.5-point favorite over No. 10 Miami. No. 6 Ole Miss is favored by 17.5 points over No. 11 Tulane, and No. 5 Oregon is a 21.5-point favorite over No. 12 James Madison.
In November, though, before the Sooners traveled to Tuscaloosa, they went in as 6.5-point underdogs before walking out with a win. A long list of injuries for the Sooners inflated that spread, but this time, OU will be much healthier after three weeks of rest and will be in front of its home crowd instead of on the road.
However, what likely scares Vegas is that the Crimson Tide won basically every aspect of that game except for the final score. Bama had 406 total yards against OU's elite defense, while the Sooners put up 212 yards. The Sooners won thanks to three turnovers and a massive punt return.
Regardless, that's the way this OU team wins games under Brent Venables, and the Sooners have defied odds all season to get this far.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.