Will Sooners have enough fight in them to make game interesting, even upset mighty Alabama?

When the SEC football schedule for the 2024 season came out nearly one year ago, the game in Norman with Alabama drew the immediate attention of Oklahoma fans, possibly even more so than the annual rivalry game with Texas.

This is still a huge game on the schedule if for no other reason that it features two of the winningest and most nationally recognized programs in the modern era of college football. This season, however, the matchup has lost a lot of its luster because of two teams that are headed in opposite directions.

Alabama (8-2, 4-2) may not have as strong a team as they've fielded in recent seasons, but the Crimson Tide are still good enough to be a solid contender for this year's 12-team College Football Playoff. The CFP selection committee currently has Bama ranked No. 9 in the playoff rankings.

The Sooners (5-5, 1-5) have struggled this season, especially on offense, which seems paradoxical when talking about OU and offense in an historical sense. OU only has one win so far against six SEC opponents and four of the five losses have been by double digits. The one victory was a come-from-behind 27-21 win at Auburn in a game in which the Sooners trailed until the fourth quarter.

The Crimson Tide will be the seventh team Oklahoma has faced this season that is currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. Because of the wide disparity in the performance of the two teams this season, Saturday's game, the seventh in the all-time series, sets up more like the classic confrontation of David vs. Goliath.

This is only the seventh time these two college football blue bloods have faced each other in football with the Sooners owning a slight 3-2-1 advantage.

Since the end of World War II (1946 to present), Oklahoma and Alabama rank No. 1 and 2, respectively, in wins. During that span, the Sooners have posted 705 victories, and Alabama is next with 677. The same two schools rank third and fifth, respective in all-time winning percentage. Alabama's all-time win percentage is .734 (973-339--43), Oklahoma's is .724 (949-346-53).

Saturday's contest with Alabama will be the home finale and Senior Day at Oklahoma. The game is scheduled for under the lights with a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff. The game will be televised on ABC and will have ESPN's No. 1 announce crew on the call: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe.

As part of the 100th-year celebration of Gaylord Family--Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, OU will honor former head coach Bob Stoops, the winningest coach in Sooner history in terms of wins with 191 in 18 seasons.

What fans need to know about Alabama

• As junior quarterback Jalen Milroe goes, so goes the Alabama offense. Milroe is a dual threat. He can beat you with his arm and his legs. He leads the Crimson Tide in rushing with 608 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. He also completes nearly 68 percent of his pass attempts and has 17 passing touchdowns. Milroe shares the rushing load with RBs Jamarion Miller and Justice Haynes. Between them, Miller and Haynes have over 900 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns and both average over 5.0 yards per carry.

• When Milroe puts the ball in the air, which he does roughly 18 times a game, his top receiving targets are Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard. Williams has a team-high 40 catches for 767 yards and eight touchdowns, and Bernard has 35 receptions for 543 yards and two touchdowns.

• Alabama LB Jihaad Campbel is the Crimson Tide's version of OU's Danny Stutsman. Campbell ranks fifth in the SEC with 85 tackles this season.

• Alabama ranks No. 3 in the country in turnovers gained with 24 this season, an average of 2.4 per game.

• When the Crimson Tide scores a touchdown on its first possession, Alabama has won 58 of its last 59 games.

What to watch for from Oklahoma

• Jackson Arnold's performance over the final two or three games of the season will go a long way toward determining the future of the former 5-star prospect and National Gatorade Player of the Year. Turnovers have been the primary downfall of the redshirt freshman this season. He fumbled three times in OU's last game against Missouri and has committed 11 of the Sooners' 18 total giveaways in the 2024 season.

• Alabama is probably going to load the box along the line of scrimmage and force Oklahoma to beat through the air, where the Sooners have been decimated with injuries and are thin in experience. The Sooners probably aren't going to have Jovantae Barnes for a second straight game, but to be in a position to pull off the upset they are going to have to run the ball effectively. It could help that Alabama ranks 12th out of the 16 SEC teams in rushing defense, allowing an average of 132.0 yards per game.

• The OU defense has allowed opponents just 319.0 yards per game through 10 games this season. That is the lowest per-game total by an Oklahoma defense since the 2009 season.

• Through the first five games this season, Oklahoma had just five giveaways and 13 takeaways, which ranked No. 3 among FBS teams. Over its five games, however, the Sooners have committed 13 turnovers with just four takeaways.

• In the Sooners five wins this season, they have outscored opponents 63-6 off of turnovers; in their five losses, the Sooners have been outscored 58-7 off of turnovers.

Injury report

The latest injury report as of Thursday afternoon. Once again the list is heavy with the names of Oklahoma players.

Oklahoma: WR Jayden Gibson (out); DB Gentry Williams (out); OL Geirean Hatchett (out); WR Nic Anderson (out); WR Andrel Anthony (out); DB Kendel Dolby (out); OL Jacob Sexton (out); OL Jake Taylor (out); WR Deion Burks (out); RB Jovantae Barnes (questionable); OL Joshua Bates (questionable); WR Jalil Farooq (questionable).

Alabama: DB Keon Saab (out); WR Cole Adams (out); LB Quandarrius Robinson (out).

Weather forecast

Clear skies, 60 degrees at kickoff, no precipitation, wind 15 mph; 57 degrees at end of game.

Key stat

Oklahoma ranks 133rd out of 134 FBS teams in yards per play on offense this season (4.0 yards per play). Meanwhile, Alabama ranks 13th nationally, allowing opponents just 4.6 yards per play.

Prediction

No one is giving Oklahoma much of a chance against Alabama. The Sooners are 14.0-point underdogs, which is the second largest spread they've faced all season (OU was -16.5 against Texas earlier in the season). The Sooners still have a lot to play for, and I'd like to think they still have an upside surprise left in them this season, but getting by Alabama, even playing at home, at this point in the season seems like a really tall order. Alabama 31, Oklahoma 17