Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback and ESPN and ABC analyst Greg McElroy has some thoughts on the Crimson Tide’s first-round College Football Playoff matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Alabama (10-3), the No. 9 seed in the playoffs, will take on No. 8 seed Oklahoma (10-2) at 7 p.m. CT Friday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The game will be televised on ABC and ESPN.
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McElroy won’t be on the call of his alma mater’s game, but he joined ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday to outline his keys to a Crimson Tide win over the Sooners.
“I want to see Alabama come out and be aggressive offensively. It feels like the last month of the season, since their most recent bye and starting with the LSU game, all the way through the Auburn game and then the Georgia game, they’ve been playing not to lose.”
McElroy, who started every game during the Crimson Tide’s 2009 national championship season under Nick Saban, believes Alabama needs to play like the hunter and not the hunted against Oklahoma.
“Now that they’re in (the playoffs), the pressure’s off. I know it sounds crazy. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but they’re in the field. Go throw a punch. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake, and I feel like they need to turn into the hunter as opposed to the hunted. That’s kind of the way they’ve played for the last month of the year.”
SEC Network analyst and former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers added that he thought Alabama’s chances came down to its ability to protect quarterback Ty Simpson, who threw for 326 yards against Oklahoma in Week 12, but struggled against Auburn (122) and Georgia (212 yards).
“They’re going to be healthier,” Rodgers said of Alabama. “Jam Miller should be back. Josh Cuevas, the tight end, both those guys are crucial in protection. Can they give a clean pocket to Ty Simpson?”
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Rodgers added:
“I still believe the body of work tells us (Simpson) is one of the best in the country in a clean pocket when he can handle the pressure, when he can be accurate downfield without stuff in his face. That hasn’t been the case the last couple of weeks.”
Where to Alabama football vs Oklahoma today: channel, streaming for CFP game
Alabama football schedule 2025
Here’s a game by game look at Alabama’s 2025 schedule.
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Sept. 6: vs. UL Monroe (W, 73-0)
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Sept. 27: at Georgia (W, 24-21)
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Oct. 4: vs. Vanderbilt (W, 30-14)
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Oct. 11: at Missouri (W, 27-24)
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Oct. 25: at South Carolina (W, 29-22)
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Nov. 8: vs. LSU (W, 20-9)
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Nov. 15: vs. Oklahoma (L, 23-21)
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Nov. 22 vs. Eastern Illinois (W, 56-0)
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Nov. 29: at Auburn (W, 27-20)
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Dec. 6: vs. Georgia (L, 28-7)
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Dec. 19: at Oklahoma, 7 p.m.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama football keys to victory vs Oklahoma in CFP, per Greg McElroy
