Fox Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt thinks the Oklahoma Sooners are a “really bad matchup” for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Klatt made those comments and more on his popular video podcast Thursday when previewing Saturday’s top 10 showdown at Bryant-Denny Stadium between No. 4 Alabama and No. 10 Oklahoma.
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The reason Klatt believes the Sooners are a bad matchup for coach Kalen DeBoer and the Tide?
“I look at Oklahoma and I think to myself: ‘Well, that’s a really bad matchup for Alabama.’ Now, can Alabama overcome it? Certainly they can. But will it be difficult? Yes, because what would you do if you were building a team to go and play Alabama? Well, the first thing you would do is build a defense that can get after the quarterback. Check. It’s exactly what Oklahoma does. They’re No. 3 in the country in sacks. They’re No. 1 in the SEC in yards per attempt allowed (264.2). So, not only sacks, but good pass defense.
“Because Alabama, as I’ve been talking about this entire year, they are more matchup specific than most teams because they are elite in one area and have struggled in other areas.”
That’s been particularly true in the run game, where Alabama ranks 14th in the SEC in rushing yards with 1,007 for the season. The Crimson Tide were held to just 56 rushing yards in last Saturday’s 20-9 win over LSU.
“It doesn’t mean they’re a bad team. It just means that they don’t have a lot of balance,” Klatt said of Alabama. “That’s a fair assessment of where Alabama is at, and Oklahoma can specifically take advantage of that because of what their defense does and where the strengths on their defense lie.”
Why Joel Klatt believes Oklahoma poses a threat to Alabama in top 10 showdown
Specifically, Klatt believes the Sooners’ defensive line and its ability to get after quarterback Ty Simpson present a problem for Alabama.
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“That game against Florida State comes to mind. If you’re going to beat Alabama, you have to present pressure on Ty Simpson. Well, Oklahoma can do that,” Klatt said.
The analyst on Fox’s “Big Noon Saturday” games each week believes we’ll get a feel for how Alabama-Oklahoma is going to play out early.
“In my estimation, we’re going to know everything we need to know early in the game because Bama has typically been good early in the game, and they have trailed off late. We saw that in the second half against Georgia, last week in the second half against LSU. So, these are games that they trailed off late in the game and they did not throw the ball as well as they did in the first half.
“I think Alabama is going to have to jump out quickly and put Oklahoma into a bind, because that (Oklahoma) offense is not very explosive.”
Another area where Alabama has struggled at times is with elusive quarterbacks, such as FSU’s Tommy Castellanos, who ran for 78 yards and a touchdown in the Seminoles’ Week 1 upset.
“So here comes John Mateer and again, that’s a matchup that favors Oklahoma,” Klatt said. “So I boil all this down and think to myself, ‘Boy, I really want to take the Sooners in this game — and I just cant. I just can’t.”
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Alabama football vs. Oklahoma: Joel Klatt’s final score prediction
Klatt believes Alabama will ultimately emerge victorious when they face Oklahoma in Week 12.
“I will take the (point spread), but I cannot in good conscious say that Oklahoma is going to go in there with an offense that we just don’t know if they’re going to be able to score a lot of points and beat Alabama, in particular with that elite passing game,” Klatt said.
“So here’s what I’m going to do: I couldn’t go as far as (picking) Oklahoma outright. Bama has won 17 straight at home. So give me Alabama in a thriller, 24-21, but Oklahoma covers.”
“Long dissertation to basically tell you I think that Bama somehow wins the game, but Oklahoma covers,” Klatt joked.
Kickoff for Alabama-Oklahoma is 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be televised on ABC.
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Joel Klatt’s record when picking Alabama football games in 2025
Klatt is 3-3 when picking Alabama games this season. He predicted the Crimson Tide would beat Florida State in Week 1 and picked both Georgia and Missouri to beat Alabama in later weeks.
Klatt correctly predicted that Alabama would beat Vanderbilt in Week 6, Tennessee in Week 8, and LSU last Saturday.
Alabama football schedule 2025
Here’s a game by game look at Alabama’s 2025 schedule.
All start times Central.
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Aug. 30: at Florida State (L, 31-17)
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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. 18: vs. Tennessee (W, 37-20)
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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, 2:30 p.m., ABC
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Nov. 22 vs. Eastern Illinois, 1 p.m., ESPN+
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama football vs Oklahoma, final score prediction from Joel Klatt
