No. 9 Alabama and No. 8 Oklahoma are set as much as face off in opposition to one another at 8 p.m. ET Friday within the first spherical of the School Soccer Playoff.
Here is what every group must do to return out on high:
What Alabama has to do
Alabama must make Oklahoma depend on its struggling offense. It ought to attempt to keep away from letting the Sooners make it right into a defensive battle. To do that, it might want to restrict its turnovers, which suggests limiting quarterback errors and fumbles. Of their first assembly this season, the Crimson Tide was in a position to management and win the yardage recreation, however resulting from giving the ball away, they in the end misplaced, 23-21.
With operating again Jam Miller again, Alabama might want to discover a practical operating recreation to verify it is not too one-dimensional. Although it is perhaps a sluggish paced recreation, the Crimson Tide ought to keep affected person to keep away from forcing massive performs which may result in Oklahoma getting a turnover.
What Oklahoma has to do
Oklahoma must win with the protection once more. The Sooners have a quick, opportunistic unit that already held Alabama to 21 factors within the common season. However they’ve had a below-average offense all 12 months, so they need to create havoc and brief fields.
They need to be attempting to power turnovers identical to the final time they met. This group is constructed to upset by stealing possessions, not by lighting up the scoreboard. Since Oklahoma owns one of many weakest offenses within the CFP subject and has not scored greater than two offensive touchdowns in a recreation since late October, it must maintain the sport low-scoring and managed.
Lastly, the Sooners want to make use of this home-field benefit of their favor. In Norman, Oklahoma is 6-1 this season and now will get Alabama in a uncommon CFP house recreation after already successful in Tuscaloosa.
Whichever group protects the ball, controls the road of scrimmage and stays truest to its id would be the one shifting on to the following spherical and beginning to put together for the No. 1-seed Indiana Hoosiers.
