In spite of the loss to Oklahoma in November in Tuscaloosa, Alabama's offense didn't have a lot of trouble moving the football. The Crimson Tide racked up over 400 yards of offense, with QB Ty Simpson throwing for 326.
It proved fruitless because of three Alabama turnovers. Simpson threw a pick-six and was strip-sacked early in the fourth quarter. Ryan Williams fumbled a punt return earlier in the game. Those three turnovers directly led to 17 of Oklahoma's 23 points in a two-point Sooners win where Alabama had a 95% postgame win expectancy.
Even after Alabama's porous offensive showing in the SEC Championship Game, there's some optimism that the Crimson Tide can right the ship against an elite Oklahoma defense simply because they moved the ball effectively in the first meeting.
Getting healthier at some key positions over the next two weeks will be pivotal for a banged-up Tide team.
But Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables isn't worried about a redux from Simpson. He's only concerned with winning the game, not the stats:
Brent Venables was asked how he plans to alter the #Sooners’ defensive game plan to better contain Ty Simpson, who threw for 326 yards in Oklahoma’s 23-21 win in Tuscaloosa last month.
— Parker Thune (@ParkerThune) December 7, 2025
Brent’s response was classic.
“I’ll take a win and he can have a great game again.”
Brent Venables will have plenty of curveballs for Ty Simpson
Regardless of what Venables says, he's going to have plenty of curveballs to throw at Simpson in Norman. Venables is one of the brightest defensive minds in college football, and at this point, there's a lot of tape on the things that make Simpson uncomfortable.
Venables knows them all. And he's going to attack the perceived weaknesses of Alabama's offense over and over and over again in the College Football Playoff.
How will Alabama respond to that? If they respond as they did against Georgia, it's going to be an early exit in the playoff.
Alabama, in theory, matches up well against Oklahoma. Regardless of the result, the Crimson Tide was the better team in the first game. They just beat themselves. If they can avoid the disastrous plays, they should be able to beat the Sooners, even on the road.
But who knows at this point?
Alabama has not looked like a good team in several weeks. Simpson has looked nothing like the sure-fire NFL Draft pick he looked like in the middle of the season. He's gone from being projected as a Top 10 pick to many saying he should return to school.
We know there's a better version of Simpson that we saw against Georgia. He can play better. But the same can be said about everyone on the offense. He needs more help. But he also needs to live up to the promise he made to the Alabama fanbase before the season about how he would fight, scratch, and claw for every single inch.
He didn't in Atlanta. He's going to have to in Norman for Alabama to have a shot at getting to the Rose Bowl quarterfinal matchup against Indiana.