What the Alabama Crimson Tide needs against the Oklahoma Sooners and what it must have are different. The contest is not a must-win game for Alabama. It is for OU, making the task more difficult for the Crimson Tide.
What the Crimson Tide most needs against the Sooners is more than a win. Kalen DeBoer's team needs a statement win. On Friday, Nick Saban said, "I think there's three teams that's kind of proven they're a cut above -- A&M, Ohio State and Indiana. Those three teams have kind of shown that they're a cut above the other teams. The other teams are good enough to beat them, but they all have a little flaw or something that they need to overcome."
That Saban thinks his former team is not 'a cut above' is not shocking. Most college football opinion leaders would agree. Many Crimson Tide fans may agree as well. Alabama has an opportunity against OU to change those opinions. If Alabama plays one of its best games and takes down the Sooners by two touchdowns or more, it would be close to proving Saban wrong. Doing that might well be more meaningful than a payback to Oklahoma for last season.
Alabama Crimson Tide Statement Win?
Is Alabama good enough to earn a statement win against Brent Venable's team? Oddsmakers say no. Four in a sextet of CBS Sports college football experts stated Alabama will not cover a 6-point spread. Five picked the Crimson Tide to win straight up.
Predictions are mainly driven by the solidity of the Oklahoma defensive front and the weakness of the Crimson Tide rushing offense. In Venables, the Sooners may have college football's best defensive mind. Nick Saban knows the strengths of Venables' defensive schemes firsthand.
Discussing Alabama's offensive struggles to run the ball, Saban had a sound, though simple solution. The GOAT said, "Throw the ball when they think you are going to run it, and just keep making explosive plays that way. And if you want to run it better, run it when they think you are going to throw it, and maybe you will do a better job and develop some confidence in your ability to run the ball."
Executing Saban's sensible solution is not simple. If Ryan Grubb finds a way to do it, the Crimson Tide will get a statement win that it needs.