Alabama running back Justice Haynes carries the football during an SEC game against Tennessee on Oct. 19, 2024, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
No. 7 Alabama (8-2, 4-2) at Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5)
6:30 p.m. CST Saturday (ABC)
Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma
0 Previous meetings between Oklahoma as an unranked team and Alabama. The Sooners have a 3-2-1 record against the Crimson Tide. No. 5 Alabama beat No. 8 Oklahoma 17-0 in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1963, their first matchup. Unranked Alabama and No. 20 Oklahoma tied 24-24 in the Bluebonnet Bowl on Dec. 31, 1970. Oklahoma then won three straight: No. 2 Oklahoma defeated Alabama 37-27 on Sept. 7, 2002, No. 1 Oklahoma won 20-13 on Sept. 6, 2003, in Alabama’s only visit to Norman, and No. 11 Oklahoma beat No. 3 Alabama 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, 2014. No. 1 Alabama won 45-34 in the Orange Bowl against No. 4 Oklahoma on Dec. 29, 2018.
0 No team in the country has played a tougher schedule than Alabama in 2024, according to NCAA rankings. The Crimson Tide’s nine NCAA FBS opponents have a combined record of 66-25 this season against other FBS teams (excluding games versus Alabama). That .725 winning percentage is the highest in the nation.
3 Alabama has three players with at least six rushing touchdowns this season. QB Jalen Milroe has 17 rushing TDs, RB Jam Miller has seven, and RB Justice Haynes has six. Only two other teams nationally have three players with six or more rushing TDs – South Alabama and Texas A&M. Alabama is the only SEC team and one of just 11 nationally with three players who have rushed for 400 or more yards. Milroe has 608 yards on 120 carries, Miller has 512 yards on 95 carries, and Haynes has 410 yards on 69 carries.
4 Oklahoma has lost four straight conference games, matching the longest in-season league losing streak in program history. The Sooners also lost four consecutive conference games in 1960, 1997, and 1998. Oklahoma was part of the Big Eight in 1960 and the Big 12 in 1997 and 1998. Since defeating Auburn 27-21 on Sept. 28, Oklahoma has lost SEC games 34-3 to Texas on Oct. 12, 35-9 to South Carolina on Oct. 19, 26-14 to Ole Miss on Oct. 26, and 30-23 to Missouri on Nov. 9.
5 Alabama’s opponents have gained just five punt-return yards this season, tied with Texas State for the fewest in the nation. Alabama’s opponents have returned seven punts in 2024, with the Crimson Tide yielding only 0.71 yards per punt return, the lowest in the nation. Oklahoma DB Peyton Bowen has 190 yards on 23 punt returns this season, with only one player, Connecticut WR TJ Sheffield, having more punt returns nationally (27).
6 Alabama QB Jalen Milroe has had six games this season with at least 100 passing yards and two or more rushing TDs, tied with New Mexico QB Devon Dampier for the most in the nation in 2024. Milroe, Dampier, and Washington State QB John Mateer are the only players this season with three games of 200 or more passing yards and two or more rushing TDs.
9 Alabama’s coach Kalen DeBoer has achieved the most victories (9) for a first-year Alabama coach. DeBoer enters Saturday’s game with an 8-2 record in his first season at Alabama, surpassing the previous mark of 9-1 by Frank Thomas in 1931, his first year as head coach of the Crimson Tide.
9 Alabama has won its last nine games in November, marking the longest current winning streak in the SEC for the month.
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