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Oklahoma’s Brent Venables gushes ‘respect’ for Alabama before CFP tilt
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- Oklahoma’s Brent Venables gushes ‘respect’ for Alabama before CFP tilt
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The Oklahoma Sooners and Alabama Crimson Tide are set to lock horns once again this season in a much-anticipated College Football Playoff rematch. The Sooners prevailed by a narrow two points against Alabama in November. The win set up the Sooners for their fifth CFP appearance in school history and first since 2019. Since then, Oklahoma won its final two games, securing a four-game win streak to end the season after a fourth-quarter comeback against LSU.
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Although riding high off the regular season finish, Sooners' head coach Brent Venables knows the challenge ahead and tipped his cap to Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the Crimson Tide roster.
"Exited to have our first playoff game ever, here in Norman, Oklahoma, this weekend against a great football team and program in Alabama," Venables said via George Stoia of On3 Sports. "Coach DeBoer and his staff have done a fantastic job there in two short years. One of the most talented rosters in the country, led by Ty Simpson . Just a big-time player. Great leader. They've got a really ferocious defense. They've been very, very disruptive all year long. Very, very well coached in all three phases, so I got a lot of familiarity."
Venables continued by gushing about Alabama's perseverance, despite multiple injuries that could have derailed their season.
"I don't want to be redundant. We just played these guys a couple of weeks ago and had a lot of great things to say. But man, it says a lot about their football team. The injuries they've had here this year, and what they've been able to overcome, especially still being in the position they're in, says a lot about their roster and certainly their staff. So, I got a lot of respect for Coach [DeBoer] and their program."
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No. 8-ranked Oklahoma will host No. 9-ranked Alabama on Friday. Currently, the Sooners have a 49.1% chance to win the rematch , according to ESPN analytics.
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