The top-two Heisman candidates square off in the Orange Bowl as the Alabama Crimson Tide and Oklahoma Sooners clash in the College Football Playoff.
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Oklahoma Sooners have no doubt been two of the most prolific offenses in all of college football throughout the 2018 season. At the helm of the offenses has been Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray, a pair of quarterbacks that ultimately ended up as the top two finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Of course, it was Murray who ultimately won that award, but now they look for a bigger prize in the Orange Bowl.
In the second College Football Playoff matchup to be played on Saturday, Alabama and Oklahoma will battle for the right to face the winner of the clash between Clemson and Notre Dame. These are two offenses that have been monstrous throughout this season and they hope is that they will provide more fireworks in the Orange Bowl, similar to the Sooners and the Georgia Bulldogs last year in their CFP semifinal matchup.
Of course, the defenses have something to say about that, and these two teams are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to that side of the ball. As such, what we could see in this one is that the defense that comes up with the most big plays will be the victors.
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Before we dive into the specifics of this matchup between Alabama and Oklahoma, let’s take a look at the particulars for this game so that you have a brief primer about when to watch and what the situation is.
Game Info
Date: Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018
Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Miami, FL
Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
It’s not particularly shocking that the Crimson Tide are heavily favored in this game. But what is a bit surprising is that the Over/Under line is as “low” as it is. Currently sitting at 77, we could see one team come close to topping that mark, much less both of them.
Betting Odds (via Odds Shark)
Point Spread: Alabama -14
Moneyline: Alabama -580, Oklahoma +490
Over/Under: 77
What will be the deciding factors in this Orange Bowl matchup on Saturday night? Let’s take a look at what each team will need to do to pick up the win, starting with Oklahoma.