NORMAN — The College Football Playoff is coming to Norman. Oklahoma was slotted as the CFP’s No. 8 seed Sunday morning and will host No. 9 seed Alabama in a firstround contest Friday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by ABC and ESPN.

The OU-Alabama winner will face No. 1 seed and Big Ten champion Indiana in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 at 3 p.m. CT in Pasadena, Calif.

The Sooners, who will be making their fifth CFP appearance and first since 2019, are 10-2 overall under fourth-year head coach Brent Venables and went 6-2 in Southeastern Conference play. OU has won its last four games and is the only team in the country to win five contests against AP-ranked teams at the time of competition.

Alabama is 10-3 overall after its 28-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship yesterday. It went 7-1 in regular season conference play. The Crimson Tide ranks 41st nationally in scoring offense (31.2 ppg) and 12th in scoring defense (17.4 ppg).

Oklahoma and Alabama met on Nov. 15 this season in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the Sooners came away with a 23-21 win. It was the Crimson Tide’s first home loss in SEC play since 2019. OU, which also posted a 24-3 home win over Alabama last season, is 5-2-1 in the series all-time and has won five of the last six meetings.

OU’s defensive unit has been one of the best nationally all season. The Sooners lead the country in sacks (3.4) and tackles for loss (9.6) per game, and rank No. 3 in touchdowns allowed (16), No. 5 in rushing defense (81.4 ypg), rushing TDs allowed (six) and passing TDs allowed (nine), No. 6 in opponent third-down conversion percentage (29.0), No. 7 in scoring defense (13.9 ppg) and opponent yards per play (4.3) and No. 9 in total defense (273.6 ypg). OU paces the SEC in all of those categories, except rushing defense (ranks second behind Georgia) and opponent third-down conversion percentage (ranks second behind Texas A&M).

Oklahoma is 10-2 against a schedule that nearly everyone considered was the toughest schedule in the country heading into 2025. 10-2 with road wins over Tennessee and Alabama. 10-2 with five wins against teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time they lost to the Sooners.

They said it was going to be a miracle for the Sooners to survive their schedule.

“I thought championships arewonondefense?,” Bob Stoops said. “That’s all I heard when we were putting up 50 points every single week. Now they’re going to change the narrative, right? Typical. C’mon, that’s a joke.”

The Oklahoma Sooners’ defense is arguably the best defense in college football this season.

Offensively, Oklahoma is the only team in the country that has scored on all of its red-zone opportunities this season. The Sooners are 32 for 32, with 23 touchdowns and nine field goals.

Other first-round CFP games feature No. 12 seed James Madison at No. 5 Oregon, No. 11 seed Tulane at No. 6 seed Ole Miss and No. 10 seed Miami at No. 7 seed Texas A&M. The four first-round byes went to No. 1 seed Indiana, No. 2 seed Ohio State, No. 3 seed Georgia and No. 4 seed Texas Tech.

The Sooners are making their fifth College Football Playoff appearance, tied with Georgia for fourth most nationally behind Alabama (nine), Clemson (seven) and Ohio State (seven). OU played in the four-team CFP in 2015 (Orange Bowl), 2017 (Rose Bowl), 2018 (Orange Bowl) and 2019 (Peach Bowl).

Venables coached in 10 College Football Playoff games as defensive coordinator at Clemson and went 6-4. The Tigers made four CFP National Championships with Venables on staff and won titles in 2016 and 2018. Venables also coached in four national championship games as an OU defensive coordinator (won in 2000).

This marks Oklahoma’s school-record 27th straight year to make the postseason, with only Georgia (29) holding a longer active streak. This season also represents OU’s 43rd with at least 10 wins, trailing only Alabama (44). Since the end of World War II (1946 season), OU leads the country with its 716 victories (28 more than Alabama, the program with the next most).

The Sooners have a defense that’s capable of playing with anyone in the country. They have an offense that’s proven explosive. And with their game-changing special teams, the Sooners have a team that’s going to be hard to beat.