When the 2025 College Football Playoff kicks off Friday night, it’ll feature a heavyweight SEC-style rematch with a twist: No. 8 seed Oklahoma hosting No. 9 seed Alabama in a game packed with storylines, momentum swings, and playoff implications (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN).
This isn’t just another postseason showdown - it’s a rerun of a gritty November battle where the Sooners walked into Tuscaloosa and escaped with a 23-21 win. That victory turned heads not just because of the result, but because of how it happened. Alabama outgained Oklahoma 406-212 in total yardage, but it was the Sooners who came out on top, thanks in large part to three forced turnovers and some clutch special teams play.
And if you ask ESPN analyst Peter Burns, special teams could once again be the difference-maker in round two.
“Are you talking about a team that won the box score or a team that won the game?” Burns said during a Thursday appearance on SportsCenter with Paul Finebaum. “That’s not once but twice Brent Venables has shut down a Kalen DeBoer offense - did it last year with Jalen Milroe throwing three interceptions, and did it again this year with Ty Simpson.”
Burns pointed to the often-overlooked third phase of the game - special teams - as a key separator in that first matchup and potentially again in the rematch. And he’s not wrong.
In a game where offensive firepower and defensive adjustments tend to dominate headlines, it was Oklahoma’s kicker Tate Sandell and punter Grayson Miller who quietly tilted the field. Add in a few electric plays from return specialist Isaiah Sategna III, and the Sooners found just enough of an edge to leave Bryant-Denny with a win.
That kind of execution on special teams doesn’t just happen - it’s coached, drilled, and executed under pressure. And in the postseason, where margins are razor-thin, it could be what swings the tide (no pun intended) once again.
Burns also made a telling observation about where the betting action is leaning. “I think the public money likes Bama and the brand, but the smart money right now likes Oklahoma and the football they are playing,” he said.
And that’s reflected in the latest odds from BetMGM, where Oklahoma enters as a narrow 1.5-point favorite. It’s a small number, but it speaks volumes about how even this matchup is - and how much respect the Sooners have earned after that road win in November.
So what should fans expect Friday night? A chess match between two elite coaching staffs, a battle of quarterbacks trying to avoid costly mistakes, and yes - a potential game-changer or two on special teams.
If the first meeting taught us anything, it’s that the Sooners don’t need to dominate the stat sheet to win. They just need to make the right plays at the right time.
And if they can do that again, they might just punch their ticket to the next round of the playoff - with a little help from the guys who don’t always get the spotlight.