Alabama Crimson Tide Vs. Oklahoma Sooners: Betting Odds For College Football Playoff Semifinal

Saturday was an exciting day in college football, but ultimately, things worked out how oddsmakers expected them to work out. No. 1 Alabama beat Georgia in the SEC title game and No. 4 Oklahoma snagged a Big 12 championship from archrival Texas.

Those two outcomes set up a marquee matchup in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 29. Despite the excitement produced by both teams on Sunday, oddsmakers did not put much faith in the Sooners. Alabama is favored by 14 points over Oklahoma, according to OddsShark.

The statistical case for Alabama potentially dominating Oklahoma is obvious. The Crimson Tide is top 10 in both total offense and total defense. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is best in the league in total offense and a paltry 111th in total defense.

Oklahoma can score in bunches, but has given up more points than a typical playoff contender would. The Sooners gave up 46 to Texas Tech, 47 to Oklahoma State, 40 to Kansas and 56 to West Virginia to close out the regular season. West Virginia was the only ranked team in that group; Texas Tech and Kansas did not even qualify for bowl games.

Alabama, meanwhile, shut out two ranked opponents this season and was more than good enough on offense to compensate for the few occasions where the defense faltered.