Sooners coach Brent Venables says his offense has improved leading into the College Football Playoff, but will it be enough to spark a run?

The Oklahoma Sooners are heading to the playoffs! After a 10-win season with one of the nation's most difficult schedules, OU will be hosting a home game and squaring off against the Alabama Crimson Tide for a second time this season.

And Venables went back to doing what he does best — hiring himself as defensive coordinator after his protege, Zac Alley, left for West Virginia. The 2025 Sooner defense rivals the best defenses Venables coordinated at Clemson in the 2010s and at OU in the early 2000s.

Unlike last year's debut of the 12-team College Football Playoff, weather should not be a factor in any of the first-round games Friday and Saturday.

The ninth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will look to turn the tables on the eighth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners when they meet Friday in the first

No, the Sooners do not play football on Dec. 13. The Sooners will face Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday, Dec. 19, at Owen Field in Norman. Kickoff for the quarterfinal is set for 7 p.m. CT Friday, Dec. 19.

The Sooners' dynamic edge rusher was not listed on the first availability report of the week ahead of OU's clash with the Crimson Tide.

Owen Heinecke's journey is a testament to the power of perseverance, as he navigated a remarkable path from a high school dual-sport standout to an unlikely star for the Oklahoma Sooners football team.