I've begun going through the numbers on Oklahoma. It's far too soon to elaborate (and I'm not going to post until after the Florida game because: a) we still have to win or this doesn't matter; and b) I have finals coming up in the next ten days at Austin Peay (online).
However, OU has only played ONE defense ranked in the top 50 yardage-wise......Tennessee, a game they really should have lost.
They've played exactly TWO teams in the top 50 in scoring defense - Tennessee (26) and WVA (46).
Two defenses they ran up colossal numbers on (Texas Tech and KU) are two of the four worst defenses in FBS. OU has played FIVE teams ranked worse than 100th in total yards and FIVE ranked 90th or worse in points surrendered (e.g. total defense).
OU has won six games this year in which they had a +2 turnover margin. They only lost the turnover battle twice - Tennessee and Texas, where they were -1 both times.
Note that I drop Akron from the evaluation just as I will drop Charleston Southern, ULM, and MTSU from us. Those games inflate stats. I will recalculate the 'real' numbers against 'real' competition and give a report in about two weeks (again - assuming we beat Florida, which we should quite easily).
Cherry picking your statistics often leads to false conclusions.
Go back and look at the other side of the ball for some balance.
OU's defensive statistics might be skewed to the high side by the high powered offenses they faced during the season. OU played the #1, 2, 4, 13, 19,and 28 ranked total offensive teams in the country.
Bama played the 97th, 83rd, 76, 54th, 50th and 49th ranked teams in total offense. So, Bama’s defensive statistics might be skewed to the high side by some of the lowely ranked offensive teams they played. Using statistics like this can be very misleading.
OU and Bama have one game in common – Tennessee. OU played Tennessee the 2rd game of the season on the road in Knoxville. Remember that OU was breaking in a new OC and a new QB. Also, the OU defense after the middle of the 2nd quarter totally shut down the Vol offense. OU scored all of it's points in the 4th quarter.
Bama played Tennessee at home in the 8th game of the season.
OU beat the Vols 31 to 24 in overtime and Bama beat the Vols 19 - 14 on a TD at the end of the game. Logic is that OU’s win in Knoxville in the 2nd game of the season is a better win than Bama beating them in Tuscaloosa.
The only other game that might be relevant is the Texas Tech at Arkansas game. Tech, beat the hogs on the road 35 to 24 by 11 points. Bama beat the hogs at home 27 - 14. OU beat Tech at home by a score of 63 - 27. So, logic tells me that OU beat the team that beat the hogs by a very large margin.
None of the above really means anything as to how a game between OU and Alabama on a neutral field might play out. The only reason I post this is because picking the statistics that only favor your team is a good way to fool yourself.
As an OU fan, I have always had a lot of respect for the Tide. We have played some good games over the years. I go back to the early 50s when Bud and Bear were prowling the sidelines. I think a game in the playoffs between OU and Bama would make a great game.
I have no idea which team will win. I know we OU fans won't under-estimate the Tide as we know you have a good team. I think we might be pretty competitive if this one happens.