Orange Bowl 2018: Oklahoma vs. Alabama Schedule and Live Stream

Saturday's Orange Bowl will pit the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide against the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners with a spot in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on the line.

Bama was considered a lock to reach the CFP for the entire season, and it secured the No. 1 seed with a come-from-behind win over the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game.

Oklahoma's CFP standing was more tenuous, but by beating the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship Game and avenging its only loss of the season, it did just enough to sneak into the field.

Here is everything you need to know about when, where and how to watch the highly anticipated CFP semifinal featuring two of the most explosive offenses college football has to offer.

Where: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida

When: Saturday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Matchup to Watch: Kyler Murray vs. Tua Tagovailoa

Although they won't be on the field at the same time Saturday, all eyes will be on the quarterback matchup between Heisman Trophy finalists Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa was considered the Heisman front-runner for much of the season, but Murray came on late and played some of his best football down the stretch to win the award.

The result was Murray and Tagovailoa finishing as the two most efficient passers in college football, according to Cyclone Football:

Murray and Tagovailoa have been compared to each other all season, but it can be argued that extenuating circumstances made that unfair.

For starters, Murray faced a much easier schedule of defenses in the Big 12, whereas Tua took on several highly ranked defenses, including Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri and Auburn.

Also, Tagovailoa often sat out the fourth quarter of games due to Alabama's overall dominance, which hurt his numbers.

That is partially why Murray beat out Tagovailoa in most major categories, as seen in this graphic courtesy of CBS Sports' Barrett Sallee:

The fairest way to compare Murray and Tagovailoa is to see how they fare when they go head-to-head, and they will finally have the opportunity to do that in the Orange Bowl.

Tagovailoa has the easier matchup on paper since the Sooners ended the regular season ranked 96th in points allowed per game, while Bama had the No. 4 scoring defense in the nation.

Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm did pass on Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, though, which suggests the Tide aren't unbeatable.

Also, Tagovailoa is coming off an ankle injury suffered in that game, and it is unclear how it may impact him in the Orange Bowl.

It isn't often that arguably the two top players in college football get to lock horns in a huge matchup, but that is what will happen Saturday.

Oklahoma X-Factor: Austin Seibert

Kickers and punters aren't often talked about heading into big games, but they tend to play significant roles in close contests.

Oklahoma's Austin Seibert is a rare player in that he is the place-kicker, punter and kickoff man for the Sooners.

That means he has the potential to impact the Orange Bowl in myriad ways unlike almost anyone else on the field.

Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee is among those who are impressed by Seibert's ability to wear many different hats:

Seibert has made a career-best 88.2 percent of his field goals this season with only two misses. He has also made 83 of his 84 extra-point attempts, while Alabama has missed eight extra points this season.

In a game that figures to feature some fireworks, Seibert's steadiness is likely to come into play.

Also, Oklahoma may need to score on nearly every possession in order to win, but if he can hit some nice punts and force Alabama into bad field position as well, it could go a long way toward limiting the Crimson Tide's explosive offense.

Alabama X-Factor: Josh Jacobs

Tagovailoa and his ridiculous group of receivers stole headlines throughout the 2018 season, but Alabama has an impressive stable of running backs as well.

While Damien Harris and Najee Harris are the team's top two leading rushers, junior running back Josh Jacobs may be the biggest key to the success of Alabama's ground game against Oklahoma.

Jacobs has rushed for a modest 495 yards, but he leads the Tide with 11 rushing touchdowns, as his power allows him to thrive in short-yardage situations.

He also has 15 receptions for 171 yards and another two touchdowns, proving he is a multi-dimensional talent.

Jacobs can do it all, and Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy sees big things in his future:

Although Jacobs has had double-digit carries in a game just twice this season, he turned in a huge performance on a big stage in the SEC Championship Game.

Despite battling the flu, Jacobs rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries, and he was named the game's MVP.

Even if Bama doesn't lean heavily on Jacobs, he should play a significant role in the Orange Bowl.

Running the ball and controlling the clock is the best way to limit the effectiveness of Murray and the Oklahoma offense, and Jacobs' is Alabama's hottest runner entering the game.

Any number of players can emerge as the biggest star on Alabama's offense on any given day, and Jacobs has the talent to put up huge numbers against Oklahoma if given the opportunity.

Prediction

Few are giving Oklahoma a chance to beat Alabama due primarily to the fact that the Sooners have a defense that is suspect at best.

Murray and the Oklahoma offense may be able to move the ball and put up some points on Alabama's offense, but stops of Tagovailoa will likely be hard to come by.

The Tide can beat their opposition in many different ways offensively, and Oklahoma doesn't seem to have the personnel needed to contend with the depth of Alabama's offense.

Murray will likely be spectacular and do some special things, but in the end, he won't have enough help around him to knock off a superior Alabama team.

Prediction: Alabama 38, Oklahoma 28