Orange Bowl 2018: Schedule, Top Storylines to Follow in Alabama vs. Oklahoma
The College Football Playoff semifinal between the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners carries the most intrigue of the two playoff contests to be played Saturday.
The Orange Bowl, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET, boasts the top two finalists in the Heisman Trophy voting, and both players have been talked about a ton in the buildup to the game.
While Kyler Murray added Heisman winner to his impressive resume, Tua Tagovailoa finished second, which gave the Crimson Tide an extra bit of motivation.
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How healthy Tagovailoa's ankle is come Saturday will be crucial for Nick Saban's team, while the top concern for Lincoln Riley's Sooners comes on the other side of the ball.
Top Storylines to Follow
How Alabama Handles Its Quarterback Situation
The expectation in the weeks leading up to the Orange Bowl was for Tagovailoa to play in south Florida.
The left-handed sophomore provided an update Wednesday, suggesting he is on track to feature, per AL.com's Rainer Sabin.
"I'll probably be at 100 percent by the time the game comes," Tagovailoa said. "My ankle is fine. Everything is fine. Just the scars. ... Full expectation I am going to play. By the time the game comes, I should be doing everything the same way I was Week 1."
Even if Tagovailoa is 100 percent, the Crimson Tide could throw a few wrinkles into their offensive game plan to include backup quarterback Jalen Hurts to throw off Oklahoma's defense.
Whether it be a trick play or different formation alignments, Alabama has an opportunity to mess with the Sooners defense, which already has enough internal concerns about its play going into the Orange Bowl.
There's also the situation in which Tagovailoa feels full strength but isn't capable of performing to the best of his abilities.
In that case, Saban and his staff could turn to Hurts for a few series to help alleviate whatever pain Tagovailoa may be feeling.
No matter how the game plays out, it would be wise of the Crimson Tide to at least include Hurts in their game plan, especially if they need to change the momentum of the contest.
If they are able to keep the Sooners off balance, the Crimson Tide should be able to match whatever Murray and his teammates throw at them.
Can Oklahoma's Defense Make Key Stops?
By now, everyone knows about Oklahoma's glaring weakness.
The Sooners have one of the worst defensive units in the FBS, as they rank 124th in total defense. Only Houston, Georgia State, San Jose State, Illinois, Oregon State and UConn have worse statistics.
They look even worse when you dive deeper into the defensive numbers, as the Sooners sit dead last in passing defense.
Oklahoma has given up 3,788 passing yards, 24 touchdowns through the air and conceded 8.2 yards per pass.
At least the Sooners are within the top 100 in rushing defense, as they are tied for 69th with East Carolina, but they still concede 156.7 yards per contest on the ground.
The Sooners aren't going to take over the game on defense, but they are going to have to come up with a few stops in order to shift the balance of power in the game over to Murray and the offense.
Containing Alabama's rushing attack seems like a good start for the Sooners since they would then put Tagovailoa under pressure to convert on 3rd-and-long situations.
If Oklahoma is able to get to the quarterback on a few occasions, it could at least boost its confidence and put itself in more manageable situations.
The Big 12 champion needs a bend-don't-break mentality, and if it comes up with a pair of stops in each half, it could set up Murray and Co. for success.
However, it's hard to trust anything the Sooners do defensively because of how poor they have been on a consistent basis.
If the Sooners do anything positive on defense, it will come as a surprise, and if they use the outside perception of their unit as motivation, they could run with the defending national champion for four quarters.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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