Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables has been in this exact situation before in more than one way.
The No. 8 Sooners will again play No. 9 Alabama for a rematch in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday, Dec. 19, after OU already beat the Crimson Tide 23-21 in Tuscaloosa just over a month before Round 2. Although the second meeting will be in Norman, many OU fans are still concerned about the task of beating a team like Bama twice in one season and three times in a row in just over a one-year span.