Alabama lost just once the rest of the regular season (to Tennessee in late October) to clinch the SEC West title, while Florida won its final five SEC games to take the East. That set up a rematch in the SEC championship game, scheduled for Dec. 4 in Atlanta.

It’s safe to say that Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach Kalen DeBoer took the most high-pressure position available when he arrived in Tuscaloosa. Taking over for legendary head coach Nick Saban is a role that many coaches may want to run from.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Oklahoma Sooners meet Friday in a College Football Playoff first-round game. Kickoff in Norman, Oklahoma, is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

Will Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide beat Brent Venables' Oklahoma Sooners in the first round of the CFP? Experts make their picks.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, who got a side-by-side comparison of OU and Alabama this season, helps break down the first-round CFP game.

No. 9 Alabama will take on No. 8 Oklahoma in the Crimson Tide's first College Football Playoff game of the Kalen DeBoer era, one secured despite regular-season losses to Florida State and Oklahoma, and a SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia.

Former University of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron announced Wednesday that he is ending his campaign for lieutenant governor of Alabama to pursue a sports-related opportunity. McCarron did not disclose the details of the new position but said “football is calling my name once again.