The Sooners and Crimson Tide meet tonight in the College Football Playoff with rosters that seem to be built from different criteria.

Alabama was scrapping for the final playoff spot in 2023 when it was a four-team field. The same was true in 2024 and 2025 when the bracket expanded to 12. The world’s changed a lot in the last two seasons. Nobody reading this deep into a column needs to be told that.