Ellis Johnson’s Early Orange Bowl Preview

The accolades have been pouring in for Alabama football this week with three players bringing home the hardware to Tuscaloosa.

Tua Tagovailoa won the Maxwell and Walter Camp Player of the Year Awards. Jerry Jeudy took home the Biletnikoff Award and Quinnen Williams earned the Outland Trophy.

Tagovailoa, Jeudy, Williams and the rest of the Crimson Tide will soon turn their focus to their December 29 semifinal round matchup in the Orange Bowl matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners.

During Thursday's edition of The Gary Harris Show, former Alabama defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson provided an early peek into the Orange Bowl matchup.

Through 13 games, Oklahoma has surrendered 32.4 points per games and has given up 40 points or more in five games this season. The former Alabama defensive coordinator laid out one primary key for the Sooners.

"I just think it's going to come down to how many stops Oklahoma can make on Alabama's offense because they've not had an effective defensive game against anybody all year other than they come up with some critical plays somewhere in the game that gives OU one more possession than the other team." Johnson said.

On the flip side, Johnson believes that Alabama's best defense against Oklahoma's offense may involve running the ball on offense.

"Maybe it's a game where Alabama's got to have a tremendous game rushing the ball and not so many of the shot balls other than to get people out of the box. I would go into the game thinking I don't want Oklahoma to have the ball too many shots." Johnson said.

The former SEC defensive coordinator also gave his opinion on the Heisman Trophy voting process and the other bowl contests including the Cotton Bowl clash between Notre Dame and Clemson.

Catch The Gary Harris Show every weekday from 9-11 AM on Tide 102.9/100.9 and the Tide 102.9 app.