Alabama DC using previous ‘a** beating’ against Oklahoma OC as an ‘edge’

Nov 16, 2024; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack calls defensive plays during the game with Mercer at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama defeated Mercer 52-7. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News

As the Alabama defense prepares to take on a successful Oklahoma offense, Tide defensive coordinator Kane Wommack is using old memories of Sooners’ offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle as fuel ahead of the matchup on Saturday.

Before Wommack was brought to Tuscaloosa by head coach Kalen DeBoer, he was the head coach of South Alabama. In his time there, he led the Jaguars to plenty of success, including a New Orleans Bowl appearance in 2022.

In that game, South Alabama faced Western Kentucky; the Hilltoppers’ staff included Arbuckle, who was the co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and primary play-caller. He led a Western Kentucky offense that ranked top 10 in 2022.

By the time the match was over, the Hilltoppers outscored the Jaguars by 19 points, beating Wommack’s team 44-23. Wommack was asked on Monday about the loss as it relates to the upcoming matchup with Oklahoma.

“We got our ass kicked,” Wommack said. “I appreciate you bringing that up. I needed a little edge this morning. I feel like we have faced this offense and this system a number of times over the years, and I think they do a great job schematically. They attack you vertically downfield, they’re aggressive, they’ve got great [run-pass option] answers, they always have a little one-off runs that you’ve got to defend. They do a good job of changing those things up. I think Ben did a great job in that game, and has done a good job in his first year there in Oklahoma. It’ll be a good challenge for us, I mean, this is the SEC, you face really good offensive minds every single week. You have a body of work that you’ve put on tape that you have to answer for. Some of those things are good things that we’ve put on film, some of those things are not. If they’re not, they’re probably going to show up in the game plan. Those are things that we really try to be mindful of ourselves, in terms of how we can fix those things. But certainly, they’ll present a number of schematic challenges for us this week.”

With the Crimson Tide coming off a 20-9 victory over LSU, which included a great defensive showing, it will certainly be a great matchup as one of the top defenses in the country takes on one of the best offenses.

Wommack and the defense will hope to build off the win and prepare for a successful offensive mind in Arbuckle, which they will face on Saturday, when No. 4 Alabama takes on the No. 11-ranked Sooners.