Arizona used a 7-run fifth inning to run rule Alabama 9-1 on Saturday night, improving to 4-1 on the season. The Wildcats play Washington, whom they lost to on Friday, to wrap up the weekend Sunday morning
You can find out recap here. Below is what head coach Caitlin Lowe, Emma Kavanagh, and Kaiah Altmeyer had to say following the win:
Lowe on the fifth inning performance: “I think you know they tend to catch fire offensively when they’re locked in like that. I think you can see it on the flip side, and you kind of saw that yesterday, but they were locked in. We talked a lot about composure in those big moments yesterday, and I saw a whole lot of people step up and do that today. You know, I think Ko and Kai and Logan. They’re, they’re always great examples. Reagan, but I saw it from Emma Kavanagh, a freshman. I saw it from Sydney Ste. I saw it from Devyn, kind of not having success, and then executing in her last step back there. Those are big moments for us, because if you can stack on top of that, then we’re going to keep getting better.”
On bouncing back from yesterday’s games: “Well, they learned from the loss. They got motivated by it, which is what you always want to see. The losses are, I don’t want to say good, but the losses, you know, you can take them a little bit easier when they’re learning from them. They grow from them, and they’re going to have a bad taste in their mouth about that one for a while. Just knowing that’s not the team that they are, and this is the team that they can be today. So I think that was important for them to respond from and really just be hungry for tomorrow too, and being that consistent team on a daily basis.”
On the crowd showing up, even with both basketball programs playing before and after: “Well, it means we scheduled appropriately, finally, because we normally conflict with a lot of sports. I will say that we did a deep dive into their schedules so that fans could beat everything. We know Tucson fans are die-hard fans, and they’re gonna get to whatever they can. Tucson just shows up for their sports, and I can’t say enough about our crowd today. I think it was one of the X factors of the game, and a reason why our players love playing here.”
On what former head coach Mike Candrea means to the program: “He sits right up there for most of our home games. He’s built this place in such a big way and still a huge part of our program. So our players are proud to work with him because of his standards that he set here. He still comes into the dugout and greets every single player on our team and they love having his presence around too. So we’re honored to have him throw out the first pitch every year, as long as we keep winning the games that he throws out the first pitch.”
On Miranda Stoddard and the pitching roles: “I mean, it’s huge. I have to say, last year did wonders for her, and the fact that she was able to get the ball so much in big moments, high leverage situations, and the growth that came from that was awesome. She stepped into this year a different person, so she wanted the ball, like, in a big, big way that was exciting. I think even more exciting too, was Ryan Maddox coming into that game, and absolutely in good matchups. I’ve just been so pleasantly surprised. Not even surprised, I can’t say I’m surprised, because just to have that composure as a freshman is huge, and it’s huge for us, and it just shows throughout our entire line.”
On the statement to beat Alabama: “I think Alabama is a great team. They have great hitting, great defense, and always great pitching. So I think being able to make adjustments off a really good pitcher in Briski was huge for us, and we struggled against Aaliyah Johnson when we went to Alabama last year, so to be able to execute against her felt like we were making steps in the right direction to kind of not make the game too big, but simplify in those moments. That’s what I saw today. Just everyone locked in. It didn’t matter if they got out their first step and they learned from it and got better in the next one. So that felt good, and mostly just the response from yesterday, when nobody really felt well, nobody really felt good about it. So to turn it around in a quick amount of time says a lot about a good team.
Altmeyer on the win, and the fifth inning: “I’ve just been seeing the ball. I just was glad to be in a position where I could do that for my team. Yeah, it just feels good. We needed that one. I think just passing the bat, that’s like our motto, like, give the bat to the next person. I think I was just the one. I was waiting for that moment and just did what I could.”
On Stoddard’s performance: “That’s huge for her to put up zeros. I mean, just gives the offense more of just, I think, confidence to know that it’s kind of up to us and gives the momentum on our side, and just chipping away and passing the bat. I think just translating what we saw pitch to pitch just helps our team, better get more numbers up on the board.
On freshman stepping up: “It’s awesome. I think just being freshmen and not having the experience that us upperclassmen do at the college level and being able to get hits against these big teams is huge.”
Kavanagh on the win: “I think we caught fire after a tough loss yesterday, we came back and coach Cait fired us up with a pre-game speech, and I think the whole team needed to hear it. I feel like our pitcher stepped on the mound and was ready to go, and that fired us all up. A double play kind of early on, set the tone, and I felt as hitters, we prepped last month, even two months after we got back from winter break, just for that moment.”
On facing Washington again: “Pumped the win today, I know is going to feed into tomorrow, and I know as a team, we’re going to show up like we did today, but tomorrow, and it’ll be fantastic. I feel really good coming in tomorrow.”
On the crowd atmosphere: “I love Tucson fans. They’re fantastic. You’ll find them nowhere else. I know that we have the greatest fans in the country who will travel with us and stay here wherever we go.”
NORMAN, Oklahoma — The stage was set for Oklahoma. Heck, the Sooners earned the right to set it. This was supposed to be the ushering in of a new era of postseason football for the No. 8 team in the country that had won 10 games in what was one of the toughest schedules this year.
No. 9 Alabama was even one of those teams that Oklahoma beat on its way to earning this spot. And Saturday night, all was going well for the Sooners. It was going so well, in fact, that after the first quarter, some Oklahoma fans might’ve peeked at flights and hotel rates for the Rose Bowl from inside Memorial Stadium.
And then the Alabama Crimson Tide curled and rolled the Sooners, 34-24, and are headed to Pasadena. After opening with 17 unanswered points, Oklahoma collapsed under the weight of that wave, becoming the only team in College Football Playoff history to blow a 17-point lead. And now, the Sooners have done it twice — before Saturday, in 2018 against Georgia.
[Best Teams in the College Football Playoff Era: Creating the Ultimate 12-team CFP]
Here are my takeaways from Alabama’s College Football Playoff first-round victory against Oklahoma on Saturday:
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Zabien Brown #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide stiff-arms John Mateer #10 of the Oklahoma Sooners during the second quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff first-round game on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson is an avid reader and listener of college football news. Following the largest comeback win in Alabama postseason history, Simpson took a moment to facetiously thank media members for choosing Oklahoma to win on Saturday night.
“I guess we can thank you guys for that,” an emboldened Simpson said. “You guys kind of wrote us off in a sort of way. So I appreciate that.”
After building a three-score lead, the Sooners watched the Crimson Tide recover a fumbled punt, pick off Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and return it 50 yards to the end zone — all before their First Team All-American kicker Tate Sandell missed not one but two field goals in the final minutes to solidify the worst collapse in College Football Playoff history.
Meanwhile, the Alabama Crimson Tide will prepare to take on No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl for the CFP quarterfinal game. This team that punches back and played its best football with its back against the wall is one that the Hoosiers must prepare for on New Year’s Day.
[College Football Playoff Predictions: First-Round Winners to The National Champion]
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: John Mateer #10 of the Oklahoma Sooners is hit by Deontae Lawson #0 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first quarter during the College Football Playoff first-round game on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
The Crimson Tide began down — just like they did against Georgia in the SEC championship game. But the last three quarters of Saturday’s game demonstrated Alabama to be just who it says it is: the kind of team that can open with a loss to a bad Florida State and also be the first team in six years to walk into Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, and come out with a win.
DeBoer’s task now is to find a way to make certain that the team that showed up at Georgia earlier this season and at Oklahoma in the first round is the same one against the Hoosiers. Linebacker Deontae Lawson said that’s his job too. But Bama’s best trait isn’t one that shows itself until it’s in a fight for its life.
“Man, I just think we’re a resilient team,” Lawson said. “And even though we were down 17-0, we didn’t really look at the scoreboard. Coach DeBoer always says, ‘Keep playing the game. The game will come back to you.’ … We just keep fighting.”
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners speaks to an official during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Let’s look at the bigger ones:
These are blunders. Errors that aren’t forced but self-inflicted. It’s difficult to win any game with those kinds of mistakes on your drive chart. It’s nearly impossible in a game of this magnitude, against a team as talented and as resilient as the Crimson Tide.
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Keon Keeley #31 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the College Football Playoff first-round game. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Oklahoma usually plays 50 Cent’s “Many Men” before the start of the fourth quarter. In an attempt to make a statement for its first CFP game at Owen Field, the Sooners brought the rapper himself out onto the field to perform the song for fans in a Hard to Kill Hoodie.
“I didn’t know it was live,” DeBoer said.
“I didn’t know who 50 Cent was,” Simpson said, “but I know that song.”
“We play that song at practice on Fridays,” Lawson said.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
Hello college football fans, and welcome to The Athletic’s live coverage of the 2025 College Football Playoff!
Yes, after a 2025 season full of an incredible amount of twists, turns, controversy and pure chaos, the second edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff gets underway tonight. Our opening matchup is a battle of blue-bloods whose first meeting this season contributed to that chaos, as No. 9 Alabama takes on No. 8 Oklahoma in Norman.
Follow along for live pregame build-up and the latest news, play-by-play updates and real-time analysis from The Athletic’s college football staff!
The College Football Playoff gets underway Friday night as Alabama heads to Norman to take on Oklahoma. But to ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, there’s even more at stake for Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer.
DeBoer’s name has been the subject of rumors throughout the offseason in the coaching carousel. Most recently, he received questions about the opening at Michigan following Sherrone Moore’s firing for cause, though he made it clear he intends to be at Alabama in 2026.
However, Wilbon didn’t sound as convinced. He predicted Alabama would not only lose to Oklahoma on Friday night, but DeBoer would also be on a flight to Ann Arbor to take the Michigan job afterward.
“Let me tell you about … two schools that could be in the coaching carousel after [Friday night],” Wilbon said Thursday on Pardon The Interruption. “Because when Alabama loses to Oklahoma – let me say it again, when Alabama loses to Oklahoma – the coach of Alabama, half the people in the state will want to run him out. And he’ll be on the carousel – oh, wait, that’s a G5 being flown to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he has said, ‘Oh, no. I ain’t got no interest in that.’ He’ll have interest [Friday night].
“And then, Alabama will be in the coaching carousel because they’ll be looking for a coach. … The Alabama coach is going to have a job-on-the-line situation in 24 hours and then, headed to Michigan once he loses. And then, Alabama’s looking. Then, what are you going to say?”
During a press conference this week ahead of the College Football Playoff opener, Kalen DeBoer was directly asked if he intended to be Alabama’s head coach next season. He responded, “Yes.”
Earlier in that press conference, DeBoer received a question about the rumors surrounding him. He again spoke highly of his tenure at Alabama so far and made it clear he’s happy in Tuscaloosa.
“A lot of the same things I said before, a couple weeks ago, when asked really the same question, just feel completely supported,” DeBoer said. “My family loves living here. Just all the things that we continue to build on, love the progress. Haven’t talked with anyone, no plans of talking with anyone. So just, I think that’s a lot of what I said a couple weeks ago, and continues to be the same thing.
“Feel strong about it. And our guys, if there’s been any distraction, I haven’t seen it, haven’t felt it. I’m really proud of the way they’ve handled whatever noise is out there. And again, we probably all season long, have dealt with enough noise to where it wouldn’t surprise me on how they handle this.”
Addy Brown motivated to step up in Audi Crooks’ absence vs. UNI
How much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
Elementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine
Frigid temperatures to start the week in Maryland
The Game Awards are losing their luster
Nature: Snow in South Dakota
Family clarifies why they believe missing New Mexico man is dead
Nebraska lands commitment from DL Jayden Travers adding to early Top 5 recruiting class
