NORMAN, Okla. — Momentum can be a powerful force. It sure was early on Friday night: Oklahoma started as hot as it finished the regular season. Alabama looked very much like the team that wheezed down the stretch, set to be run quickly out of a College Football Playoff many thought it didn’t belong in anyway.
Then momentum swung, right on the field. A clutch fourth-down touchdown. A dropped punt attempt. A pick six.
A stunning reversal, and then momentum basically kept going as Alabama rallied past Oklahoma, 34-24, in the first round of the CFP. Alabama advanced to face No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl/CFP quarterfinals on Jan. 1.
Alabama won after trailing 17-0, early in the second quarter. It was the largest comeback in a CFP game since 2018 — also against Oklahoma, which lost a 17-point lead to Georgia in the Rose Bowl.
“The game came back to us,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said. “All of a sudden we found opportunities we could attack, and more plays were made. This is something hopefully we can build off of for the next two weeks.”
Oklahoma’s defense, one of the best in the country, dominated early on, with Alabama not even getting a first down on its first three drives. The Crimson Tide finally got going on the fourth drive, but even then needed a fourth-down conversion: Ty Simpson’s pass to Lotzeir Brooks on fourth-and-3, with Brooks finishing it off for a short touchdown play.
Then things unraveled for the Sooners: The punter dropped the ball as he prepared to punt, leading to an Alabama field goal. Then quarterback John Mateer made an ill-advised throw in the two-minute drill that was picked off by Zabien Brown and returned for a score-tying touchdown.
When the second half started, Alabama kept it going. Simpson finished the game with 232 passing yards and two touchdowns, making up for an Alabama running game that continues to be almost nonexistent. And the Crimson Tide defense sacked Mateer four times, while clamping down on the Sooners’ run game.
That was enough for Alabama (11-3) to avenge a regular-season loss to Oklahoma (10-3), part of a second half that put the Crimson Tide’s postseason hopes in jeopardy. But the CFP selection committee put the Tide in the Playoff anyway, and for one night that decision was validated.
Asked about the criticism of this team coming off the 28-7 SEC title game loss to Georgia, Simpson flipped it around.
“I guess we can thank you guys,” Simpson said to reporters. “Y’all kind of wrote us off. Appreciate that.”
OU’s turnovers and special teams mistakes make difference
In its previous two wins over Alabama, Oklahoma had a 6-1 turnover edge (including two pick sixes) and dominated special teams. On Friday night, that finally flipped back in Alabama’s direction.
It was the Crimson Tide who got a pick six, tying the score late in the first half. And it was Oklahoma’s No. 1-ranked special teams that faltered. There was a dropped punt snap by punter Grayson Miller, which led to a blocked kick and an eventual Alabama field goal. And in the second half, the Sooners committed a bad late hit penalty on a punt, giving the Tide 15 free yards, which they turned into a touchdown. A poor punt in the fourth quarter helped set up another Alabama touchdown, with the Tide starting the drive at the OU 35.
Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell, who won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker, missed two field goals in the fourth quarter as the Sooners tried to cut it to a one score game. Meanwhile, Alabama kicker Conor Talty, who struggled this year with 13 field goals on 20 attempts (including a blocked miss in the first Oklahoma game), went two-for-two this time around.
Oklahoma: Work to do as a program
This season was a step forward for the Oklahoma program under Brent Venables. But this showed there’s still maturing to do.
When Alabama made its run, Oklahoma wilted. The Sooners lost composure in all three phases: Mateer’s pick six, defensive struggles, special teams penalties and mistakes. And when the Sooners did get off the mat, it was only brief: They didn’t have it in them to keep momentum going.
This wasn’t a case of a team lucky to be ahead in the first place: Oklahoma was dominating, outgaining Alabama 236-100 in the first half, with 75 of those yards coming on one drive. But that drive turned the game, and things snowballed. Even during his halftime interview, Venables seemed more shell-shocked than confident, and his team’s play reflected that.
Oklahoma was used to big postseason games under Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley, but this was the first CFP trip under Venables, who took over in 2022, and the first since 2019. While it’s a huge disappointment to go out this way, especially at home and especially after the way the game started, it can also be chalked up to inexperience on the big stage, and a needed moment of growth.
Narrative busters
The first round of this year’s CFP is already better than last year’s.
The first year of the expanded CFP saw four blowouts in the first round, all by the home team. And for a quarter it looked like it was about to happen again.
But Alabama’s comeback, then Oklahoma’s touchdown to make it 27-24, meant a close game well into the fourth quarter. It also showed that as valuable as home-field advantage is, the visitors have a chance.
Last year’s games had an average margin of victory of 19.25 points. The 8 vs. 9 game saw Ohio State rout Tennessee, 42-17.
Of course Friday night’s game doesn’t guarantee that any of Saturday’s games will be close. Alabama and Oklahoma was supposed to be a close game per the betting lines, and it was, but on Saturday, Oregon is a 20-point favorite over James Madison and Ole Miss is a 17.5-point favorite over Tulane.
Texas A&M, however, is only a 3.5-point favorite over Miami. And even if that doesn’t end up being competitive, at least the second year of the new format has provided a game that had some drama — and a road winner.
Rose Bowl early look
While the programs’ histories are polar opposites, they meet in this contest from directions that belie their tradition. Unbeaten Indiana (13-0) is led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza and boasts the nation’s most complete profile. It ranks No. 5 in scoring offense (41.9) and No. 2 in scoring defense (10.8). It sits in the top 15 in rushing and passing offense and defense.
Alabama (11-3) ranks 121st nationally in rushing yards per game (109.9) and has given up 29 sacks. Indiana’s defense sits third in rushing yards allowed (77.6) and has 39 sacks to rank fourth nationally.
There are a ton of connections among the coaching staffs. Curt Cignetti was Alabama’s wide receivers coach under Nick Saban and won a national title in 2009. DeBoer was Indiana’s offensive coordinator in 2019, and three other Alabama assistants coached in Bloomington within the past five years.
50 Cent sparks OU briefly
Oklahoma this season adopted 50 Cent’s “Many Men” as its fourth-quarter song. Then heading into Friday’s fourth quarter, the Sooners brought him out for a surprise appearance. The quality wasn’t great, both because of the microphone and 50 Cent’s effort — and the crowd was out of it, thanks to 27 consecutive Alabama points.
But two plays later, Oklahoma was in the end zone thanks to a pass interference penalty and a 37-yard Mateer touchdown pass. But the musician’s boost wasn’t enough to help OU to its own rally.
