No. 4 Alabama suffered a gut-punching loss to Oklahoma for the second straight year Saturday night 23-21.
The No. 11 Sooners now have a signature win as they look to bolster their resume while playoff selection looms. The Crimson Tide will have to keep its postseason hopes alive in the Iron Bowl in two weeks.
“Our performance tonight was not up to our standard,” linebacker Deontae Lawson said.
Alabama started with the football and went three-and-out. Oklahoma receiver Isaiah Sategna III returned punter Blake Doud’s boot to the Crimson Tide 30, but his team had to settle for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead 3:27 into the game.
Two drives later, Alabama crept towards the Sooners’ end zone, but quarterback Ty Simpson threw an ill-advised pass straight into the hands of cornerback Eli Bowen who ran it 87 yards to the house to give Oklahoma a 10-0 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.
“The big mistakes are the ones that hurt us,” head coach Kalen DeBoer said.
The Crimson Tide settled things down on its next drive, putting together a 12-play, 72-yard drive that saw running back Daniel Hill powering into the end zone for a 1-yard score. Alabama’s deficit went down to 7-10 with 10:36 left in the first half.
After forcing an Oklahoma three-and-out, wide receiver Ryan Williams fumbled away possession for the Crimson Tide deep within his team’s territory. Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer took advantage of the turnover and dashed for a 20-yard touchdown run to re-establish his team’s 10-point lead with 8:49 left in the half.
“When you give them [Oklahoma] those chances, that’s what you get,” DeBoer said.
Alabama settled things down again. This time, it was a six-play, 78-yard drive that saw tight end Josh Cuevas go 25-yards untouched for a touchdown. The score cut the deficit back down to one possession at 14-17 with 6:13 left in the half.
The Crimson Tide forced the Sooners to punt and got the ball back with a chance to put points on the board before halftime. Simpson led his squad down the field with ease and set up the field goal unit with a 36-yard attempt to close out the half.
Kicker Conor Talty’s kick was blocked by OU defensive end Taylor Wein to keep the score the same as the teams departed for the locker room. Talty appeared to angrily shout at long snapper David Bird after his high snap seemed to delay the kick long enough for Wein to get a hand on the ball.
“We’ve got to find a way to kick it through,” DeBoer said. “We’ve got to find a way to execute better, just on the whole thing, the whole operation.”
Alabama outgained Oklahoma by 167 yards in the first half, but the two turnovers were a huge difference maker in keeping the Sooners in front.
The Sooners opened the second half with possession and were able to tack 3 points onto the scoreboard after kicker Tate Sandell drilled a 52-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-14 early in the third.
Alabama then strung together a seven-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off with Hill’s second rushing touchdown of the afternoon. The score gave the Crimson Tide its first lead of the game midway through the quarter.
The teams punted back and forth for the remainder of the quarter, but a fumble from Simpson late set Oklahoma up for a chip-shot field goal to take a 23-21 early in the fourth.
“With the pressure that they brought, he’s got to get rid of it and be ok with throwing it away,” DeBoer said. “You’ve just got to live with punting every once in a while.”
Two drives later, Alabama had the ball inside its own 10 with just over seven minutes of clock and a chance to march down the field and take the lead. The Crimson Tide took up just about all of the clock and had to go for a fourth down and six from its own 48 to stay alive with under a minute remaining.
Simpson’s pass to Williams was incomplete. The Sooners shocked the Crimson Tide for the second year in a row.
Turnovers and missed opportunities cost Alabama this game. The Crimson Tide committed three turnovers in crucial moments that were ultimately the difference in the outcome.
“When you turn the ball over three times, you can’t expect to win in this league,” Lawson said.
Alabama will look to respond next Saturday against the FCS’s Eastern Illinois. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and can be streamed on SEC Network+.
“Everything we want is still in front of us,” offensive tackle Tim Keenan III said. “But we got to go and handle Eastern Illinois.”
Hence then, the article about no 4 alabama stunned by oklahoma for second straight year was published today ( ) and is available on The Crimson White ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( No. 4 Alabama stunned by Oklahoma for second straight year )
Also on site :