How Oklahoma handed Alabama a shocking third loss: Are the Tide’s playoff hopes gone?
NORMAN, Okla. – No. 7 Alabama (8-3) saw its College Football Playoff and SEC title hopes take a major blow Saturday in a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma (6-5) at OU Memorial Stadium.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe completed just two passes in the first half before finishing 11-for-26 for 164 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The Crimson Tide’s first two drives of the third quarter resulted in Milroe interceptions, the second of which was returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Oklahoma’s Kip Lewis. Oklahoma outgained Alabama 325 yards to 234, powered in large part by the Sooners’ 257 rushing yards.
“We finally did the things we needed to do to win,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said after the game. “All three phases complemented each other. They struck first and struck back. Tonight we finally hit last.
This was the lowest scoring output for the Crimson Tide since a 20-3 loss to South Carolina in 2004. Alabama has not lost by more than 21 points to a team since the 1998 Music City Bowl against Virginia Tech (38-7). is not in the rankings. ).
The Crimson Tide are 1-3 on the road against SEC opponents this season, while the Sooners secured their first Power 4 win since September 28 against Auburn.
“The harder it is, the more epic the story.”
Brent Venables next @OU_Football‘s win over No. 7 Alabama 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Dytz9r0FQa
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 24, 2024
What does this mean for Alabama’s postseason hopes?
The Tide are no longer in control of their own destiny and are now a playoff contender. They had the inside path to the CFP as the second-highest ranked SEC team, with a 5-5 Oklahoma team and a 4-6 Auburn team on the schedule. That’s all blown up.
In terms of CFP, the Tide will now trail Georgia, which won Saturday and has just two losses, and Tennessee, which recorded a win against Alabama. Losses to Indiana, Ole Miss, BYU, Texas A&M and Colorado on Saturday could keep the Tide from falling too far back and keep them on the fringes of the overall mix, but a home game in the first round is off the table. The big winner of Saturday’s madness could be the ACC’s hopes for two bids. According to The AthleticsAccording to the projection model, Alabama dropped from a 76 percent chance of making the Playoff before Week 13 to just an 11 percent chance after the loss to Oklahoma.
Alabama’s SEC championship hopes are also gone with three conference losses. Georgia meets the winner of Texas-Texas A&M in Atlanta.
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What does this mean for Oklahoma?
It’s been a tough season for the Sooners, who hadn’t won a game against an FBS opponent since September, but it must be a good feeling to be eligible to bowl and get a big win on Senior Night. As bad as the year has gone, despite all the quarterback issues and offensive issues, the defense continued to play hard and kept the Sooners in the game. Two interceptions led directly to 14 points, including a pick-six that went up three scores.
Oklahoma’s 257 rushing yards were the most allowed by Alabama this year. Quarterback Jackson Arnold didn’t do much in the passing game (68 total yards), but he didn’t need to. The search for the offensive coordinator remains ongoing, and the Sooners can’t have another season like this, but it’s something to feel good about as Venables heads into an offseason and needs to fix the program.
Kip doesn’t like Alabama teams…@KipLewis9 | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/jCLU5BjI6G
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 24, 2024
An all too familiar fate for Alabama on the road this season
Vanderbilt. Tennessee. Now Oklahoma. The three traffic losses in Alabama have one common thread: costly turnovers. The latest setbacks came in a game that could have potentially eliminated the Tide from the Playoff.
Three second-half interceptions by Milroe came at critical moments. Milroe’s 11-for-26 passing stat line with three turnovers marks his worst performance of the season. It was part of an all-around, flat offensive performance: 234 yards, just 70 yards on the ground and just 4.1 yards per play.
Oklahoma’s top-ranked rushing defense was keyed on Milroe-designed runs from the start, allowing three rushing yards on his first eight carries. Milroe finished with just seven rushing yards on 15 attempts, while Jam Miller and Justice Haynes combined for 15 total carries. Without that element, Alabama’s offense wouldn’t be able to create momentum. It didn’t hurt that there were a large number of mental errors that cost the offense positive plays through drops, missed assignments and penalties.
Defensively, Saturday’s loss felt similar to Alabama’s first road loss at Vanderbilt – outplayed at the line of scrimmage and out-game planned against a stout rushing attack. Despite ranking 83rd nationally in rushing offense, Oklahoma gained more than 250 yards on the ground, 128 of which came from quarterback Jackson Arnold, who passed for just 68 yards.
It was a summary of Alabama’s season so far: dominant at times, able to play with anyone, and other times inconsistent where mistakes piled up, sometimes creating insurmountable deficits. There’s no other way to view Saturday’s game as a collapse in a crucial spot, but not a moment that has been unfamiliar this season: highs followed by lows.
How did Oklahoma win the game? The season turned upside down
Oklahoma’s season has been marred by upsets, but Saturday night had all the makings of a top-10 upset. The Sooners were off with a bye, hosting Alabama on Senior Night with bowl eligibility on the line. On the field, Oklahoma turned its weaknesses into strengths.
Oklahoma entered Saturday night having given up the most sacks (41) and the fourth-most tackles for loss (80) in the country. Saturday? Zero sacks allowed and four tackles for loss allowed.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 86th in rushing offense in the country (143 yards per game). Saturday? 270 rushing yards on 2.3 yards per carry.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 73rd in turnover margin (minus-1) and 107th in lost turnovers (18). Saturday? Oklahoma won the turnover battle by a plus-1 margin, scoring 14 fewer points than turnovers.
Oklahoma entered Saturday ranked 105th nationally in possession (28 minutes). Saturday? Behind their dominant run game, the Sooners converted 7 of 15 third-down attempts and held the ball for more than 35 minutes.
On a day when underdogs pulled off upsets at home, Venables scored a signature victory and a subsequent storming of the field, Oklahoma’s first since 2000.
The play that defined the fourth quarter
For a moment, it looked like Alabama was gaining momentum to begin a comeback. On a fourth-and-2, down 24-3 with 14:13 to play, Milroe rolled out and found Ryan Williams about 40 yards downfield for a highlight-reel touchdown, with Williams getting a foot down in the corner of the end zone. However, the officiating crew threw a flag for illegally touching Williams, wiping out the score.
Alabama thought they would score on this fourth down play by Ryan Williams, but the play was overturned due to illegal touching. pic.twitter.com/25U0QuLjQH
— ESPN (@espn) November 24, 2024
It was a confusing call at the time and on replay, as Williams did not appear to be out of order before the break or during the play, but after the initial call and a referee meeting, the call stood and Oklahoma took over after downs. . Alabama never reached Oklahoma territory again.
(Photo: David Stacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
