Alabama comes from 17 factors all the way down to seal wild win over Oklahoma as faculty soccer playoffs start with a bang

For about three collective quarters, the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Oklahoma Sooners played a game of football that neither team seemed bothered to win.

The first half was a game of runs. Oklahoma opened on a 17-0 run, only to immediately give up 17 straight points of their own to go into halftime tied. Tackles were missed. Blocks were missed. Receivers were missed. Alabama had -3 rushing yards after the first 30 minutes of game time.

By game’s end, neither team walked away looking particularly strong or deserving of reaching this stage. The only solace that Alabama can take home is that they somehow committed fewer mistakes and will advance to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

Alabama booked a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl against No. 1 Indiana next week with a 34-24 win over the Sooners that was more of an escape than a domination.

It’s the second time in CFP history that a team has come back from 17 points down to win a game. Painfully, the only other time this happened was the 2018 Rose Bowl when none other than Oklahoma blew their lead to lose in overtime to Georgia.

To rub more salt in the wound, Oklahoma is the only team in the history of the College Football Playoff to have appeared three or more times and still not have a win. The Sooners are 0-5 in the CFP all-time.

Alabama (white jerseys) knocked off Oklahoma (red jerseys) in the first CFP game of 2025

The Sooners bolted out to a 17-point lead thanks to the play of quarterback John Mateer (10)

But the game turned on its head when Mateer (10) tossed a pick-six OU never recovered from

The Crimson Tide scored 17 second-half points while Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell, who won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker, missed a pair of late field goals to watch the Sooners bow out with a whimper. 

Oklahoma won a similarly sloppy, yet more competitive game against the Crimson Tide on the road earlier in the season.

The Sooners seemed set to run out of the building and all the way to California by the time the clock hit 10:51 remaining in the second quarter.

OU quarterback John Mateer ran in for the first touchdown of the game, Sandell knocked through a 51-yard field goal and then Mateer hit Isaiah Sategna III through the air to go up 17-0.

It seemed like it was about to be a cakewalk for the Sooners on their way to their first ever College Football Playoff victory.

But by halftime, the Crimson Tide had drawn even – with the hammer blow coming off a mistake from Mateer.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson hit Lotzeir Brooks for a touchdown before kicker Conor Talty knocked through a 35-yard field goal.

But the moment the tide truly turned (pun intended) was when Mateer threw a horrifically read pass right into the arms of Alabama defensive back Zabien Brown – who ran the ball back 50 yards to the house to tie the game at 17-17. 

While Alabama’s Ty Simpson was efficient, the Crimson Tide offense never seemed powerful

Deion Burks’ (4) late touchdown catch gave the Sooners some form of hope in the final quarter

With momentum on their side, the Tide never looked back. Brooks caught a second touchdown pass of the night and Talty kicked another field goal to make it 27-17 by the end of the third quarter.

The closest Oklahoma got to a comeback was by cutting their deficit to three on a Deion Burks touchdown connection.

Just four plays later and Alabama was on the board again when about four Sooners missed tackles on running back Daniel Hill.

Oklahoma could have made something from this game. With 7:24 left and down by ten, they could have scored, stonewalled a stop-and-go Alabama offense, and then scored again to try and tie the game or take the lead.

After trading punts, time wasn’t on the side of the Sooners. They stalled out at the Alabama 18-yard-line and sent out Sandell for a 36-yard chip shot field goal – which should have been routine for the most accurate kicker in the Power Four conferences.

Instead, the wind on the plains in Norman blew his kick directly over the left upright. Officials waved their hands to indicate a miss as Oklahoma Memorial Stadium fell silent from the shock.

The Sooners had one final chance when Alabama’s offense sputtered again. But five plays later, Sandell was called up again to kick from 51-yards-out.

OU’s Tate Sandell (29) was named the best kicker in the nation by winning the Lou Groza Award

But on Friday, Sandell missed a pair of late field goals to secure the victory for Alabama

Despite converting from the same distance earlier in the night, his low line drive of a kick fell woefully short and the Crimson Tide kneeled out the clock to seal their win. 

Shockingly, on a night where Oklahoma out-gained Alabama by over 100 yards, it was the Sooners who seemed inept on offense.

Mateer threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns – but the costly interception proved the difference.

Meanwhile, Alabama will find the bare minimum of solace in Simpson’s 232 yards – as the two touchdowns were points to the good.

However, the Tide must prepare their troubled offense to face an Indiana Hoosiers team that hasn’t given up more than 24 points in any game this season – and has allowed only 20 points across their past three contests combined.