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Alabama silences doubters with CFP comeback at Oklahoma

Dec 20, 2025 | 12:06 AM

Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

By Chris Marler

Alabama heard all of the negativity. 

They didn’t belong. The loss to Georgia was a testament to who the team was.

They heard all the knee jerk, premature reactions when they fell down 17-0 to Oklahoma during the first half of Friday’s game. 

They then went on a 27-0 run, and never looked back. If there was ever a lesson to be learned in not tweeting before the fat lady has sung, it was during this game. 

The Crimson Tide looked abysmal to start the game. They had nine plays for 12 yards on their first three drives and found themselves trailing 17-0.

The story of the game was adjustments. Alabama didn’t rush the passer for most of the first half, allowing John Mateer to look like the Heisman frontrunner he was in September. After they fell behind 17-0, Alabama got after Mateer, finishing with five sacks, one more than Oklahoma. 

Offensively, Ty Simpson was able to stretch the field. In the SEC championship, he was 0-for-7 with an interception on passes on 15 yards or more. On Friday, he was 5-of-7 for 143 yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma. 

In the end, Alabama was able to put together their best 45 minutes of the season against one of the best defenses in the country, and left Norman with a return flight and another trip to the Rose Bowl. 

When the game was won 

The pick six from Zabien Brown is hard to go away from. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack ran up seven players to the line of scrimmage–a lot like LSU did to Alabama for most of the game–then dropped three of them back in coverage. The result was a confused John Mateer who threw an interception right into the hands of Zabien Brown who ran it back for a touchdown. 

The game really changed was on third down when John Mateer could have run for a first down or thrown to two open receivers. He opted for the deep route and the receiver watched it drop right through his hands. Oklahoma was up 17-7 and could have made it 24-7. The end result was a blocked punt on the next play that allowed Alabama right back in it. 

The Stats 

-3: Alabama had -3 yards rushing in the first half of this game finishing with -6 in their last six quarters before the second half. 

175: Oklahoma took a 17-0 lead to start the game and had 175 more yards than Alabama to start the game. 

8-20: Brent Venables was 24-0 when Oklahoma held their opponents to 20 points or less. He fell to 8-20 when they allowed more than 20 points after tonights blown lead to Alabama. 

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Chris Marler

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