It won't be easy to get over Alabama's 23-21 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday. It removed the last little bit of margin for error for the Crimson Tide and kept it from what would've almost certainly been a playoff-clinching win.
Alabama outgained Oklahoma nearly 2-to-1, the defense didn't allow a single drive longer than 41 yards, and yet the Crimson Tide still found itself on the wrong end of the result. Why?
Turnovers.
Alabama finished the game -3 in turnovers, which directly led to 17 of Oklahoma's 23 points in the game. Take any one of them away, and Alabama wins the game.
Instead, Alabama is now 8-2 and will have to fight for its playoff lives in two weeks in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Yippee.
5 takeaways from Alabama's loss to Oklahoma
1. Alabama's offense wasn't bad - save for the diastrous plays
Perhaps some will kill me for saying so, but Kalen DeBoer wasn't wrong in the postgame when he said Alabama "played pretty good football" for the most part. It was just the disastrous plays that killed them.
Against one of the best defenses in the country, Alabama managed to gain over 400 yards of offense. The run game - while still not great - was better than it had been in weeks. The Crimson Tide gained 80 yards on the ground (108 if you remove sacks), sparked by Daniel Hill's 60 yards on 15 carries. That's something the team can certainly build upon going forward.
But the two turnovers offensively were killer. Ty Simpson threw a pick-six in the first quarter, and then he fumbled late in the third quarter on a sack. That led to 10 Oklahoma points.
2. Ty Simpson has become turnover-prone
Maybe that sounds ridiculous for a guy who has only thrown two interceptions all season, but along with the pick-six against Oklahoma, Simpson lost a fumble for the fifth consecutive game.
Sure, you can blame the offensive line for not protecting him better and allowing too many pressures. You're not wrong. Simpson can't help that.
He can, however, help not holding on to the ball for as long as he does and then tuck it away when he's getting hit instead of letting the ball be vulnerable.
Turnovers are going to happen for quarterbacks. But five straight games of the same issue over and over again can't happen. He's got to get rid of the ball and stop trying to extend plays that aren't there. Sometimes the best play you can make is throwing it away and living to fight another down.
3. Daniel Hill is RB1
Maybe, just maybe, Alabama settled on an offensive line, too. While the line wasn't great, it was better this week with Michael Carroll at RT and Wilkin Formby kicking into RG. The only rotation came with Kam Dewberry and Geno VanDeMark at LG.
But Alabama had its most productive rushing game since Vanderbilt in early October. Hill's continued emergence is a big reason why. He ripped off a 28-yard run, Alabama's longest run from scrimmage since, again, the Vanderbilt game.
Along with 60 rushing yards, Hill added 37 yards as a receiver. He's clearly supplanted Jam Miller as the Tide's RB1, and it was a performance Alabama's offense can hopefully build on moving forward.
4. Alabama's special teams were a disaster
When you're criticizing the offense's performance in this game, make sure you offer the same criticism to the special teams. Miscues on special teams proved just as costly as they did on offense.
Oklahoma's first points of the afternoon came after Lotzeir Brooks missed a tackle on a punt return that turned into a 42-yard return for the Sooners.
Later, Ryan Williams fumbled on a punt return, which directly led to an Oklahoma touchdown.
And then right before the half, for good measure, Connor Talty missed a chip-shot field goal that would have tied the game heading into the locker room. It was a bad snap, and the ball was tipped, but it looked like Talty would've missed anyway.
As bad as the two turnovers by Simpson were, Alabama probably could have survived them and still won if the special teams had avoided an atrocious first half.
5. Alabama's defense deserves praise even in defeat
Even in a loss, Kane Wommack's defense deserves plenty of praise. This game could have easily gotten away from Alabama with the turnovers if it wasn't for the defense consistently stepping up in big spots over and over again.
That has been a constant theme in recent weeks, and one that allows for some optimism that this team can still be something special.
Alabama's defense only allowed 212 total yards. Oklahoma never had a single possession that went for more than 41 yards. They held John Mateer to just 138 passing yards and kept him in check on the ground (10 carries, 23 yards).
They were consistently put in terrible positions - and completely let down - by the offense and special teams.
The defense deserved a better result than it got.