Coming into Saturday night's game against Oklahoma, Alabama football controlled its destiny in both the SEC Championship and College Football Playoff race. After being outcoached, outplayed, and outclassed by a mediocre Oklahoma team in Norman, Alabama is eliminated from the SEC Championship race and very likely to miss the playoff altogether.
Alabama came into Norman looking totally unprepared on both sides of the ball. The offense could not adjust to Oklahoma's defense taking away the QB run. The defense could not set the edge and got gashed on the ground by a Sooners team that came into the game ranked dead last in SEC play in rushing yards per game.
It's not that the Crimson Tide lost for the third time this season that's frustrating, it's how thoroughly Alabama was outplayed against an inferior opponent. It was a forgettable road schedule for the Crimson Tide this season as they finish just 2-3.
It was widely thought Alabama turned the corner in road games when they dominated LSU two weeks ago in Baton Rouge. Unfortunately, Saturday night's performance in Norman showed the LSU win was just a blip on the radar. This is who this team really is.
Alabama drops to 8-3 on the season. It is the first time since 2010 that Alabama has lost more than two games in a single season.
3 Takeaways from Alabama's third loss
3. Nick Sheridan called a brutal game
A lot of the blame will fall on Jalen Milroe's shoulders. Some of that is more than fair. It was far from his best game. Unfortunatley, his offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan did not do him any favors and consistently put the offense in difficult situations.
It was obvious after just a few plays that Oklahoma was totally keyed on the QB run game and Sheridan was too slow to make any adjustments. He kept running Milroe into the teeth of a Sooners defense that was waiting for him.
Perhaps surprisingly, the traditional run game was working okay. Jam Miller and Justice Haynes combined for 15 carries for 63 yards, and Milroe ran it 15 times for seven yards.
By the time Sheridan figured it out, Alabama was in a 17-3 hole and then Milroe threw a pick-six that effectively ended the game. The pick six came on a quick pass attempt to Robbie Ouzts of all people. Sheridan didn't use his personnel properly and looked totally in over his head against a Brent Venables defense.
This was the first time since 2011 against LSU that Alabama was held out of the endzone. It's Alabama's lowest scoring output since 2004 against South Carolina.
2. Alabama's defense got gashed on the ground
Alabama's defense could not set an edge against Oklahoma to save its life. Having every little edge depth, and losing LB Deontae Lawson to an injury in the first half didn't help, but the Sooners dominated the Alabama front seven.
Oklahoma came into the game ranked dead last in SEC play in rushing. They ran for 260 yards against Alabama. They needed only 68 passing yards. Jackson Arnold came into the game with just 238 yards rushing on the season. He rushed for well over 100 yards. RB Xavier Robinson also went over the century mark.
In fariness to the defense, they came up with a couple of red zone stops and forced a turnover. It wasn't a banner day for Kane Wommack's unit, but the offense was far more of a problem.
1. The illegal touching on Ryan Williams' touchdown is the worst call I've ever seen
I'm going to complain about officiating because this call was the worst I've ever seen in all the years I've watched football. Worse than the pass interference that overturned what should have been a game sealing interception for Kool Aid McKinstry in Knoxville two years ago.
And please, don't get it twisted. Alabama deserved to lose this game. Even if that call wasn't made, Alabama was going to lose this football game. But this officiating crew, the same crew that called the Georgia/Texas game and made a wild overturn after Longhorns fans threw trash onto the field.
I’ve never seen anything like this. pic.twitter.com/8IgZnfFClB
— Chris Marler (@VernDumbquist) November 24, 2024
This is not a subjective call. It's not 50/50. Ryan Williams is nowhere close to being covered up and if he was the flag should've been thrown immediately and not while the ball was in the air. That official, and this whole crew, should never call another SEC game again. They should never call a major college football game again. I wouldn't trust them on Friday nights at a local high school stadium.
It overturned what was another ridiculous play by the freshman phenom WR. The one lone bright spot in an otherwise abysmal evening from the Crimson Tide ripped away from us.