What to make of a most devastating Alabama Football loss

On Saturday night in Norman, OK, Alabama Football was poised for a return to the SEC Championship Game and a sure spot in the CFB Playoff. What happened instead of a Crimson Tide win was a beatdown by Oklahoma. Credit to the Sooners; they were better than Alabama in every facet of the game.

Losing to Vanderbilt in week six of the season was perceived to be so bad that it must have been the bottom for the 2024 Alabama Crimson Tide. It was - until Saturday night. Against Oklahoma, nothing went the way Alabama intended. It went so badly for Alabama, an awful officiating mistake that took away a touchdown was not pivotal. A valid excuse for Alabama losing to Vandy on the first Saturday in October can be made. The Crimson Tide was still coming together in Week 6. There are no excuses for a meltdown in Week 13. Yes, SEC road games are difficult, but that excuse is inappropriate for what happened in Norman.

It was no surprise Oklahoma's defensive game plan to focus on stopping Jalen Milroe's running. Credit to the Sooners for their execution. Also, point a finger at the Alabama offensive staff for no plan to counter if Oklahoma's 'stuff Milroe' plan worked.

There is also blame to be shared on the other side of the ball. Going into Saturday night, Jackson Arnold had 108 attempts for 238 yards. He rushed for 131 yards against Alabama. Whatever adjustments Kane Wommack made were not effective enough. Until playing Alabama, the Sooners were No. 16 among SEC teams with a rushing carry average of 3.64 yards. Against the Alabama Football defense, Arnold's average was 5.2 yards, and Oklahoma running back, Xavier Robinson's average was 5.9 yards.

Even with an ineffective offensive plan, Crimson Tide offensive players should have performed better. There were far too many offensive line miscues and too many passes dropped. What made those failings worse was Jalen Milroe's inexcusably bad performance. Two of his three interceptions came on passes with no chance of success. Yes, the Sooners have one of college football's best defensive fronts, but the Sooners have allowed 21.9 points per game. Alabama officially put up three points, and even if the bad officiating call on the Tide touchdown had not happened; 10 points would have been a huge failure.

Alabama Football's 2024 Disappointment

Where does Alabama Football go from here? There is the Iron Bowl and it always matters. The Tigers will be sky-high coming off their overtime win against Texas A&M. Can Alabama play poorly enough to lose to Auburn? Until Saturday night, an easy answer was no way. But now ... who knows? Left for the Crimson Tide is the Iron Bowl; and a bowl game that will be a meager consolation.