Sooners’ season ends as Alabama storms back in CFP rematch

It’s hard to beat a team twice. That was the talk all week long.

But when the Sooners jumped out to a 17–0 lead, it felt like this one was going to go Oklahoma’s way. Teams trailing by 17 or more points were 1–28 in College Football Playoff history. The lone exception was Georgia’s comeback win over Oklahoma in the 2018 Rose Bowl.

On Friday night, Alabama became the second team to overcome that deficit, defeating Oklahoma 34–24 in Norman. The Sooners surrendered 27 unanswered points, and that swing proved to be the difference for the Crimson Tide.

Here’s a recap of how the College Football Playoff loss unfolded.

First Quarter

The Sooners opened the game with a 14-yard reception from Deion Burks and drove the ball down to the Alabama 44 before ultimately stalling out and being forced to punt.

Alabama then took over, and Oklahoma’s defense forced a quick three-and-out, with the Crimson Tide gaining just one total yard on the drive.

Oklahoma’s offense responded with one of its best drives in quite some time. It began with a 21-yard reception from Jer’Michael Carter, followed by a 17-yard catch from Xavier Robinson. John Mateer then capped it off by punching it in on an impressive 8-yard touchdown run, giving the Sooners a 7-0 lead.

The Oklahoma defense stayed locked in, forcing another three-and-out.

On the ensuing possession, the offense put together another solid drive, highlighted by a 10-yard reception from Isaiah Sategna on third-and-long to set up a 51-yard field goal attempt. Lou Groza Award–winning kicker Tate Sandell delivered, pushing the Sooners’ lead to 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Through one quarter of play, Alabama had just 12 total yards of offense.

Second Quarter

Alabama’s first drive of the second quarter went the same way everything else had gone so far, a three and out. Oklahoma’s offense then returned to the field and put together yet another impressive drive.

It started with an impressive sideline toe-tap catch by Deion Burks for 15 yards, followed by another 18-yard reception from Burks on the very next play. Then Jacob Jordan, who hadn’t caught a pass since the Illinois State game, hauled in a 16-yard reception. That set up a 7-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna, who was wide open in the end zone, giving Oklahoma a 17-0 lead.

With a little over 10 minutes left in the second quarter, the Sooners had 181 yards of offense compared to just 12 yards for Alabama.

The momentum shifted on the next drive, as the Crimson Tide put together a scoring drive to make it 17-7. Oklahoma’s offense responded by picking up a first down but then stalled out and was forced to punt. On that punt, Oklahoma’s special teams unit, which had played mistake-free football up to that point, made a costly error as Grayson Miller dropped the ball and the punt was blocked.

Alabama capitalized with a 35-yard field goal to cut the lead to 17-10. On the next possession, John Mateer appeared to have a miscommunication with Keontez Lewis, throwing an interception that was returned 50 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 17-17.

That ended the first half with the score tied, despite Oklahoma holding a significant edge in total offense, 236 yards to Alabama’s 100.

Third Quarter

To open the second half, the Sooners forced a much-needed three-and-out. However, they were unable to capitalize, following it up with a three-and-out of their own. Momentum began to tilt toward Alabama, and the Crimson Tide took advantage.

Alabama went on a quick three-play touchdown drive, sparked by a 30-yard rush from Daniel Hill and capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Ty Simpson. Oklahoma responded with yet another three-and-out, and with the Sooners trailing 24-17, the defense was put back in a tough spot.

Alabama moved the ball again and came away with a field goal, extending the lead to 27-17. It marked just the third time all season that Oklahoma had trailed by multiple possessions, the only other instances coming in losses to Texas and Ole Miss.

Fourth Quarter

Before the start of the fourth quarter, Oklahoma brought out 50 Cent to perform Many Men, and the energy inside the stadium shifted almost immediately. On the first drive of the quarter, John Mateer connected with Burks for a 37-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 27-24 and giving the Sooners new life.

Alabama answered with a 37-yard completion to move the ball downfield, but the Oklahoma defense held firm. On third-and-11, Owen Heinecke came up with a massive sack to force a punt, handing the ball back to the Sooners while trailing 27-24 with 10:57 remaining.

Just as it felt like the momentum was swinging in Oklahoma’s favor, Alabama answered. The Crimson Tide went on a four-play touchdown drive, highlighted by a 24-yard completion from Ty Simpson to Geramie Bernard and finished with an 8-yard rushing touchdown by Daniel Hill. The score pushed Alabama’s lead to 34–24 late in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma got a quick stop and got the ball back, then on a fourth down, Mateer found Javonnie Gibson for a 38 yard reception. The Sooners then decided to attempt a 36 yard field goal, which was no good. Giving Alabama the ball back with a 34-24 lead with 2:57 left to play.

That was it for the Sooners and their 2025 season, ending at 10-3 with many great memories, like road wins in Tuscaloosa and Knoxville, but ultimately they didn’t have enough to take down the Crimson Tide fir a second time this season.