No magic for OU football in stunning collapse to Alabama in CFP opener | Carlson
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NORMAN — Deion Burks snagged the pass just inside the red zone, turned upfield and realized he had all sorts of room to run.
As he scampered into the end zone, the stands rising above Owen Field roared to life. OU, left for dead against Alabama, suddenly had life early in the fourth quarter. Within a score. Within reach of a College Football Playoff victory.
Sooner fans went wild and kept going wild — during the next time out, they made the stadium shake.
The darn thing was moving.
It felt like a night for magic.
But there would be none for the Sooners.
On a night OU played some of its best football of the season, it also played some of its worst. Frankly, this game felt a bit like the game in Tuscaloosa but in reverse. Alabama had a pick-six. OU had mishaps in special teams; Tate Sandell missed two field goals, for crying out loud. The Sooners dominated many of the stats but not the scoreboard.
And the Crimson Tide took advantage.
Bummer, Sooners.
Less than five minutes into the second quarter, the Sooners had a 17-0 lead.
Seventeen points!
The last time OU had a 17-point lead was against Kent State. Even double-digit leads have been rare for these Sooners. They have an offense so shaky that it has been incapable of blowing out opponents and a defense so splendid that it simply won’t let an opponent blow it out.
So such a start was about as good as anyone in crimson and creme could’ve imagined.
But as good as the Sooners started the first half, they finished it as badly.
With a chance to put its foot on the Crimson Tide’s throat, the OU defense allowed a 75-play touchdown drive that was punctuated by a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth down.
Opportunity missed.
But a few minutes later, John Mateer miraculously avoided a sack, escaped the pocket and just as he was ready to take off running, the Sooner quarterback saw Xavier Robinson break open. Mateer threw a strike.
That Robinson dropped.
Opportunity missed.
As bad as that was, things got worse when OU punter Grayson Miller inexplicably dropped the ball as he prepared to punt. Alabama recovered deep in OU territory and eventually kicked a field goal.
But a few minutes later, Mateer threw the ball right to Alabama cornerback Zabien Brown, who returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.
That 17-point lead?
Completely gone.
The Sooners never really recovered.
Oh, they made a game of it. That Burks touchdown early in the fourth quarter pulled OU within three points, and after the Sooner defense forced a punt on the Crimson Tide’s next possession, the magic seemed possible.
But OU went three and out, then got a short punt from Miller despite a whipping wind to his back. That gave Alabama a short field, and four plays later, it was into the end zone for a touchdown that was all the cushion it would need.
The stadium that had shaken was nearly empty by the time the final seconds ticked off the clock, the end of night that had plenty of good moments but far too many bad, bad ones.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Alabama ousts OU football in CFP thanks to Sooners’ stunning collapse
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