TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Oklahoma’s playmaking defense traveled great again Saturday, this time coming up with 17 points off three turnovers to shovel more chaos into the Southeastern Conference and the College Football Playoff pictures with a 23-21 upset of Alabama.
The 11th-ranked Sooners (8-2, 4-2 SEC, No. 11 CFP) backed up their win two weeks ago at Tennessee with an even bigger shocker — this time taking down the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide (8-2, 6-1, No. 4 CFP).
Eli Bowen returned an interception 87 yards for a touchdown, Kip Lewis had two sacks and OU snapped ’Bama’s 17-game home winning streak while handing its second-year coach, Kalen DeBoer, his first loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama had won eight in a row overall since getting blown out at Florida State in its opener.
“OU!” chants echoed through the emptying stadium as Oklahoma fans celebrated afterward. Coach Brent Venables stayed on the field for more than half an hour to greet fans along the gates of the field.
“This is one of the best teams I’ve been around in terms of brotherhood and belief in one another,” Venables said. “I think it shows. I don’t think you find a way to win our fourth true road game in the fashion we were able to unless you have a lot of ingredients that aren’t on the stat sheet.”
It probably won’t be a fatal blow for Alabama, but now the Tide face a must-win in two weeks against archrival Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
And Suddenly, OU’s 23-6 loss to its own rival, Texas, feels like a lot longer than four weeks ago. The Sooners were a bubble team in last week’s CFP rankings but with this win, they feel like a playoff lock if they can take care of business at home against Missouri and LSU.
The Crimson Tide had a chance late, but Ty Simpson’s fourth-down pass to Ryan Williams fell incomplete.
The Sooners ran out the clock from there. Oklahoma — a 6-point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook — managed just 212 yards of offense but had an interception and recovered two fumbles.
Oklahoma held Alabama to 57 yards over its last four drives, which proved to be the difference.
“Throughout the game, it didn’t feel like we couldn’t move the ball,” DeBoer said. “There were just these one-off plays that were the takeaways, and it just became an uphill battle. That’s what’s frustrating — you win everything pretty much but you come away with a loss.”
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer managed 161 total yards — 138 passing — and scored on the ground. Simpson threw for 326 yards, with a touchdown to tight end Josh Cuevas and an interception. Daniel Hill scored twice for the Tide.
Alabama’s plus-10 turnover margin entering Saturday was fourth-best nationally and best in the SEC. But that didn’t matter to Oklahoma, which also had three takeaways in a victory at Tennessee last week.
Oklahoma has six takeaways in two games after getting just four in its previous seven. And the Sooners have scored 37 points off those turnovers.
Despite dominating in nearly every category, a series of errors by Alabama proved decisive. In addition to the turnovers, Alabama missed a 36-yard field goal and allowed a 46-yard punt return that set up Oklahoma’s first score.
The takeaway
Oklahoma: The Sooners notched one of the best victories in college football this season, beating a top-five team on the road. If their defense remains stout and their offense can continue to progress as Mateer gets healthier, they can be dangerous late in the year.
Alabama: The Tide’s long-term goals are still in play, but this was a reminder of the small margin of error that the team had been winning with in recent weeks.
Up next
Oklahoma hosts Missouri next Saturday.
Alabama hosts Eastern Illinois next Saturday.
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