NORMAN, Oklahoma — The stage was set for Oklahoma. Heck, the Sooners earned the right to set it. This was supposed to be the ushering in of a new era of postseason football for the No. 8 team in the country that had won 10 games in what was one of the toughest schedules this year.
No. 9 Alabama was even one of those teams that Oklahoma beat on its way to earning this spot. And Saturday night, all was going well for the Sooners. It was going so well, in fact, that after the first quarter, some Oklahoma fans might’ve peeked at flights and hotel rates for the Rose Bowl from inside Memorial Stadium.
And then the Alabama Crimson Tide curled and rolled the Sooners, 34-24, and are headed to Pasadena. After opening with 17 unanswered points, Oklahoma collapsed under the weight of that wave, becoming the only team in College Football Playoff history to blow a 17-point lead. And now, the Sooners have done it twice — before Saturday, in 2018 against Georgia.
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Here are my takeaways from Alabama’s first-round College Football Playoff win against Oklahoma on Saturday:
1. Alabama is the most resilient team in the CFP
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Zabien Brown #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide stretches his arms to John Mateer #10 of the Oklahoma Sooners during the second quarter of the first-round game of the 2025 College Football Playoff on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson is an avid reader and listener of college football news. Following the biggest comeback in Alabama postseason history, Simpson took a moment to jokingly thank members of the media for picking Oklahoma to win Saturday night.
“I guess we can thank them for that,” Simpson said emboldened. “You guys wrote us off somehow. So I appreciate that.”
After building a three-point lead, the Sooners watched the Crimson Tide make up a lost point, sack Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and return it 50 yards to the end zone, all before their first-team All-American kicker, Tate Sandell, missed not one but two field goals in the final minutes to solidify the worst collapse in College Football Playoff history.
Meanwhile, the Alabama Crimson Tide will prepare to take on No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl for the CFP quarterfinal game. This team that hits back and plays its best football with its back against the wall is one the Hoosiers should prepare for on New Year’s Day.
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2. You can’t have so many ups and downs and compete for the national championship.
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: John Mateer #10 of the Oklahoma Sooners is hit by Deontae Lawson #0 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first quarter of the College Football Playoff first-round game on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
The Crimson Tide started to slide, just like they did against Georgia in the SEC Championship game. But the final three quarters of Saturday’s game showed that Alabama is exactly who it says it is: the kind of team that can start with a loss to a bad Florida State and also be the first team in six years to walk into Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, and come out with a win.
DeBoer’s task now is to find a way to make sure the team that showed up at Georgia earlier this season and at Oklahoma in the first round is the same against the Hoosiers. Linebacker Deontae Lawson said that’s his job, too. But Bama’s best trait isn’t the one on display until he’s fighting for his life.
“Man, I think we’re a tough team,” Lawson said. “And even though we were down 17-0, we didn’t really look at the score. Coach DeBoer always says, ‘Keep playing. The game will come back to you.’ … We kept fighting.”
3. Oklahoma’s cartoonish mistakes
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners speaks with a referee during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Let’s look at the biggest ones:
- Mateer’s air-mailed pass intended for receiver JaVonnie Gibson in the first half that would’ve gone for six
- Mateer’s pick-six with barely a minute left in the second quarter
- Punter Grayson Miller’s fumble/blocked punt
- Sandell’s two missed field goals — one from 36 yards, then from 51 yards, despite hitting a 51-yarder in the first quarter — to bring the game to one-score with not five minutes left to play
These are blunders. Errors that are not forced but self-inflicted. It’s hard to win any game with those kinds of errors on your driving chart. It’s almost impossible in a game of this magnitude, against a team as talented and resilient as the Crimson Tide.
4. A live concert (lyrics)
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: Keon Keeley #31 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the first round game of the College Football Playoff. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Oklahoma usually plays 50 Cent’s “Many Men” before the start of the fourth quarter. In an attempt to make a statement for their first CFP game at Owen Field, the Sooners brought the rapper himself onto the field to perform the song for fans in a Hard to Kill hoodie.
“I didn’t know it was live,” DeBoer said.
“I didn’t know who 50 Cent was,” Simpson said, “but I knew that song.”
“We play that song at practice on Fridays,” Lawson said.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. follow him @RJ_joven.
