Sooner or later, blunders like this were going to sink Oklahoma.
Sooners punter Grayson Miller made an inexplicable mistake in the second quarter, helping Alabama overcome a 17-point deficit and grab a 34-24 road victory Friday night in the first round of the College Football Playoff in Norman.
Oklahoma still led, 17-7, with just over four minutes left in the first half when the Sooners decided to punt from their own 42-yard line.
Grayson caught the snap cleanly but when he dropped the ball to his foot he did not complete the punt, as the ball fell to the ground without an attempt to kick it.
He tried to pick up the ball and make a second attempt to punt it away, but Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan prevented the kick and recovered the ball at the Sooners’ 30-yard line.
The Crimson Tide added a field goal after the error and then capitalized on a subsequent interception for a touchdown by Alabama defensive back Zabien Brown against quarterback John Mateen to even the score by halftime.
“We had the ability and the opportunities to overcome it all even in just the last several minutes of the game, despite some just incredibly critical mistakes,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said.
“But it just wasn’t in the cards for us.”
No.8 Oklahoma, playing in the CFP for the first time since 2019, now has suffered the two largest blown leads in playoff history — matching its 17-point collapse against Georgia in 2018.
According to ESPN, teams with a lead of at least 17 points have gone 28-2 in the CFP, with Oklahoma owning both defeats.
The Sooners had pulled out a close road win at Alabama in mid-November, but the No. 9 Tide moved on to face top-ranked Indiana in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal on Jan.1.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
