Alabama overcome 17-point deficit and 50 Cent to beat Oklahoma in College Football Playoff | College football
Ty Simpson passed for 232 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 9 seed Alabama rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat No. 8 Oklahoma 34-24 Friday night in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
“I just couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “Resilience. That’s been a theme throughout the season, but it showed up tonight on the road. Down 17, looking back at how we took it one score at a time — we really stayed the course.”
Alabama freshman Lotzeir Brooks, who didn’t score a touchdown in the regular season, scored two and had a season-high five catches and 79 yards.
It was the third meeting between the schools in 13 months. Oklahoma beat Alabama 24-3 last November at home, then beat the Crimson Tide 23-21 last month on the road.
DeBoer earned his first playoff victory for the Crimson Tide since arriving from Washington two years ago. Alabama (11-3) advanced to face No. 1 seed Indiana and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza in a quarterfinal game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Oklahoma’s John Mateer passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw a costly interception that Alabama’s Zabien Brown returned 50 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Deion Burks had seven catches for 107 yards and a score for the Sooners (10-3).
“It was a really good game that resulted in some really good moments for the Sooners,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “And obviously there are some really inopportune moments as well, the coaching, the playing, the things that have helped us be successful throughout the year. Tonight, when we needed it the most, we just didn’t have what it took.”
Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell, winner of the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker, tied a single-season FBS record for most field goals of 50 yards or more with his eighth. He made a 51-yard field goal into a strong wind to give the Sooners a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter, his 24th consecutive field goal.
The Sooners outgained the Crimson Tide 118 yards to 12 in the first half, and the dominance continued into the second quarter. Mateer’s six-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna pushed Oklahoma’s lead to 17-0.
Alabama, which scored three points on its first three possessions, finally got its offense going midway through the second quarter when Simpson hit Brooks for a 10-yard score to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 17-7. Later in the quarter, Brown’s interception return tied the score at 17.
Brooks caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Simpson early in the third quarter to give Alabama its first lead. The Crimson Tide took a 27-17 advantage on a 40-yard field goal by Conor Talty, capping a 27-game point streak for Alabama.
“There was no doubt in my mind,” Simpson said. “I mean, the guys we have, the players, the coaches. Like, 17 nothing, I mean, it’s nothing to us. Give us the ball, we’ll go down, do what we do.”
Burks caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Mateer two plays into the fourth quarter to cut Alabama’s lead to 27-24.
With Alabama leading 34-24, Sandell missed from 36 yards out with just under three minutes left to end his streak. He missed again from 51 yards out with just over a minute to play.
Sandell’s missed field goals weren’t the Sooners’ only special teams problems.
All-SEC punter Grayson Miller dropped a play in the second quarter, and his delayed punt was blocked by Tim Keenan III, setting up the Crimson Tide deep in Oklahoma territory. Talty made a basket to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 17-10.
Oklahoma got a temporary boost from 50 Cent.
The rapper performed his 2003 hit Many Men (Wish Death) between the third and fourth trimesters. The Sooners have used it as a buzz song in recent weeks. Two plays later, Mateer connected with Burks for a touchdown.
