Alabama's Offense Crumbles Against 'Exotic' Oklahoma Defense in Second Half

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Simply put, a National Championship-contending team needs to show growth on both sides of the ball on a weekly basis.

No. 4 Alabama fell to No. 11 Oklahoma 23-21 at home on Saturday. The Crimson Tide defense shined throughout, as 17 of the Sooners' points came off turnovers, including a pick-six thrown by Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.

"They brought some exotic stuff that we hadn't seen before, and I've got to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Simpson said after the game. "I think we all need to do a better job of taking care of the ball on offense because that's what killed us.

"They were putting five guys on the line of scrimmage, and they were bringing two off the edge. It's what I threw my pick-six on and it's what I fumbled on. There was one time where I picked it up and they checked out and they brought it to the other side."

Alabama's offense tallied 14 points in the first half. The Crimson Tide recorded 167 more yards, 10 more 1st downs, roughly nine more minutes of possession and 23 more plays. But two turnovers helped give Oklahoma a 17-14 lead heading into the locker room.

“Well, I think we had almost 275 yards in the first half," Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said during the postgame press conference. "What’s disappointing is the turnovers, because even the interception where we were working deep into their territory, the interception for a touchdown, and then we just gave them the ball in our own territory a couple of times there."

While Alabama's defense stayed strong in the second half, the same could not be said for the offense. The Tide had 132 total yards in the latter two quarters, including just 80 passing yards compared to 246 in the first half. Oklahoma also logged three of its four sacks in the second half, including a strip that led to the go-ahead field goal.

"Defense stepped up as usual," Simpson said. "They've played good the last couple of weeks and they really kept us in the game, to be honest. Credit to those guys. They work their tails off and I expect nothing less."

Oklahoma only scored six points in the second half to Alabama's seven. The Crimson Tide had 27 more total yards, one more first down and just 16 more seconds with possession of the ball. Alabama was also just 1 of 6 on third down compared to 4 of 7 in the first half and averaged 4.3 yards per play after recording 6.2 before the break.

“I felt like, you know, it wasn’t perfect, but we were facing a really good defense, and we understood that," DeBoer said. "Felt like we were executing better today than we have probably the previous couple of weeks against a very good defense. Just the big mistakes are the ones that hurt us.”

Due to the big first half on the stat sheet, Alabama finished the game with nearly double the yards. The Sooners beat Alabama with just 212 total yards of total offense, its fewest in a win since 2001. That might be the biggest takeaway from the game right there.

"I just feel like, throughout the game, we didn’t really feel like we couldn’t move the ball," DeBoer said. "It felt like we couldn’t put it in the end zone. There were just these one-off plays that were the takeaways, and then it became an uphill battle. If you can take the lead and extend the lead when it was 21-20, then it can potentially become a whole different game.

"The guys are going to fight. I know the character of the team, but that’s the part that’s just really frustrating for everyone, is that you win the time of possession, you win everything pretty much, total yards, and you come away with a loss. Again, they’re a good football team, and when you give them those chances, that’s what you get.”

The Crimson Tide offense even got the chance to win the game as it had the ball on its own 6-yard line with seven minutes remaining. DeBoer and company went with a methodical approach, but UA turned the ball over on downs with under two minutes remaining.

Alabama also lost to Oklahoma last year, 24-3, on the road. As the score suggests, the game was never really close and the offense struggled even more. Simpson wasn't the Crimson Tide's quarterback then, but did the 2025 loss feel the same as the 2024 defeat?

"Absolutely not," Simpson said after the game. "It's honestly more frustrating because we had a chance to win."

Alabama aims to rebound in tremendous fashion against Eastern Illinois next Saturday. The Crimson Tide will then play Auburn on the road on Nov. 29 in the regular-season finale. Implications and placements for the SEC Championship and the College Football Playoff race will fluctuate over the next couple of weeks depending on results.

How will Alabama respond?

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