Kane Wommack Reveals How Alabama's Defense Slowed Down Oklahoma

The Crimson Tide defense was "begging" to play man coverage, and it helped pave the way to a comeback win in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer (10) is brought down by a group of Alabama defenders during a first-round College Football Playoff game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. Alabama won 34-24. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN, Okla. — Alabama's defense stepped into a time machine for a bit on Friday night.

The Crimson Tide took down Oklahoma 34-24 on the road in the first round of the College Football Playoff, and while UA stormed back from a 17-0 deficit, the defense couldn't have started the game much worse.

One of Alabama's main weaknesses last season was containing a dual-threat quarterback. This was the case in the Week 1 loss to Florida State, and although the Crimson Tide got it under control throughout this season, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer had more than double the rushing yards (26) in the first quarter than Alabama had altogether (12).

Mateer consistently found open receivers at all three levels of the field, as Alabama's defense had no answers. The Crimson Tide offense logged its first first down with 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter, and wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks found the end zone a few plays later. This got the time machine running back up again and the defense finally returned to the present.

On Oklahoma's next possession, Alabama's defense took them off the field in five plays and nose tackle Tim Keenan III blocked a punt — leading to a Crimson Tide field goal. One drive later, Mateer threw an interception to Alabama cornerback Zabien Brown, who returned it 50 yards to the house to tie the game at 17 late in the first half.

"Well, I think we talked about it before the game, there was going to be wrinkles, there were going to be things that they did," Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said after the game. "I thought they had a great plan early on. I thought the quarterback played out of his mind in the first half. He was dialed in, did a really good job.

"We didn't affect him early enough from a pass rush standpoint, and then we started affecting him, and then it drastically changed the outcome of the game. Just finding ways to just settle in, let's see what their pictures are, let's see what their game plan is, what they're going to do, and then being ready to adjust whichever way we needed to.

"We haven't played a lot of man coverage this year, but that was what we needed to do to win the game. Our DBs were begging for it. By the time we got to the second half, they wanted it. That's what you want. You want kids that are fighters, that want the ball in their court. They want to be challenged. They want to go challenge people. Our players won this game. They won the game with sheer will."

Wommack's defense allowed just seven points in the second half. The unit logged a season-high five sacks on the night, as pressuring Mateer ended his chances of running forward and also eliminated time for him to find receivers downfield.

Here's a look at the first and second half numbers for Oklahoma's offense.

Stat Categories	Oklahoma First Half	Oklahoma Second Half
Total yards	236	126
Rushing yards	50	5
Passing yards	186	121
First downs	12	6
Third down conversions	5 of 10	2 of 8
Yards per play	5.4	4.1
Time of possession	19:38	13:30
Passing of 15-plus yards	7	2
Rushing gains of 10-plus yards	0	1
Turnovers	1	0

"You don't win those games without great culture," Wommack said. "You have a great team culture. You've got a bunch of fighters, a bunch of punchers. That wasn't who we were a year ago. We learned how to do that. We fought to do that. We prepared in the offseason.

"[Alabama director of sports performance] Dave Ballou and our fourth quarter program and [senior associate athletics director for sports medicine] Jeff Allen getting players back, our players, our leaders stepping up in those moments, we've learned how to fight.

"So now we have a culture of fighters, and that starts with our head coach who's a puncher, and it just rubs off on the rest of our coaching staff and our players, and that's how you win games like that."

Alabama's stoutness earned the Tide a spot in the Rose Bowl against No. 1 Indiana during the CFP quarterfinals round. That game will be played on Jan. 1, 2026, in Pasadena, Calif.

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