Oklahoma Named National Team of the Week After Massive Win at Alabama

By the FWAA

The Oklahoma defense came up big Saturday, producing three takeaways that led to 17 points in its 23-21 win at No. 4 Alabama.

For snapping the Crimson Tide’s 17-game home win streak – the nation’s longest – and as they surge into College Football Playoff contention, the Sooners earned the Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Team of the Week for games the weekend of Nov. 15, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.

This is the ninth time for Oklahoma (8-2, 4-2 SEC) to receive the award from the FWAA. The Sooners also earned the award following their 24-3 home win over Alabama last year the weekend of Nov. 23.

Eli Bowen’s 87-yard pick-six was Oklahoma’s first touchdown and gave OU a 10-0 lead. The Sooners led until the middle of the third quarter when Alabama finished off a 75-yard drive to go ahead, 21-20. The drive answered the second of Tate Sandell’s three field goals for the Sooners.

Sandell’s last field goal from 24 yards out gave Oklahoma the 23-21 lead at the start of a rugged fourth quarter.

The Sooners’ defense was key — and was needed — as Oklahoma managed just 212 yards of offense in the game. OU quarterback John Mateer threw for 138 yards and scored Oklahoma’s only offensive touchdown on a 20-yard run in the second quarter.

Yet Alabama gained just 57 yards over its last four possessions as Oklahoma fought off a rally.

Oklahoma’s three takeaways continue a season-turning trend. The Sooners have six takeaways in their last two games after getting just four in their previous seven, including a 33-27 road win at Tennessee two weeks ago. The Sooners have scored 37 points off those turnovers.

Oklahoma improved to 5-2-1 all-time against Alabama, is 4-0 in regular-season games against the Crimson Tide, and is 2-0 all-time in Tuscaloosa. The win also marked Oklahoma’s highest-ranked road victory since it beat No. 2 Ohio State 31-16 in 2017. The Sooners are 4-0 in true road games this season.

The Sooners host Missouri (7-3, 3-3) on Saturday in another SEC matchup at Noon ET on ABC.

Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2025 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Pop-Tarts "care package" along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation's leading manufacturer of custom footballs.

The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 15 were:

Navy (8-2): Backup quarterback Braxton Woodson came off the bench to run for 103 and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and senior snipe Eli Heidenreich caught five passes for 146 yards and became Navy's all-time receiving yards leader as the Midshipmen beat No. 25 South Florida, 41-38. Two Navy backs (also Alex Tecza, 126 yards) ran for more than 100 yards. Heidenreich now has 1,794 career receiving yards and moved past Rob Taylor's 1,736, compiled from 1965-67.

Texas A&M (10-0): The Aggies mounted a school-record comeback Saturday, rallying from a 30-3 halftime deficit to beat South Carolina, 31-30. Marcel Reed passed for a career-high 439 yards on 22 completions with three touchdowns, much of it to KC Concepcion, who had a career-high 158 receiving yards on eight catches. The Aggies are 10-0 for the first time since 1992 and have logged the program’s first 10-win season 2012 (11-3).