The Biggest Play of Oklahoma's CFP Loss to Alabama May Not Have a Right Answer

NORMAN — Oklahoma ran 75 offensive plays on Friday night in the Sooners’ 34-24 loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff.

Some were good. Some were bad.

But one was a backbreaker — and was immediately followed by another.

Quarterback John Mateer’s third-down throw to running back Xavier Robinson in the second quarter went awry when Robinson dropped the football. He was so wide open when the ball arrived at the 20-yard line, he probably would have scored a 53-yard touchdown had he caught it.

But instead of breaking Alabama’s momentum by seizing a 24-7 lead, the Sooners punted the football — which led to the second “play of the game,” punter Grayson Miller’s dropped snap and eventual blocked punt that set up a Bama field goal.

That made it 17-10, and Mateer’s mixed up throw on the next series was returned 50 yards for a Crimson Tide touchdown that tied the game at 17-17 going into halftime.

The Sooners had led 17-0, but then had zero momentum coming out of the locker room.

Read More: Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24

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Mateer probably should have run the football. He had just escaped a sack in the backfield, spun out of danger and rolled hard to his left. Every Alabama defender was either behind him or engaged in coverage downfield. Mateer would have had the first down easily, and probably would have picked up 15-20 more yards. Make one defender miss, and perhaps even scored his second touchdown of the night.

Then again, his throw to Robinson, while not perfect, was very catchable and hit Robinson right between the hands.

An ancient coaching adage — from way back in the previous century — says there are three things that can happen when you throw the football, and two of them are bad.

Throwing 30 yards downfield to a 240-pound redshirt freshman running back who came into the most important game of the season with 14 catches on a 6.4-yard average, in retrospect, might not have been the best idea.

But afterward, neither Mateer nor offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle had any complaints about Mateer’s decision to throw.

“I think in that moment, it's obviously split decision,” Mateer said. “You trust your instincts. I knew I could run it but he's running open. It's unfortunate. It just didn't work out. Could have put it on his nose and I didn't.

“But looking back, of course: you run, keep the drive going. But I don't regret what I did. And it just didn't work out.”

“I’m not mad with the decision that John made,” Arbuckle said. “It's easy to say in hindsight, ‘I wish he would have just ran.’ But he saw a wide-open man down field and really delivered a really good ball. It's one of those things where X has shown up time and time again this season and made big plays.

“I ain't mad at either one of them right there. In hindsight, yeah, go run, get the first down. But we catch that, probably score, and who knows how the rest of the game looks?”

Ultimately, Alabama used the momentum from a decisive second quarter to pull away to a 10-0 third quarter, then held off any chance of a Sooner rally as Oklahoma’s mistakes on offense, defense and special teams compounded.

There are two ways to break down the biggest play of the game.

OU’s passing game hasn’t been great this season as Mateer has struggled to complete passes downfield. So with a big play possible there, it seemed like the right decision to throw it.

But with said passing game so damaged all year, maybe Mateer should have just kept the drive alive and hung onto the football.

Either way, the play failed and the Sooners’’ 2025 season came crashing down. There’s no right way to judge it.

Catch the football, right? Or, just keep it.

“I'm not going to say either way,” Arbuckle said, “which way I'd rather him — what decision I'd rather see him make right there.”