Three Takeaways From No. 11 Oklahoma's Monumental Win Over No. 4 Alabama

TUSCALOOSA — Oklahoma has slain the dragon.

Two weeks after walking into Neyland Stadium and picking up a win, Brent Venables’ Sooners beat Alabama on Saban Field.

The defense stood tall over and over, forcing three turnovers, to power No. 11 OU to a 23-21 win over the No. 4-ranked Crimson Tide.

Here are three takeaways from the monumental win.

Turnover Machine

Oklahoma’s defense picked up where it left off in Knoxville.

The Sooners forced three turnovers in the first half against the Volunteers, and OU took a lead into halftime in Tuscaloosa thanks to a pair of major turnovers.

First, Eli Bowen picked off Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson and returned it 87 yards for a touchdown — one play after Kobie McKinzie almost recovered a fumble that was forced by Reggie Powers — to put the visitors up 10-0 in the first quarter.

Jaydan Hardy punched the ball out of Ryan Williams’ hands on a punt to give John Mateer and the offense favorable field position in the second quarter, and Mateer scored on a 20-yard run to extend OU’s lead to 17-7.

Perhaps the biggest defensive play came at the end of the third quarter, however.

With Alabama facing third-and-9, redshirt sophomore defensive end Taylor Wein came steaming in off the edge to knock the ball out of Simpson’s hand.

Kendal Daniels recovered the fumble to give the offense the ball at the 28-yard line, and Tate Sandell was able to hit a 24-yard field goal to put the Sooners back on top 23-21 with 13:41 left in the game.

Oklahoma’s Kickers Bail the Offense Out

All good moments for OU’s offense came as a result of favorable field position.

Sandell was able to convert if a drive stalled, hitting from 24, 52 and 24 yards.

And when the offense was pushed out of Sandell’s range, punter Grayson Miller delivered.

He averaged 46.7 yards across six punts, and he downed three kicks inside the 20-yard line.

Crucially, when the Sooners had to kick the ball back up 23-21 with 7:24 left, Miller was able to pin the Crimson Tide at their own 6-yard line to give OU’s defense multiple sets of downs to get off the field.

And that’s exactly what Venables’ defense did.

Inside Track

Two weeks remain in the regular season, and Oklahoma controls its destiny.

The path forward is incredibly simple.

If the Sooners complete the Tiger two-step — they need wins over Missouri and LSU in Norman — then Venables will have his team back in the College Football Playoff, where OU will have a great chance to host a game in the first round.