Sloppy play by No. 4 Alabama resulted in a 23-21 loss to No. 11 Oklahoma on homecoming.
Kalen DeBoer’s first home loss as Crimson Tide head coach ends a 17-game home winning streak and 22 straight homecoming victories. Alabama drops to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the SEC.
Here are a few takeaways from the game.
- Too Many Turnovers
The Crimson Tide has played relatively clean football in terms of turnovers this season, dominating the turnover battle in nearly every game. On Saturday, the Tide were careless with the ball and unable to force a turnover on defense. As a result, Alabama lost the turnover battle 3-0. The three Crimson Tide turnovers resulted in 17 points for Oklahoma.
2 Cuevas is Clutch
Whenever Alabama needs a clutch third-down conversion or a play to extend a crucial drive, it’s always Josh Cuevas at the other end of a Ty Simpson pass. Down by 10 in the second quarter, Simpson connected with Cuevas on a 25-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to three while stealing back some of the momentum of the game. Cuevas finished the day with a career high six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
- Pick Six
Ty Simpson’s second interception of the year was a costly one. Oklahoma brought pressure to force a quick throw, and the safety jumped the route and ran it back 87 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown put the Sooners up 10-0 and took the juice out of the home crowd. In a game where the defense only allowed one touchdown, the pick-six was a huge difference-maker in the outcome.
- Special Team Mishaps
Alabama had been a pretty solid special teams unit coming into the game, minus a missed field goal here and there. Saturday’s special teams play was a disaster in all phases. After a three-and-out, the punt coverage team missed a tackle that would have resulted in no gain, but instead, it went for 42 yards, leading to a field goal. On a punt return, Ryan Williams was stripped of the ball and recovered by Oklahoma, leading to a touchdown. Conor Talty had a chance to tie the game at halftime but missed a 36-yard field goal that was partially blocked.
- Has Hill Surpassed Miller?
The bar has been set low by the running backs this season. Jam Miller was expected to be a playmaker at the running back position, but hasn’t been able to get going all year. Alabama’s 6’1”, 244 lbs running back Daniel Hill has seen increased playing time and has emerged as an active threat in the run game. In the third quarter, Hill broke a run for 28 yards, the second-longest run by a running back for the Crimson Tide this season. Hill finished the game with 15 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns.
Alabama will host Eastern Illinois next Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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