The homefield advantage that Oklahoma created \u2014 one that included a pregame lights show, a halftime drone show and, yes, a surprise 50 Cent show before the fourth quarter \u2014 riled the Sooners up so much that fans on social media signed Alabama\u2019s death certificate before the game\u2019s midpoint had even arrived.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what homefield advantages are designed to do, though, and that\u2019s what the current iteration of the College Football Playoff created when it shifted toward a 12-team format prior to last season that gave teams seeded five-through-eight a chance to host postseason games on campus.<\/p>\n
That, given the impact that a ferocious and friendly crowd can have on college football games, is a scenario that any of the four previous Sooners teams that played in the playoff would\u2019ve thirsted for.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the opportunity that Oklahoma got.<\/p>\n
The No. 8 Sooners lost 34-24 to No. 9 Alabama in the first round of the playoff at Memorial Stadium Friday night. They\u2019re now winless in five trips to the postseason and, despite meaningful improvements in Venables\u2019 fourth season at the helm, the Sooners (10-3) ended their first trip to the new postseason in the same manner it ended those of old.<\/p>\n
The Sooners tied their own record for the largest blown lead in playoff history when they coughed up a 17-0 lead staked midway through the second quarter. They also blew a 17-point lead against Georgia in the 2018 Rose Bowl (the only other playoff game in which they\u2019ve been the higher seed) and suffered a double overtime loss because of it.<\/p>\n
The original postseason format was chucked prior to last year in an effort to create more parity, welcome a dozen competitors and avoid lopsided semifinals on neutral sites. The Sooners were theoretical beneficiaries in the second year of the 12-team bracket and, as opposed to a date with an undefeated behemoth in Miami, Atlanta or Pasadena, Calif., they drew a somewhat-suspect Crimson Tide team that they\u2019d beaten once already six weeks ago in front of 83,550 boisterous Normanites in a first-round game that the four home teams swept in last year\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n
Darned if the Sooners didn\u2019t look ready to make it five-for-five, too, with how they opened. They scored 17 points before the Crimson Tide (11-3) recorded a single first down. Quarterback John Mateer, a Little Elm alum, looked relatively healthy and relatively comfortable on the ground and through the air to start.<\/p>\n
He threw 186 of his 307 yards in the first two quarters, danced around Alabama defenders for an 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and played patient football to find wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III wide open in the endzone for a 7-yard touchdown in the second.<\/p>\n
The Oklahoma defense, which Venables described as a \u201cforcefield,\u201d resembled the unit that dragged the Sooners into the postseason in the first place and held the Crimson tide to all of 100 first-half yards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had great momentum,\u201d Venables said. \u201cWe lost the momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Crimson Tide struck back, finally, with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that made it a 10-point game two minutes into the second quarter. They made it a one-score game on a field goal gifted to them by a blocked punt in Oklahoma territory.<\/p>\n
They tied it with two minutes to play before halftime when Mateer underthrew wide receiver Keontez Lewis down the left sidelined and tossed a ghastly interception that was returned by Alabama cornerback Zabien Brown for a touchdown.<\/p>\n
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle described it as an \u201cexecution error,\u201d which he took accountability for. Mateer said that the defense \u201ctricked\u201d him with how the coverage was disguised when he checked at the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happens sometimes, when you get tricked, that you\u2019ve got to mitigate the damage,\u201d Mateer said. \u201cI didn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It in turn burnt the homefield advantage that the Sooners worked a season to earn and a quarter-plus of football to fortify.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext thing you know,\u201d Venables said through a gritted smile, \u201cit\u2019s 17-17 going into half.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, next thing you know, the Crimson Tide scored again on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Simpson to wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks to take a 24-17 lead with 11:21 left in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
The Sooners scored once more, on a 37-yarder from Mateer to wide receiver Deion Burks at the start of the fourth quarter, but finished the game with two punts and two missed field goals from Lou Groza award-winning kicker Tate Sandell.<\/p>\n
The offense, Mateer said, got \u201cout of sync\u201d after a first half in which it seemed to shake the notions of inefficiency that dogged it all season. Mateer was without a run game (the Sooners averaged 0.4 yards per carry in the second half) after halftime and pressured hard by Alabama\u2019s defense because of it.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma\u2019s defense still held Alabama to just 160 yards, a 16% third-down conversion rate and 1.6 yards per carry in the second half.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t complement each other when we needed to the most,\u201d Venables said, \u201cand make the plays that we needed to and have made all season.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not that there weren\u2019t micro missed opportunities compressed into the macro one. Mateer missed a walk-in touchdown on Oklahoma\u2019s first drive when he overlooked a wide-open Jaren Kanek on a seam route and instead tried for a checkdown.<\/p>\n
Here are some frequently asked questions about the game:<\/p>\n