![\"Alabama](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/DU6OD7ADVVD5RIRIOXTYOWQPHY.jpg?auth=e0c40817802269b4ca9961c48e446d2d100691520f98bf2d7b32da3e3c9f6d75&quality=80&height=127&width=190&focal=1259,913\")
<\/p>\nThe pregame light show was an attraction, the halftime drone show was fun, and the live performance from 50 Cent before the start of the fourth quarter was an unexpected thrill. Consider those the perks of a first-round College Football Playoff game at home where the higher-seeded teams are allowed to break out all the tricks.<\/p>\n
The Sooners could\u2019ve used a few more on the field. No. 9 Oklahoma lost 34-24 to No. 8 Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff at Memorial Stadium Friday night in front of 83,550 fans. It included a blown first-half lead, a late comeback effort, and, ultimately, another Sooners loss in the postseason.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma\u2019s first trip to the playoff in six seasons lasted three-and-a-half hours. The Sooners \u2014 who beat the Crimson Tide in the regular season to certify their playoff resume \u2014 won double-digit games for the second time in head coach Brent Venables\u2019 four-year tenure but extended their championship-less streak to 25 years.<\/p>\n
The Sooners (10-3) are winless in five trips to the playoff since their postseason debut a decade ago. They lost each of their four semifinal games in the four-team format and, on Friday, became the first home team to lose in the first round of the 12-team format.<\/p>\n
The Crimson Tide (11-3) will play top-seeded Indiana in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.<\/p>\n
Look, let\u2019s not overcomplicate things, it happened when Oklahoma burnt the entirety of its three-score halftime lead and wasted a precious home field advantage.<\/p>\n
The Sooners scored three times \u2014 on a touchdown run from John Mateer, a touchdown pass from Mateer, and a field goal from kicker Tate Sandell \u2014 before the Crimson Tide recorded a first down. The Crimson Tide finally moved the chains for the first time with 9:58 left in the second quarter in the midst of a drive that ended in a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ty Simpson to wide receiver Lotzeir Brooks that cut into Oklahoma\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n
The Sooners punted to end their next possession, but the Crimson Tide blocked the kick, recovered the ball at Oklahoma\u2019s 30-yard line, and kicked a field goal five plays late to cut the lead to seven points.<\/p>\n
It then became disastrous.<\/p>\n
Mateer, on 2nd and 13 after a sack on the next possession, threw a quick pass toward the left sideline where he expected wide receiver Keontez Lewis to be.<\/p>\n
But Lewis ran five yards further than Mateer\u2019s pass, and in his place, was Alabama cornerback Zabien Brown. He undercut the route, intercepted Mateer\u2019s pass, and ran it 50 yards in the opposite direction for a touchdown that tied the game and erased Oklahoma\u2019s once-impressive lead with two minutes left until halftime.<\/p>\n
Mateer largely avoided dangerous plays in the first half, though some of his passes were a tad high or off-target, but the miscommunication with Lewis cost the Sooners any chance to retain momentum after one half of play.<\/p>\n
Mateer, a Little Elm alum, passed for just 138 yards and didn\u2019t record a touchdown in Oklahoma\u2019s 23-21 win against Alabama in the regular season. He was on track early to erase the memories of quiet play Friday night.<\/p>\n
He ran the ball five times in Oklahoma\u2019s first two possessions and scored the game\u2019s first touchdown on an 8-yard scamper with 5:29 left in the first quarter. He threw for their second with 10:51 left in the second quarter when he found wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III wide open in the end zone from five yards out.<\/p>\n
Mateer could\u2019ve had a third later in the quarter when he ducked away from a would-be sack on 3rd and 3 at Oklahoma\u2019s own 47-yard line and \u2014 despite enough space to freely run for a first down in front of him \u2014 bombed a throw downfield. Sooners running back Xavier Robinson had his defender beat but dropped a pass that likely would\u2019ve gone for a touchdown and a 17-point lead.<\/p>\n
The blocked punt immediately followed that. The pick-six came on the next drive. The Sooners went three-and-out on their first two third-quarter drives and didn\u2019t score again until Mateer found wide receiver Deion Burks for a 37-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth.<\/p>\n
It was the last he threw and the last that the Sooners scored. They went three-and-out on their next two drives and kicked field goals (both of which were missed by Tate Sandell) on the two after that.<\/p>\n
Mateer completed 26 of his 41 passes for 307 yards and three total touchdowns. It was the most touchdowns that he\u2019d been responsible for in a single game since Oklahoma\u2019s win vs. Michigan on Sep. 6.<\/p>\n
It never lies.<\/p>\n
Or, rather, it hasn\u2019t yet in the playoff era. There have been three rematches of regular season games in the decade since the playoff was first implemented. The team that lost in the regular season is now undefeated in the postseason sequel in the playoff era and 18-7 all-time when traditional bowl games are included.<\/p>\n
Oregon (which beat Ohio State in the regular season but lost in the Rose Bowl earlier this year) and Alabama (which beat Georgia in the regular season but lost in the national championship game three years ago) are the two other teams that lost playoff rematches.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to beat a team twice in one season.<\/p>\n
Just ask the Sooners.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Oklahoma Sooners\u2019 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round of the College Football Playoff was a disappointing end to their season. Despite a strong start, the Sooners were unable to hold onto their lead and ultimately fell short. The game was marked by a number of turning points, including a blocked punt and a pick-six, which ultimately sealed the Sooners\u2019 fate.<\/p>\n
The loss was a tough pill to swallow for the Sooners, who had high hopes of making a deep run in the playoff. However, the team can take pride in their accomplishments this season, including their win over the Crimson Tide in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
College Football Playoff: Oklahoma Loses to Alabama The pregame light show was an attraction, the halftime drone show was fun, and the live performance from 50 Cent before the start of the fourth quarter was an unexpected thrill. Consider those the perks of a first-round College Football Playoff game at home where the higher-seeded teams […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":19146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/DH5W52RGJRBXXDBSTDQMF24KKM.jpg?auth=e1da1caac609172af55cdfef49fe026086627a20f1b803b69dca8c360b7712b4&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&focal=2603,722","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19144"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19147,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19144\/revisions\/19147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}