The dust has settled on the 2025 college football season, and what a season it was. It has now been nearly ten days since Indiana lifted the trophy in Miami, capping it all off with a win over the Miami Hurricanes.
The 2025 College Football Playoff started off with a bang with the Friday night showdown between the Crimson Tide and the Sooners. A rematch of the mid-November game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama looked to get revenge for their only home loss of the year. Meanwhile, Oklahoma looked to keep it rolling as they came into the game winners of four straight. Alabama hadn’t lost to the same team twice in one season since the 19th century, and Oklahoma looked to spoil that streak.
The game started slowly as an early Sooner drive stalled, and Alabama’s offense picked up right where it left off two weeks ago—stuck in the mud. Alabama’s first three possessions resulted in just nine plays, 12 yards, and a whopping four minutes and four seconds off the clock. Meanwhile, John Mateer was putting on a show for the home crowd, one the likes of which hadn’t been seen since before his hand surgery. Two medium-length darts, capped off by an eight-yard designed run, saw Mateer strut into the end zone to give Oklahoma a 7–0 lead. A bad punt soon after led to good field position and resulted in a field goal, making it 10–0. Mateer then orchestrated another 63-yard drive that was capped off by a seven-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna to put the Sooners up 17–0.
The Palace on the Prairie could not have been more rocking. Alabama still looked stuck offensively, while Oklahoma seemed to have turned a corner in finding ways to move the ball and score. Lotzier Brooks decided to come alive and announce his presence to the Oklahoma defense—and the Alabama offense, for that matter. Brooks had three catches for 44 yards, capped off a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. His final catch came on a crucial fourth-and-two from the Oklahoma 10-yard line. Catching the ball right at the sticks, Brooks unleashed a series of jukes and jabs to wind his way into the end zone and put the Tide on the board.
Oklahoma’s offense then stalled after an early first down, and a dropped snap on the punt out of nowhere set Alabama up with prime field position. Oklahoma’s stout defense held strong and forced a 35-yard field goal, keeping a touchdown between them and the Tide. With the ball and the lead and just over two minutes until halftime, Oklahoma looked poised to close the half with control and head to the locker room firmly in charge.
Except that didn’t happen. In fact, the worst possible thing happened for the Sooners.
On second-and-13, Mateer dropped back and fired to the short side of the field looking for Keontez Lewis. The problem was that Mateer threw a hitch while Lewis ran a go route. Alabama defensive back Zabien Brown read it perfectly and capitalized on the communication miscue. Brown took it 50 yards to the house, swinging all the momentum to the Crimson Tide.
Lotzier Brooks stayed hot in the second half, hauling in a 30-yard dime from Ty Simpson on Alabama’s second possession of the third quarter to give the Tide a 24–17 lead. At that point, Alabama had scored 24 unanswered points and showed no signs of slowing down. A field goal on their next possession made it 27–17, and thanks to two Oklahoma three-and-outs, Alabama had rattled off 27 straight points and taken a chokehold on the game.
With 15 minutes left, it was do-or-die time for Oklahoma. They needed a score, or time would become their biggest enemy. Mateer picked himself up and rose to the occasion, leading a 75-yard, eight-play drive capped off by a 37-yard touchdown pass. The energy returned to the stadium, and the crowd had reason to believe again. A stop could put Oklahoma right back in position to take the lead.
After giving up a long pass to start the drive, a huge sack on third down was exactly what the Sooners needed. The defense had done its job and handed the ball back to the offense.
The offense didn’t want it.
They gained one yard on three plays and punted it right back to Alabama.
That punt didn’t make it out of Oklahoma territory, giving Alabama a short field that they turned into six just four plays later. Now down 34–24 with under 10 minutes to play, Oklahoma needed to move quickly. Unfortunately, the problem that plagued them all season returned at the worst possible time. Their offense couldn’t find any rhythm. A three-and-out featured a massive sack on Mateer, forcing another punt. A promising drive on the next possession stalled inside the red zone. Still, down 10, a field goal would help.
Tate Sandell had been reliable all year, entering the game 23-for-24, with his lone miss coming back in September.
He missed.
With no timeouts remaining, that miss felt like the nail in the coffin. It didn’t matter that Alabama failed to gain more yards and punted again. It didn’t even matter when Sandell missed another kick. Alabama could simply run out the clock and shift its focus to Indiana and the Rose Bowl.
While I’m not surprised by the outcome, I am surprised by the road that got us there. The drastically different starts from each team weren’t on my bingo card. I expected Alabama to start slowly, but Oklahoma hadn’t shown anything to suggest they would start fast. Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle threw the kitchen sink in the first quarter, and it worked. Whether he got conservative afterward or Alabama’s defense adjusted is hard to say. Alabama struggled to generate pressure early while rushing four, but those same four were getting home consistently in the second half. It almost felt like Oklahoma ran out of gas midway through the second quarter.
Alabama, meanwhile, started exactly as expected. They had -3 rushing yards in the first half and were only tied thanks to a blocked punt and a defensive touchdown. Without those, they’re likely down double digits. Something clicked in the second half as the Tide ripped off their longest run since playing ULM—though it was still only 30 yards. Ty Simpson never looked fully comfortable, missing wide-open receivers, and Alabama’s pass catchers must have coated their gloves in baby oil. Open, covered—it didn’t matter. Balls were hitting their hands and bouncing off all night.
Speaking of Alabama receivers, Ryan Williams needs to be studied. Williams had three targets, one catch, and five yards, along with at least one drop. His disappearance is mind-boggling. From one of the most explosive players in the country to a complete non-factor in a playoff game is stunning. Germie Bernard also finished with just three catches. If not for Horton and Brooks, Alabama’s season would already be over.
Credit where it’s due—Alabama was the better team. But they have some serious soul-searching to do before their next matchup. It’s wild to see a Kalen DeBoer–led team struggle this much offensively. As DeBoer prepares to face the program that gave him his first Power Five coordinator job, he needs to iron out the issues quickly—or risk getting exposed once again on the biggest stage.
