NORMAN, Okla. — 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 are allowed to break out all the tricks.
The Sooners could’ve 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.
Here are five thoughts from the game.
The stakes
Oklahoma’s first trip to the playoff in six seasons lasted three and a half hours. The Sooners — who beat the Crimson Tide in the regular season to certify their playoff resume — won double-digit games for the second time in head coach Brent Venables’ four-year tenure but extended their championship-less streak to 25 years.
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.
The Crimson Tide (11-3) will play top-seeded Indiana in the Rose Bowl on New Years Day.
The turning point
Look, let’s not overcomplicate things, it happened when Oklahoma burnt the entirety of its three-score halftime lead and wasted a precious home field advantage.
The Sooners scored three times — on a touchdown run from John Mateer, a touchdown pass from Mateer and field goal from kicker Tate Sandell — 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’s lead.
The Sooners punted to end their next possession, but, the Crimson Tide blocked the kick, recovered the ball at Oklahoma’s 30-yard line and kicked a field goal five plays late to cut the lead to seven points.
It then became disastrous.
The back-breaking pick-six
Mateer, on second-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.
But Lewis ran five yards further than Mateer’s pass and, in his place, was Alabama cornerback Zabien Brown. He undercut the route, intercepted Mateer’s pass and ran it 50 yards in the opposite direction for a touchdown that tied the game and erased Oklahoma’s once-impressive lead with two minutes left until halftime.
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.
How did Mateer perform overall?
Mateer passed for just 138 yards and didn’t record a touchdown in Oklahoma’s 23-21 win against Alabama in the regular season. He was on track early to erase the memories of quiet play Friday night.
He ran the ball five times in Oklahoma’s first two possessions and scored the game’s 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.
Mateer could’ve had a third later in the quarter when he ducked away from a would-be sack on third-and-3 at Oklahoma’s own 47-yard line and — despite enough space to freely run for a first down in front of him — bombed a throw downfield. Sooners running back Xavier Robinson had his defender beat but dropped a pass that likely would’ve gone for a touchdown and a 17-point lead.
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’t score again until Mateer found wide receiver Deion Burks for a 37-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth.
Mateer completed 26 of his 41 passes for 307 yards and three total touchdowns. It was the most touchdowns that he’d been responsible for in a single game since Oklahoma’s win vs. Michigan on Sep. 6.
The rematch math
It never lies.
Or, rather, it hasn’t 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.
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.
It’s hard to beat a team twice in one season.
Just ask the Sooners.