Oklahoma-Alabama Video Review: How Sooners Flipped the Script and Dominated Alabama from Kickoff to Mosh Pit

OU got big games from Jackson Arnold and Xavier Robinson and the Sooner defense crushed the Crimson Tide

Oklahoma linebacker Dasan McCullough (1) and defensive end R Mason Thomas. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Finally, Oklahoma finished.

Mired in a miserable season, the Sooners put together their best performance of 2024 on Saturday night in a 24-3 victory over Alabama.

OU was a 13 1/2-point underdog but led 10-3 at half and scored two touchdowns after Alabama interceptions in the third quarter. Then in the fourth quarter, Xavier Robinson, Jackson Arnold and the Oklahoma offensive line simply played keep away.

In the process of victory, OU locked in its sixth win and became bowl eligible for the 26th year in a row. 

How shocking was this one? The last time an unranked Sooner squad beat a top-10 team in Norman was back in 1990, when OU stunned Nebraska 45-10. The last time OU held a top 10 team to 3 points or less was in 2004, when the Sooners shut out Texas 12-0. The last time Alabama was held without a touchdown was 2011 (the infamous 9-6 loss to LSU). And the last time Alabama scored just a field goal was 2004.

Now the Sooners (6-5, 2-5 SEC) refocus on Saturday’s season-finale at LSU (7-4, 4-3 SEC), where the Tigers are a 6 1/2-point favorite. Coach Brian Kelly’s team lost the season opener to 6-5 USC in Las Vegas, then won their next six straight before losing three in a row. Saturday they beat Vanderbilt 24-17 in Baton Rouge.

Here is the Sooners On SI video rewatch of Saturday’s game: 

FIRST QUARTER

Jackson Arnold has lost five fumbles this season, and you can see the renewed emphasis on ball security as he keeps around the right side on a read option behind pullers Logan Howland and Heath Ozaeta for 12 yards — with both hands on the football. Arnold keeps again on a QB sweep to the left for 1 yard. Zion Ragins takes the hand sweep around the right side but only picks up 3. Arnold’s third-down pass to Brenen Thompson on a quick slant to the left is behind his target, and Luke Elzinga comes on for a 43-yard punt.

Danny Stutsman welcomes Bama QB Jalen Milroe to Norman with a thunderous hit right on the face on the Tide’s first play — technically a gain of 1 yard, but in reality it’s about 6 inches. R Mason Thomas lines up offsides on second-and-9 on what should have been a dropped pass. On second-and-4, Milroe keeps again on the right side, but Eli Bowen beats a block from Ryan Williams, comes up and cuts him down for a gain of 1. On third-and-3, Milroe delivers to Williams ahead of the marker, but the ball goes through Williams’ hands. James Burnip punts it back 43 yards the other way and OU takes over at its own 25 with 11:30 on the clock.

Xavier Robinson motions out of the backfield to the right slot, then back into the backfield with Arnold and Taylor Tatum before turning back on a counter play and taking a handoff straight up the middle for 40 yards behind a pulling block from Bauer Sharp and a down block by Spencer Brown. It’s the Sooners’ second-longest run of the year and sets OU up at the Bama 40. Tatum gets the next handoff out of a full house backfield and takes it around the left side for 2 yards behind blocks from Robinson and Sharp. Robinson motions and counters back to the left side, this time a play-action fake by Arnold, who can’t find a receiver and scrambles up the middle before diving for a gain of 6. On third-and-2, Tatum gets the handoff but doesn’t have a good handle on it,  gets hit by a blitzing safety and loses the football. It’s OU’s 14th lost fumble of the season — worst in the nation.

Bama takes over at its own 21 as Milroe gets pressure from Thomas and throws incomplete, but the play doesn’t count as Alabama had an ineligible receiver downfield. Milroe throws across the middle to Williams, but he can’t one-hand it and the ball deflects off the umpire. Milroe takes off on a QB draw, but Ethan Downs drops him for a loss of 1. On third-and-16, Milroe makes his best play of the night, a 32-yard completion to Germie Bernard down the right hashmark. Bernard makes a leaping catch between Robert Spears-Jennings, Kobie McKinzie and and Eli Bowen. Justice Haynes powers through contact for 7 yards and 5 yards, and Milroe takes another hard hit from Stutsman and Woodi Washington but picks up 4 yards. Milroe tries another draw on second-and-6, but spins away from the line of scrimmage and is chased down by Spears-Jennings for a loss of 4. On third-and-10, Milroe delivers again, this time a deep over route to Williams behind Eli Bowen. Williams stays inbounds, spins away from Bowen, cuts inside Spears-Jennings and prances into the end zone on a 41-yard touchdown, but replay shows Williams stepped out of bounds at the 11-yard line. Milroe gets 7 on a first-down keeper up the middle as Billy Bowman saves a touchdown. Milroe keeps around right end on second down, but Kani Walker chases him out of bounds for a loss of 3. Jamarion Miller takes the third-down handoff up the middle, but Dasan McCullough gets low and brings him down at the 4. Bama lines up to go for it, but Kalen DeBoer calls timeout with 3:27 on the clock. After the timeout, DeBoer opts for a 22-yard field goal by Graham Nicholson, and Bama leads 3-0.

Arnold starts the next drive much the same way he started the opening drive — this time an 11-yard scramble around the left side, complete with a big hit at the end. Arnold then flips a shovel pass over the middle to Robinson, who cuts up for a 9-yard gain (although it appears he had the first down). Arnold drops back to pass on second-and-1 but can’t find a receiver and checks down to Robinson for a gain of 6. Arnold keeps up the middle and follows a great block by Sharp for a 28-yard gain. Gavin Sawchuk — finally back from a thigh injury that kept him out three games — gets a handoff and gets stopped for no gain. Arnold wants to pass on second-and-10 but nobody’s open and he throws it out of the back of the end zone. On third-and-10, Bama lines up four defensive backs at the line to gain, but the Tide rushes seven defenders and everyone surges forward as Arnold throws a quick hitch to Brenen Thompson. Thompson is wide open — but it’s a lateral, and he quickly looks up and throws downfield to Sharp, who’s wide open at the goal line. The pass flutters a bit and is slightly off target, forcing Sharp to make an adjustment. But the ball slips through Sharp’s hands and falls incomplete. Zach Schmit comes in for a 39-yard field goal, but strikes it low and misses wide left — his first miss of the season. It’s two big plays and two good drives by the beleaguered Oklahoma offense, but the Sooners still have zero points on the scoreboard.

Milroe starts the next possession from the Bama 21 with 40 seconds on the clock, but  his throw to Bernard on a sideline route appears to be lost in the lights as Bernard flinches while the ball zips past him. Milroe tries a bootleg pass to Williams, but pressure from Thomas forces a high throw and an incompletion.

SECOND QUARTER

On third-and-10, Milroe keeps to the left and gets hammered by Thomas and McCullough for a loss of 2. It’s Milroe’s eight rushing attempt, but he only has gained 2 yards — one week after he strafed LSU for 175 yards and four TDs.

Peyton Bowen’s fair catch sets OU up at the  38. Robinson patiently picks his way through traffic for 3 yards around the left side, and Arnold keeps for a yard up the middle. On third-and-6, Arnold zips a quick slant over the middle to Thompson, and he slips one tackle and nearly breaks it. Instead, it’s a 19-yard gain and a huge first down. On the next play, Robinson breaks off a block by Howland and cuts outside a block from Jacob Jordan for a gain of 12, but as Robinson goes down, he and his tackler land on Thompson’s right ankle, sending Thompson to the OU locker room. Thompson won’t return for the rest of the game and merely becomes the Sooners’ sixth starting wide receiver to go out with an injury this season. Arnold keeps around the left side but can’t get away from Deonte Lawson for no gain, although Lawson, a team captain, has to leave the game with an injury. Out of a two-tight end formation, Arnold fakes a toss sweep to Robinson and keeps around the left edge for 8 yards. On third-and-2, Arnold keeps to the left, gets hit by DeVonta Smith and powers through the contact to pick up the first down by inches — another gutty run by Arnold. It’s another full-house backfield on first down, this time with Samuel Franklin to Arnold’s left, and Arnold squeezes ahead for a yard. On second down, Arnold drops to pass but quickly scrambles and dives ahead for 2 yards. On third-and-7, with Sawchuk to his left, Arnold hands off on a sweep to Jordan, who bounces outside for a gain of 3. On fourth-and-4, Schmit is back for a 29-yard field goal, which is perfect from the left hash, tying the game at 3-3 with 8:14 to halftime.

Bama comes out in a power formation and Jamarion Miller pops the edge for a gain of 9, then slices through the center of the OU defense for 8. Miller gets taken down by Stutsman and Peyton Bowen for a gain of 2 in a swarm of OU defenders, and on second-and-8, Milroe escapes a sack by Downs, then takes a knee as Jayden Jackson closes in on him for a loss of 5. Milroe’s throw deep down the right sideline is somehow caught by Williams, but he’s just barely out of bounds. The incompletion is wiped out, however, as Trace Ford is flagged for offsides. On third-and-8, Milroe gets more pressure from Downs, and his throw to C.J. Dippre is dropped just short of the first down marker, bringing on another Alabama punt.

After a 23-yard punt, Oklahoma launches another productive drive from its own 33. Robinson’s run off the right side only picks up 2 yards, but then sweeps around the right side for a gain of 6 behind a block by Sawchuk. On third-and-2, Robinson lines up as a fullback and takes a short handoff, gets low and powers through tacklers for a 4-yard gain. Sawchuk takes a handoff behind good blocks from Brown, Sharp and Robinson for 8 yards. On second-and-2, Robinson lines up as a wing on the left and comes underneath to catch another shovel pass, but this time is held to no gain. Arnold fakes another toss sweep to Sawchuk and keeps to the left for a gain of 5 and another first down. It’s another two-tight end formation, but Arnold drops back to pass — then scrambles to the sideline for a gain of 6. After the 2-minute timeout, OU comes out in another two-TE set and Arnold starts left then flips a shovel pass to Jake Roberts coming behind him for a gain of 3. On third-and-1, Robinson follows another good down block from Brown and a good pull block from Sharp for a gain of 3 and a first down. Arnold is back to pass on first-and-10 from the 30 but finds no one open and scrambles out of pressure for no gain. Arnold keeps on a read-option to the left side as the OU offensive line, led by Howland’s block on the second level, collapses the Bama defense inside, then bounces outside a block by J.J. Hester to the sideline for a gain of 12. On first down from the 18 with just 45 seconds on the clock, Robinson shifts from the right to the left of Arnold, then takes the handoff to the right, runs through a tackle attempt in the backfield, then cuts upfield and sprints to the corner and reaches just inside the pylon before the ball slips out of his left hand. It’s a touchdown on the field, and replay confirms it as OU takes a 10-3 lead. Although the lead is tenuous and should be bigger, the Sooners now have 205 yards on the ground and are averaging 7.2 yards per carry.

Bama has just 94 yards total offense as Milroe starts the possession with a keeper for 12 yards on first down — but the play is negated by a holding penalty as center Parker Brailsford grabs Gracen Halton. Miller ends the half with a 3-yard gain up the middle before Halton slams him down, and Brent Venables tells ESPN’s Holly Rowe, “We’re doing a really good job putting hats on hats.” Oklahoma goes into halftime having amassed 118 yards total offense in the second quarter, while Alabama could muster just 15. Milroe was 0-for-1 passing and the Tide averaged just 2.5 yards per rush in the quarter.

THIRD QUARTER

Things get immediately worse for Alabama. Miller runs for 3 yards, and Milroe hits Kobe Prentice for 14 yards. But then Milroe tries a screen pass to Williams on the right side, but his throw is intercepted by Eli Bowen, who recognized the play immediately, read it perfectly and had to reach back to make the catch. Bowen picks it at the Alabama 39 and returns it 25 yards to the Bama 14. 

Arnold rolls right and checks down to Robinson for a gain of 5, and Arnold zips a quick slant to the left to Jordan for a gain of 5 and a first-and-goal at the 4. Arnold’s keeper to the right side is stopped short of the goal line as Bama swarms him to the ground, and Robinson gets stuffed for no gain on second down. On third-and-1, Arnold turns to his right, then pivots and flips to Robinson on a counter sweep — a play called “fling” during Bob Stoops’ tenure — and Robinson hits the edge, and cuts back inside of Hester and Howland’s kickout blocks, lowers his pads and through contact for a 1-yard touchdown run. Schmit makes it 17-3 with 11:37 on the clock and the Sooners are on the verge of an historic upset.

Milroe seems undaunted as he starts the possession with a cool scramble for 3 yards before Dez Malone chases him out of bounds. Justice Haynes slams ahead for 6 yards, and on third-and-1, Miller pushes ahead for 2 yards. Miller then picks up 5 before Damonic Williams and McCullough bring him down, and powers forward for 4, and it’s clear the Tide are recommitting to running the football. Miller barely gets a yard on third-and-1 as McCullough knocked an offensive lineman backward and joins McKinzie to drive Miller into the turf. Milroe gets dragged down for a loss of a yard by Da’Jon Terry, and on second-and-11, the Sooner defense turns in the play of the night. Milroe tries to throw to his tight end on the right sideline, but, Kip Lewis drifts out into the passing lane, steps in front of the pass and catches it in stride. Lewis sprints down the Bama sideline untouched, putting a final move on Milroe, who makes a half-hearted attempt to trip Lewis before sliding down, clearing the way for Lewis’ second “Kip Six” touchdown against a team from Alabama this season. OU leads it 24-3 with 8:05 on the clock, and the Tide appears to be sunk.

Milroe checks down to Miller, who busts through a tackle by Malone for 6 yards. Miller takes the handoff from Milroe for a gain of 7. Milroe throws incomplete to the left side as Peyton Bowen comes on a blitz and nearly sacks Milroe. Miller gets the handoff off the right side, but Terry blows up his blocker and wraps up Miller for a loss of 2. On third-and-12, Milroe looks to Bernard, but Billy Bowman reaches in and knocks the pass away, although it seems Bowman arrived early. That forces a punt from Burnip, who blasts it 62 yards to the OU 2-yard line.

Ball security is the priority here as Robinson gets 3 yards on a cutback up the middle. On second down from a full-house backfield, Arnold pulls the ball as Robinson gets leveled in the backfield, and Arnold sprints around the left edge for a gain of 9 and a crucial first down. Robinson takes it to the left side, follows Sawchuk and subtly slips through a tackler for a gain of 6. On first down, the Sooners snap the football with 8 seconds left on the play clock and Arnold keeps for a 2-yard loss. Arnold has a sprint-right option and thinks about throwing it, but hangs onto it instead for a 1-yard loss. Elzinga punts it away, but the ball hits an Alabama player, forcing Williams to dive on the football, giving Bama the football at its own 44 with 2:29 on the clock.

Milroe is immediately sacked for a loss of 5 by Thomas, who slams Milroe into Jayden Jackson. Milroe throws to the right sideline, where Williams makes a diving catch for 7 yards. After Bama burns a timeout with 57 seconds on the clock, Milroe runs a QB draw for 11 yards. Bama tries a reverse flea-flicker, hoping to catch OU’s defense off guard, but Milroe’s throw to Bernard is behind him. Bernard slips, keeps his feet and follows his blocking for a gain of 8. Woodi Washington and Da’Jon Terry have to come off after suffering slight injuries. On the final play of the quarter, Milroe gets pressured by Jackson and throws the football out of bounds.

FOURTH QUARTER

On third-and-2 from the OU 35, Downs comes clean off the left edge and drops Milroe for a 1-yard loss, bringing up fourth down. As the clock ticks down inside 14:30, Bama’s offense is confused and shifts multiple receivers from left to right. The confusion is costly for the Tide: Williams is in the middle of a trips formation to the right, and he’s the end man on the line of scrimmage. After all the shifting, Dippre is still an in-line tight end on the right side of the line, however, also on the line of scrimmage — making that an illegal formation. Williams bends his route behind Eli Bowen into the end zone and makes a miraculous catch on a great throw from Milroe, twirling to make a well-defended grab and somehow getting his foot inbounds. The side judge saw the illegal formation and threw the flag after the ball was released, and the referee announces illegal touching — Williams apparently can’t touch the football first as an ineligible receiver out of an illegal formation. The call could have been for an illegal formation, but Williams catching it inbounds apparently changes it to an illegal touch. That penalty carries a loss of down, so the possession ends for Alabama with DeBoer screaming at the officials.

Robinson gets dropped for a loss of 1, but Arnold rolls right and throws a perfect ball to Sharp on the right sideline for a gain of 16. OU is now taking the play clock down inside 10 on every snap, and Arnold’s rollout throw to the left is caught by Sharp for 5 more yards as he smartly stays inbounds. Robinson’s physical second-down run up the middle gains 3 yards, but on third-and-2, Arnold is knocked out of bounds and suffers his only sack of the night, a 3-yard loss. Spears-Jennings gets tagged for a false start on the punt, and Elzinga kicks it 43 yards downfield. Williams is at the goal line and trying to get out of the way, but it bounces right to him, and he takes it in at the 1-yard line.

There’s still 10:20 on the clock, but Alabama is about to start its final possession of the night. Milroe keeps for 2 yards, then badly overthrows Williams deep over the middle to Williams. Caiden Woullard runs into Trace Ford on the pass rush, and it’s later revealed that he has suffered a dislocated kneecap. On third-and-8, Milroe finds tight end Josh Cuevas leaking out of the protection, and Cuevas makes a one-handed catch and sprints upfield for a gain of 28 yards. Milroe escapes pressure from David Stone, but Ford sacks him for a loss of 3 and Milroe suffers an injury on the OU sideline. Alabama is whistled for holding, however. Backup QB Ty Simpson comes in and, as Ford hits him, forces an incomplete pass. Milroe comes back in for the next play, a 7-yard completion to Richard Young. Milroe gets hit and spun around by Thomas, but completes a hook-shot pass while falling down to Young out of the backfield. Bernard gets open in front of Malone for a 15-yard catch as Milroe gets hit again, and Milroe hits Bernard again for a gain of 5. OU calls timeout with 7:36 left to get its bearings defensively, but is then flagged for delay of gam coming out of the timeout as McKinzie is flagged for “abrupt action,” i.e., simulating or forcing the snap. Milroe dumps off over the middle to Cuevas for a gain of 12, but his long out to Williams is batted away by Eli Bowen. On second-and-10, Milroe’s pass to Miller comes out early and is dropped. On third-and-10, Milroe chucks an intermediate out route to Bernard but it’s well defended and incomplete. A holding penalty against Bama is declined, although Ford’s swipe at the throw hits Milroe’s facemask and could have been tagged as a personal foul. Bama calls timeout with 7:02 to play, and after the stoppage, Thomas and Washington end it as Thomas comes off the edge again and hits Milroe during his release, forcing the ball to flutter high into the air and allowing Washington to settle under it for his sixth career interception on Senior Night.

Washington takes a hard hit at the end of his return and stays on the grass for a few minutes as OU gets the football back with 6:53 on the clock — and will not be stopped. Stutsman embraces Arnold as the defense hands the football over to the offense one last time. Robinson gains a yard on first down and Arnold picks up 2 on second-and-9, but it’s Arnold who reads and keeps up the middle, then breaks it out to the right for a gain of 18. Arnold ends his victorious run with a perfect baseball slide, then gestures to the Bama sideline. Arnold keeps for gains of 3 and 4 yards, and Robinson picks up 1, bringing up a fourth-and-2. After the Sooners call timeout with 2:20 to play, Robinson plows through the middle of the Crimson Tide defense for a gain of 3 and the clinching first down. Robinson carries for 2, and Arnold gains 3 as the clock winds down. OU fans begin trickling down onto the sidelines in anticipation of storming the field, and they’re ready to go as it looks like the clock will expire — but Venables has called timeout with 28 seconds left in an effort to allow seventh-year senior and OU legacy QB Casey Thompson the honor of taking his one and only snap on Owen Field, where his dad Charles played in 1987 and 1988. The fans aren’t concerned with legacy and history, however, and flood the field prematurely as both goalposts are lowered to prevent being torn down. It takes several minutes to get the crowd off the field, and finally, Thompson takes the snap and gets the final kneel-down as an estimated 20,000 fans make another historic land run — the first at Memorial Stadium since OU (then co-coordinated by Venables) beat No. 1 Nebraska in 2000. It’s a nice gesture by Venables to get Thompson in the game, but it’s also costly financially, as OU is later fined by the SEC an extra $100,000 ($200,000 total), a check made out  to Alabama per SEC rules. But after the full scope of this victory, no one seems too worried about a hundred grand.