No. 9 Alabama’s first round CFP game opened the night in free fall. Three straight empty possessions. No. 8 Oklahoma was up 17-0 before the second quarter settled. The Sooners looked prepared to end the Tide’s playoff run early. Inside the stadium and across television sets, the assumption was clear that this one was slipping away. But the tide turned and QB Ty Simpson had something feisty to say. 

“I guess we can thank you guys for that. I mean y’all kind of wrote us off in a sort of way,” Ty Simpson remarked in his post-game news conference, fresh off a 34-24 win over Oklahoma. “Appreciate that.”

Alabama entered this game with several media outlets projecting them as the underdogs. This was the third meeting between these programs in 13 months. Brent Venables’ Sooners had beaten Alabama 24-3 last November and 23-21 earlier this season. Besides, the poor first half showing did little to erase that narrative. But the game had not decided anything yet.

The shift came quietly, then all at once. Midway through the second quarter, Ty Simpson finally found rhythm, hitting Lotzeir Brooks on a 10-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 17-7. Moments later, Zabien Brown jumped a route and returned an interception for a touchdown, erasing the entire deficit before halftime. What looked like collapse turned into dominance that belonged to Alabama in the second half.

The Tide took control coming out of the break. Ty Simpson connected with Brooks again, this time for a 30-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to give Alabama their first lead. Conor Talty’s 40-yard field goal extended it to 27-17. Oklahoma helped along the way with a dropped touchdown pass and a punt that handed Alabama a short field. Then another crushing blow came when John Mateer threw a pick-six to Zabien Brown.

Ty Simpson finished with 232 passing yards and two touchdowns. The defining moment came on fourth down, when he trusted Brooks on a broken play, delivered under pressure, and watched the freshman break tackles into the end zone. Brooks, who had not scored a single touchdown in the regular season, finished with two, five catches, and 79 yards. Alabama closed out with a 34-24 win that did not look possible for several media voices. 

Nick Saban still hopeful for Alabama

The doubt was public. ESPN’s College GameDay set up inside the Sooner, with Brian Bosworth leading picks for Oklahoma. Desmond Howard flipped after seeing the environment. Pat McAfee agreed. Only Nick Saban stayed firm. 

“I really believe if you love a challenge, this is the greatest challenge there is,” he said. “Do you have the heart of the lion that you need to come in here and compete? I think Alabama needs to prove that, but I’m betting on Bama tonight.”

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Alabama heard everything. And Ty Simpson made sure everyone heard him back. Afterward, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer pointed to the turning point. 

“The game came back to us,” he said. “All of a sudden we found opportunities we could attack, and more plays were made. This is something hopefully we can build off of for the next two weeks.”

It was Alabama’s first playoff win under Kalen DeBoer, and it came the hard way. The Tide now move on as an 11-3 team to face No. 1 Indiana and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza in the CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on January 1. And this time, they will not be dismissed quietly.