What Did I Notice in Alabama's 24-3 Loss to Oklahoma?

Alabama’s No. 7 football team traveled to Norman this past weekend with its season on the line and everything to play for, but laid another inexplicable egg on the road as they lost 24-3 to the Oklahoma Sooners. The defeat knocked the Crimson Tide out of SEC championship game contention, nearly eliminated them from College Football Playoff consideration, and continues anxious feelings about the program as head coach Kalen DeBoer wraps up his first year on the job.

The Sooners entered Saturday night knowing that the key to pulling off the upset was to slow down and frustrate the Alabama offense, starting with quarterback Jalen Milroe and his running ability.

The redshirt junior averaged 60 yards on the ground per game while topping 100 yards against Georgia and LSU. The Tennessee Volunteers were the only team to hold Milroe without a rushing touchdown before Saturday, as they limited him to just 11 yards on 14 carries.

Milroe had 15 carries for seven yards without a touchdown at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Failure to get Milroe on the field created numerous problems for the Crimson Tide as one of their bread and butter tactics was neutralized.

“I have a lot of confidence in what we can do running the football, but you also have to have some appreciation for who they are and what they can do defensively,” DeBoer said after the game. “We knew it was going to be a physical game and we had to stay on the blocks and protect them at times.

“Again in the second half, the game gets away from you. Maybe you don’t see some things in the first half that we weren’t so clear about where you want to get better. And penalties in the fourth quarter also put you behind the sticks, so trying to catch up and extend the game, try to give yourself a chance to win, pass happy.” It becomes a game. Usually we would hope for that early in the game. What I’ve seen from us is that gains of two or three yards turn into four or five and they become some game breakers, and we never got to those game breakers because they’re effective enough with normal landings and distances. “We didn’t have a chance to be there and it’s normal flow of the game.”

Here are all of Jalen Milroe’s offenses from Alabama’s loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Milroe had 15 carries for 7 yards at Norman.

What do you notice from these 15 photos? pic.twitter.com/LLtKSiah29

— Joe Gaither (@JoeGaither6) 25 November 2024

How did the Sooners hold Milroe to his second-lowest performance of the season?

Oklahoma set the tone for Alabama’s first offensive drive; Linebacker Danny Stutsman met Jalen Milroe at the line of scrimmage for a one-yard gain. Stutsman’s strong interception immediately galvanized the Sooners defense, while their captain outran Alabama on the first snap.

1Q 13:02 | 1st and 10th

Oklahoma’s defensive running sync is extremely tight and it shows at first glance. The Sooners’ play-side linebacker collapses as linebackers clear the mound. The final squeeze creates a tough angle for Tyler Booker at the point of attack and CJ Dippre is thrown out of his path creating an opening for Danny Stutsman to fly through. Stutsman violently confronts Milroe in the hole to foreshadow the rest of the night.

1Q 12:24 | 2nd and 4th

The second rush wasn’t much better than the first, but this time it was blocked relatively well, with Milroe picking the wrong gap while trying to make a big play.

Cover Tyler Booker and tackle Kadyn Proctor’s pull while the right side blocks. Booker is disoriented by Elijah Pritchett’s inability to win the attack, but that doesn’t completely derail the game. Instead, Proctor strikes out on his own by slotting Milroe through the hole. The Crimson Tide quarterback gains three yards and then takes the opportunity to go out if he can’t finish a play. Unfortunately Milroe was unable to turn a corner and lost clearance in the attempt, resulting in a one yard gain.

Can you blame Milroe for being confident in his abilities? No. But on this play, maintaining the route and tracking Proctor would have at least guaranteed a first down and possibly a 10-yard gain.

1E 9:31 | 2nd and 15th

Alabama calls the QB sweepstakes because they are behind the chains. Milroe lost a yard after Ethan Downs beat Kadyn Proctor’s block at the line of scrimmage.

Look to the right and note the Sooners strategy. Oklahoma sent the left defensive end (Alabama’s right) flying him up the field and out, obviously playing quarterback control.

Regardless of whether Proctor wins or loses his block, it’s clear the Sooners are focused on what Milroe can try.

1E 6:55 | 1st and 10th

Alabama runs a QB-read for the first time on the evening, and Jalen Milroe reads it well. The defensive end collapses and passes to Jam Miller, and Milroe pulls to run.

The Crimson Tide quarterback was left one-on-one with the Sooners’ cornerback, who made an interception after a short gain. Milroe is clearly trying to set up Woodi Washington for a juke move that will take him out of the races, but Washington never bites and doesn’t play a containment role on the breakout, preventing a long gain.

1E 6:14 | 2nd and 6th

Alabama is calling for QB-draw RPO, but the screen action may just be window dressing. Regardless, the Crimson Tide draw, but the offensive line gets blown out, leaving Milroe with minimal running space.

True freshman Jayden Jackson shocks and knocks out Kadyn Proctor before running into the impressive Jaeden Roberts. Jackson slams hands on Roberts and completely clogs up where the run was intended.

Milroe makes a move in the backfield and appears to have room to drop forward a few yards, but instead turns and fights to the outside to find a play, but loses only four yards in the process and takes a conversion that would have been a third-and-10 from -4. to.

1E 5:05 | 1st and 10th

It’s hard to tell if Jalen Milroe was asked to read this play or if this was a QB run. Regardless, it’s one of the Crimson Tide’s best blocked plays so far, and Milroe runs through the middle of the defense for a seven-yard gain.

Jaeden Roberts and Elijah Pritchett have had good momentum on the playing side. Robbie Ouzts manages the defensive end’s screams upfield on the play side and Milroe follows his blocks inside for a healthy gain.

1Q 4:44 | 2nd and 3rd

Seven steps forward on the first down, three steps back on the second down. The Crimson Tide are running QB-read and it looks like Jalen Milroe is reading Danny Stutsman or Mason Thomas. Both players move to their interior space, indicating pull, but Oklahoma’s secondary pushes over the top to take control.

When Milroe realizes this, he turns it into a running race to the outside. He is already pressured by the Sooners’ defenders, which negates his run and Alabma loses three yards.

2Q 15:00 | 3rd and 10th

The Alabama offense’s mind-boggling decision on third down predictably goes Oklahoma’s way.

The Sooners introduce four more players to the offensive line, bringing eight defenders to the field. Alabama opts to block eight defenders with five offensive linemen and running back Richard Young, and that doesn’t go well.

Immediately, both unblocked Oklahoma defensive ends rush upfield to make a hard checking play, bringing Alabama inside. Two Sooner linebackers are in Tyler Booker’s space, he releases one while Booker releases the other, but Young is clearly confused about his assignment. Will Young block the playside defensive end running downfield or the next unblocked defender?

The mix-up is unorthodox and four Oklahoma linebackers tackle for loss with Milroe, Young and Jaeden Roberts in the backfield.

2E 6:43 | 2nd and 8th

Alabama attempted another QB draw, but Milroe lost 5 yards because schematically he had no chance to make a play.

Once again, Oklahoma’s left defensive end flies upfield for a tough check. This is important because this is Tyler Booker’s block from the left side of the offense to the right. The path to the end throws Booker out of his own path and throws away the game as Milroe gets stuck after the jump.

This disruption throws away the play enough to allow other Oklahoma defenders to step in and put Milroe down.

3E 11:37 | 1st and 10th

The first play on this list without a designed quarterback run comes in the third quarter.

Alabama is at maximum protection because Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard are the only Crimson Tide players in this model.

Mason Thomas Jr. working hard and fighting off double team blocks from CJ Dippre and Robbie Ouzts. Milroe feels the pressure and moves through the pocket to start the tackle.

He gains positive yards but, as on Saturday night, Milroe once again chose to cut wide to the outside rather than putting his foot down and taking the lead from just three to four yards, costing him yardage.

3Q 8:40 | 1st and 10th

It’s hard to tell if Jalen Milroe is asked to keep the ball here or if it’s a QB read option.

Oklahoma plays a role here to make things confusing, as Mason Thomas Jr. clearly sitting on Richard Young’s potential transfer and giving Milroe a reading. Alabama’s problem? Elijah Pritchett has completely sniffed out his blog, and once the reading is complete, Milroe has nowhere left to go.

3Q :57 | 3rd and 8th

Alabama calls the QB-draw again, knowing they’ll likely go on fourth down, and it turns out to be Jalen Milroe’s best run of the night.

This time, Alabama was able to get Parker Brailsford clean to the second level, allowing Jam Miller to serve as a blocker as Milroe weaved and worked his way through the middle of the defense for 11 yards.

4Q 15:00 | 3rd and 2nd

Alabama is still in comeback mode and is going for an old, reliable game. Nick Sheridan stepped up his lead QB play in destroying the LSU Tigers and saw Milroe score a big play against the Georgia Bulldogs, unfortunately Elijah Pritchett isn’t holding anyone back.

Ethan Downs rushes onto the field as Pritchett tries to close the gap. Downs runs past him into the backfield and tackles Milroe for a loss immediately after the fake pass. The play looked nicely blocked up front, leaving questions about what could have happened in a game where Alabama has scored a lot of points this season.

4Q 10:20 | 1st and 10th

There’s not much to this final quarterback run, with Jalen Milroe running on a quarterback sneak with his back to the goal line.

Alabama has 12 personnel lined up under center and Milroe makes the move, spotting a gap and jumping forward a few feet to give the offense more room to maneuver.

Oklahoma clearly did its homework on Milroe in the running game. The Sooners always had linebackers to contain Milroe from outside to inside. Defenders were constantly playing Milroe outside, forcing him back inside and preventing big plays. To make matters worse, the Alabama offensive line was completely hammered and Milroe didn’t have many lanes left to maneuver.

“It’s hard to explain, it’s just discipline and physicality,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “There’s timing to it. We defended some runs with some trickery. The players performed at an incredibly high level, the staff did a great job of creating a bulletproof plan. The players played with great aggression and expectation. It feels like they’ve had another great week of preparation, what they’ve done Like all the work and the staff putting them in a position to be successful, but still, the staff and the players had an answer every step of the way for what Alabama was doing.”