Adam RittenbergNov 15, 2025, 07:14 PM ETCloseCollege football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.Follow on X
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Full Highlights (1:23)Oklahoma Sooners vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Full Highlights (1:23)
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Oklahoma players and coaches gathered in different spots around Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, posing for pictures and savoring every second of the team’s best win as an SEC member and its best under fourth-year coach Brent Venables.
“I’m not a boastful or braggadocious kind of guy, but, man, I’m going to brag on our guys, and they deserve it,” Venables said. “They put a lot into this opportunity, and we’ve created vision for that, so I got to follow through. I’m like, ‘Hey, man, this is what victory looks like. This is how we’re going to do it. And I want to see you guys dancing, carrying on, just having some joy in the moment.'”
Oklahoma won despite only 212 yards of offense, its fewest since 2022 and fewest in a win since 2001 against No. 5 Texas. The Sooners rode their defense, which forced three Alabama turnovers, half of the Tide’s season total entering Saturday, and scored directly on Eli Bowen’s 87-yard interception return in the first quarter.
The defense needed one final stop as Alabama took possession with 7:14 play, needing only a field goal to win. Even after “Dixieland Delight” sent the crowd into a frenzy and Alabama converted a key fourth down, an Oklahoma defense playing without top pass rusher R Mason Thomas and others Saran-wrapped the Tide, who were held scoreless for the final 22:27.
“It was all red, and the lights were on, but we fed off the energy,” Oklahoma defensive lineman Taylor Wein, who had a strip-sack fumble and two quarterback hurries, said of hearing “Dixieland Delight” in the closing minutes. “Little do they know, they think that they’re feeling their team, they’re feeling us, they’re getting us ready to go.”
Wein was one of many Oklahoma players wearing a T-shirt that read “Hard to Kill” on the front and “Enough is Enough” on the back after the game. The Sooners stressed those themes after the loss to Ole Miss, recognizing that a third defeat would probably end their CFP hopes.
“How much is enough?” said kicker Tate Sandell, who went 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts, including a 52-yarder. “It’s just having that mind-set of staying alive, blue collar, roll your sleeves up and just find a way, and being hard to kill in the process.”
Venables thought the Sooners could “separate ourselves” on special teams and they delivered, not only with Sandell’s field goals but forcing a Ryan Williams fumble on an Alabama punt return and partially blocking a Conor Talty field goal attempt at the end of the first half to preserve a 17-14 lead. The Sooners had 10 points off of turnovers and overcame the massive yards differential by limiting major mistakes and doing the little things to win.
But this season’s OU team has responded to key injuries, including quarterback John Mateer, and both of its losses, to position itself for a return to the CFP.
“They haven’t flinched,” Venables said. “When the fire is raging and things are looking a little desolate, they have responded several times this year, and they certainly have the last couple of weeks when it mattered the most. They put respect on our brand again this week.”
“The pictures after the game, you love the moments, the memories you create,” defensive tackle David Stone said. “We’ll have that for a lifetime.”
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Full Highlights (1:23)Oklahoma Sooners vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Full Highlights (1:23)
CloseCollege football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.Follow on X
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: Full Highlights (1:23)
“Who’s it not pretty for? What does that mean?” a smiling Venables asked. “I happen to like it.”