Everything was lining up perfectly for Alabama football.A spot in the SEC Championship Game. A place in the College Football Playoff. Another dominant November in coach Kalen DeBoer’s career. All of it looked not only possible but also likely.All the Crimson Tide needed to do? Take care of its business and win out against two unranked opponents. Easy enough.Or so it seemed. Alabama strung together a bunch of shenanigans on offense and defense during a trip to Norman and paid the price. Oklahoma upset Alabama 24-3, handing the Crimson Tide (8-3, 4-3 SEC) a third loss that could all but knock it out of playoff contention. It marks the first season Alabama has lost three games since 2010.Here are takeaways from the game between No. 7 Alabama and Oklahoma on Saturday at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.Oklahoma rushing attack pummels Alabama football What the Sooners did on the ground in the first half would have prompted former coach Nick Saban to reference a tin horn.Alabama could not stop the Sooners on the ground when the game was still close. Could not stop them.Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold led the way. He gashed the Crimson Tide defense on the ground almost right away in the first half, running 15 times for 95 yards before halftime, an average of 6.3 yards per carry. Arnold ended up rushing for more than 100 yards on the day. Running back Xavier Robinson also shined, scampering for 88 yards on eight carries, with one run going for 40 yards before the break. Robinson ended up running for two touchdowns in the game.Oklahoma had 205 rushing yards, at halftime.To the Crimson Tide’s credit, it only gave up 10 points despite all those rushing yards. It also forced a fumble on one third down inside the red zone. But the overall inability to stop the Oklahoma offense from moving the ball, primarily on the ground, kept Alabama from gaining any momentum as its offense sputtered.Oklahoma finished the game with 257 rushing yards on 50 carries and two touchdowns.Oklahoma defense halts Jalen Milroe rushingThe Sooners saw what Alabama’s quarterback did to LSU’s defense earlier in November, and Oklahoma did all it could to prevent a repeat performance.Alabama looked intent on using Milroe’s legs, but the Sooners made them a nonfactor. Before halftime, Milroe rushed nine times and tallied -2 yards.He didn’t fare all that much better in the second ...
