Brent Venables admits Oklahoma ‘didn’t have what it takes’ to beat Alabama

Oklahoma football suffered a devastating loss to Alabama in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. The Sooners jumped out to a 17-point lead early in the game. But Alabama came storming back, tying the score at halftime and taking the lead with 27 unanswered points.

After the game, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables addressed the heartbreaking 34-24 loss. “Tonight, when we needed it the most, we just didn’t have what it takes,” Venables said, per Sooners reporter George Stoia III. “Whether that’s making a stop, making a field goal, doing the basics well – snapping and catching and punting. We had a 17-point lead, had great momentum and we just lost the momentum.”

Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead on John Mateer’s first-quarter rushing touchdown. The Sooners led 17-0 and appeared on their way to a second win over Alabama this season. But the Crimson Tide bounced back.

Mistakes doomed Oklahoma in the CFP

“Alabama’s got a really good football team, really good staff. And they were able to start to slowly but surely creep back into the game. And then we had a couple of really ill-timed mistakes that they capitalized on,” Venables explained.

Ty Simpson got the Tide on the board with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Lotzeir Brooks. Alabama added a field goal before Zabien Brown tied the game on a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Alabama would take a 27-17 lead into the fourth quarter. While Mateer found Deion Burks for a 37-yard touchdown, Oklahoma wasn’t able to fully recover. Alabama won 34-24 and advanced to the quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl against Indiana.

“We just couldn’t dig ourselves out,” Venables said. “We couldn’t compliment each other when we needed to the most and make the plays that we needed to, and we have made all season.”

The post Brent Venables admits Oklahoma ‘didn’t have what it takes’ to beat Alabama appeared first on ClutchPoints.