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    • Alabama’s offense and Jalen Milroe’s inconsistencies will keep the Tide from achieving their goals
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    Alabama’s offense and Jalen Milroe’s inconsistencies will keep the Tide from achieving their goals

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    NORMAN, Okla.– Ryan Williams fell to his knees in disbelief. Jalen Milroe walked to the sideline speechless. Kalen DeBoer gave an earful and more. The aftermath of a play that did not decide the game against Oklahoma, but was a polarizing moment, was emblematic of the evening for Alabama. Within seconds, a miraculous touchdown reception on fourth down, which would have cut the deficit to 24-10, was called back and Alabama’s offense was left without points for the seventh straight possession.

    Milroe was still looking for answers after the match.

    “I have not received confirmation of that,” Milroe said. “But we should not put ourselves in the position where officials can make calls. We must take responsibility to start faster and seize every opportunity.”

    The official call, an illegal touch that left Williams out of line of scrimmage and made him ineligible, was one of a long list of woes for Alabama’s offense in a stunning 24-3 loss to the Sooners, the third of the Tide this season. An offense that entered Saturday ranked seventh nationally was held to its lowest point total since October 2004. A unit averaging 438 yards per game was held to a season-low 234 yards. A three-game turnover-free streak was broken in the worst way possible: three interceptions in the second half, two that led to touchdowns and the third that left Oklahoma running out the remaining 6 minutes, 34 seconds.

    Such a performance, in a loss to a 5-5 team as double-digit favorites, is hard to swallow. But given the timing, it’s even more bitter. Leading up to Saturday’s kickoff, there was chaos around Alabama, which all worked in its favor. No. No. 5 Indiana suffered a 23-point loss to Ohio State, No. 9 Ole Miss fell to Florida, which helped clear the SEC deck, while Missouri defeated Mississippi State, meaning all Alabama had to do to to make the SEC Championship was to win the next two games. With everything in play, Alabama’s offense collapsed.

    “We just didn’t execute,” offensive lineman Tyler Booker said. ‘You have to perform better. You have to perform better. The plays were there to be made, but we just didn’t execute them.”

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    At the center of Alabama’s offensive woes was the worst game of Milroe’s season, perhaps the worst of his career, going 11-of-26 for 164 yards and three interceptions. Coming off a bye week, Oklahoma’s defense had a master plan to contain Milroe’s running ability. Alabama’s offense made a concerted effort to get Milroe the ball with seven attempts in the first quarter alone, but there was little room.

    Oklahoma held Milroe to just seven yards on 15 carries and Alabama’s offense managed just 70 rushing yards for the game. Milroe had as many carries as running backs Jam Miller and Justice Haynes combined.

    “They have a lot of guys who are physical and play strong up front,” Milroe said. “And of course when you play against Alabama, you’re going to do your best, especially here at home. So it’s all about just attacking, having the 1-0 mentality, regrouping and just recognizing what we need to do to solve the problem.”

    DeBoer never hesitated to put Milroe in the middle of the fray. According to DeBoer, his quarterback’s mistakes were part of a holistic failure on offense.

    “When I took a step back, I felt like there were different things going on early in the game,” DeBoer said. “I mean drops, just downright dropped balls. We lost (the ball) in the lights, there were just different uncharacteristic things, weird things that happened. And I thought he actually put the ball where it needed to be, we just had to help him a little bit.

    “But there was still a lot of play left and I felt like he did a lot of things: he fought and fought and did a lot of things well for our football team, and we all had to be a little bit better. ”

    There were several notable drops in the first half by CJ Dippre and Ryan Williams that would have extended the drives. Alabama’s offensive operation seemed out of sorts, most of the time still trying to line up and getting caught by the game clock. But still the match was within reach at halftime at 10-3. Led by Milroe’s turnover, Alabama’s second-half drive scheme was as follows: interception, pick-six, punt, turnover on downs, interception.

    Milroe’s first interception looked like a big receiver error. There appeared to be a lack of effort that allowed the Oklahoma defender to catch the pass untouched.

    “Screen passes, they jump over it,” DeBoer said. “You have to assume that those blocks are going to happen and that you are reading another defender.”

    The costly, backbreaking pick-six is ​​aimed straight at Milroe, who never saw the defender or predetermined the throw. Either way, it was a crucial mistake at the worst time.

    “If I had thrown it earlier, we would have finished the ball,” Milroe said. “It’s a pass you have to complete, so I take full responsibility for that.”

    His third interception was not his fault, but another microcosm of the game. Oklahoma sent pressure coming home, Milroe was hit as he threw and the ball was there for the taking. The Sooners defensive line kept Milroe under pressure all game, something Alabama couldn’t do on the other end.

    “Some of the momentum stuff early in the game took the wind out of our sails a little bit,” DeBoer said. “It put them on the field. They start to churn the yards on the ground, so to speak, and gain time of possession there. And we couldn’t get over the hump tonight. That’s the unfortunate thing.”

    As unfortunate as it is, that was Alabama’s reality this season. Before Saturday, Alabama defeated its last three opponents by a 128-20 margin, managing only a field goal in a must-win game. The highs have been to the moon, the lows to the lows. Ultimately, this team’s inconsistencies, highlighted by Saturday’s offense, will likely keep the Tide out of the College Football Playoff.

    Perhaps another chaotic Saturday lies ahead that could save Alabama’s chances, but for now the only thing guaranteed is the Iron Bowl against Auburn, which upset No. 15 Texas A&M in four overtimes and will play next week to be eligible for bowl. Meanwhile, Alabama’s scoring all but evaporated, and it was unexpected to see the Crimson Tide fade away after a bloodless offensive performance.

    Still, DeBoer insisted after the game that the team is hurt but unbroken. If he’s wrong, another dangerous opponent could bring about a similar fate next week.

    “There’s a big game next week,” DeBoer said. “So we have to regroup and stick together. The right things are said by the boys there, no matter how much they hurt. And just keep playing, be proud of who we are and finish the job.”

    (Photo: William Purnell / Imagn images)

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