Alabama defensive back Zabien Brown turned the team’s College Football Playoff first round game against Oklahoma on its head Friday with a momentum-swinging pick-six just before halftime.
The pick-six brought the Crimson Tide level with Oklahoma for the first time in the game since the Sooners’ second drive and capped off a second quarter that saw Alabama score 17 points in just under seven minutes. The momentum from the interception return carried on into the second half, as Alabama ended the game on a 34-7 scoring run.
“When you can not only flip the field but then score in that situation, it’s really awesome,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said postgame. “Our players did a really good job of adjusting. We saw something that we thought we could get them and bait them into it.”
Brown previously took an interception back for a touchdown as time expired in the first half against Tennessee, which extended the Crimson Tide’s lead to 16 points. The star sophomore said he believes those types of game-changing interceptions are well within his arsenal.
“It’s just a clutch gene,” Brown said postgame.
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer had started the game on a heater — tossing for 186 yards on 16 of 24 through the air — and was responsible for two touchdowns. After Brown’s interception and house call, Mateer seemingly lost his groove, finishing the game 8 of 17 for 121 yards and a touchdown pass in the second half.
“I got tricked, and it was pretty bad,” Mateer said of the pick-six. “You watch the tape, it was obvious it wasn’t a cover zero.”
Coming into the game, the team emphasized winning the turnover battle, something it didn’t do the first go-round against the Sooners. It snagged two key turnovers in the first half and converted both into points.
Wommack praised his defense’s mindset in a game it once trailed 17-0. In similar situations in recent seasons, the Crimson Tide folded under the pressure of a double-digit deficit, most notably in the same building it won in on Friday.
“You want kids that are fighters, that want the ball in their court and they want to be challenged,” Wommack said.
No. 9 Alabama returns to action on Jan. 1 in the 112th annual Rose Bowl Game, facing off with the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on ESPN.
