It took less than two minutes for Alabama to cross the goal line against Oklahoma and begin to remove the stain of the Iron Bowl.
On the Sooners’ next drive, sophomore safety Landon Collins scooped up a Trevor Knight pass before it hit the ground to bring the Crimson Tide offense back on the field.
Everything was rolling in Alabama’s favor, and visions of the 2012 team’s dominance over Notre Dame in Miami started to appear in the Sugar Bowl. That is until AJ McCarron heaved a pass into triple coverage toward fellow senior Kevin Norwood.
The pass sailed over Norwood’s head and was picked off by Oklahoma. It was the first of two interceptions McCarron would throw Thursday night in the Crimson Tide’s 45-31 loss.
“Put it all on me,” McCarron said. “I had two turnovers, ended up scoring 14 points, and we lost by 14. So, you know, it’s football. It happens. I wish it wouldn’t have happened, but I’ll definitely take the loss and definitely take the blame, because a lot of it is probably my fault.”
Alabama turned the ball over five times despite thrashing the Sooner defense for 516 total yards of offense.
Norwood said the blame cannot rest solely on his quarterback’s shoulders, as he and the rest of the team made mistakes throughout the night.
“We all win and lose together,” Norwood said. “AJ can’t put it all on himself. I can’t let him do that. … It’s all on us, and we didn’t come out and play like we should.”
For Oklahoma, redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Knight had the game of his life, playing an almost perfect game. Knight completed 32 of his 44 passes for 348 yards and four touchdown passes.
Knight’s emergence was a shock to the college football world, as he had only made four starts in seven games played before the Sugar Bowl.
He and the Sooners started the game hot and didn’t seem to cool down until the confetti fell from the rafters of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
“You gotta give Oklahoma’s team a lot of credit. They were fired up and ready to play, like most teams we play,” coach Nick Saban said. “Everybody’s got something to prove when they play against Alabama, and Oklahoma certainly did a good job in terms of how they performed.”
Usually known for finishing strong, Alabama hit a lull toward the end of the regular season. The Tide lost its final two games and gave up a combined 79 points to Auburn and Oklahoma.
“I thought our team late in the season from the LSU game on maybe didn’t have the focus we needed to have. We didn’t pay attention to detail, didn’t do little things right, didn’t practice well,” Saban said. “I think that eventually caught up with us in the Auburn game.”
But expectations remain high in Tuscaloosa and across the state for Saban and the Crimson Tide. And the players are well aware of it.
“Championships, they’re expected a lot around here at Alabama, but we know we fell short this year,” freshman tight end O.J. Howard said. “But it’s not over yet. We’ve got a couple of years. We’ve got a chance. We can still win championships.”
