After Oklahoma lost to Ole Miss three weeks ago, the Sooners were in trouble.  Two losses in the SEC isn't a death sentence when you're trying to find your way into the College Football Playoff, but it does some serious damage for sure.

What it does, basically, is take away any margin for error. It was win-or-go-home the rest of the way.

But what the Sooners also had was an opportunity. A road trip to Knoxville and Tuscaloosa isn't something anyone would wish for, but what it did was give Oklahoma a chance to turn some heads. Pull off a couple of upsets, and their resume would get really impressive, despite the two losses.

And as it turns out,  that's exactly what the Sooners have done. They upset Tennessee 33-27 in Knoxville on Nov. 1 and then, after a bye week, stunned No. 4 Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, winning 23-21 with a late score to give the Crimson Tide their first SEC loss.

That's a heck of a way to start off November.

"Wow. What a heck of a football game. Nobody really deserved to lose that football game. That was a well-played, hard-fought slugfest,'' Okahoma coach Brent Venables told reporters after the game. "I'm Incredibly thankful and proud, and I appreciate our players just laying it on the line for four quarters.

"I've been talking and bragging about this team, that this is one of the best teams I've been around when it comes to just the brotherhood and the belief in one another. There's something special about it.''

Impressive wins on Oklahoma resume

Oklahoma is now 8-2 overall and 4-2 in SEC play. The losses came to Texas and Ole Miss, so there's no shame in that. The impressive wins more than make up for it. The have the SEC's best nonconference win — a 24-13 victory over Michigan that looks better and better every week — and now these wins over Tennessee and Alabama.

If they can close it out with wins over Missouri and LSU — no guarantees there — they will be in the CFP. Beating ranked teams on the road, especially in the SEC, is sure to impress the hell out of the playoff selection committee.

I think the human element of the selection committee helps Oklahoma, too. Sooners quarterback John Mateer is really good, and the OU offense is really good when he's humming along. But he came back too soon from surgery to play in the Texas game, and it was clear he wasn't 100 percent. The committee knows that. 

Add in an Oklahoma defense that's playing at a high level —  they had Alabama scoreless on their final four possessions — and you've got a really good team that's very deserving of a spot in the 12-team CFP field. They were the first team out in last Tuesday's rankings.

"If I said something once, I've said it a hundred times: they like to work. They like to compete,'' Venables said of his team. "They like each other, and I think it shows. I don't think you find a way to win our fourth true road game in the fashion that we were able to against the quality of the opponent we did unless you have a lot of ingredients that maybe aren't on a stat sheet. We've got the right people in all the huddles."

Rare home loss for Alabama

Alabama rarely loses at home, especially in a game with so much at stake. Second-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer had won all 12 home games before Saturday, and the Crimson Tide's streak of 17 straight home wins was the longest in the nation.

And, of course, his predecessor did really well at Bryant-Denny Stadium, too. Nick Saban was 103-8 at home and had 10 perfect seasons in Tuscaloosa.

"This is a place that had the nation's longest winning streak and hadn't lost an SEC home game since maybe 2019,'' Venables said. "It's our highest ranked road win since 2017, so this is really special." 

Venables was hired four years ago, and Sooners Nation still hasn't fully embraced him. He's had two 6-7 seasons sandwiched around a 10-3 year in 2023, their final season in the Big 12. No Oklahoma coach has had two losing seasons since John Blake in 1997-98.

These wins at Tennessee and Alabama have changed that. Sure, both could have gone either way and Oklahoma beat the Crimson Tide despite gaining only 212 yards on offense. But they won the turnover battle 3-0 and kicker Tate Sandell make all three field goal attempts, including a 52-yarder and the 24-yard chip shot that proved to be the winning points with 13:41 to go in the fourth quarter. 

Turnovers certainly were the difference. DeBoer knew it, too.

“I'm just really disappointed in the outcome,'' DeBoer told reporters after the game. "We played a lot of great snaps out there, but the turnover battle, obviously got killed there, and that became the game.

"We’ve done a great job of taking care of it all year, and we’ve done a good job of taking it off of teams. But today, I think, probably 17 (of Oklahoma's) points came off of turnovers, and we gave them the short field at the beginning where they got a field goal after the punt return. We missed our opportunities for sure. That’s what hurts so much.''

Setting the stager for big finish

Texas A&M is now the only SEC team with a perfect record. They are 7-0 in the conference, with a game remaining against arch-rival Texas on Friday night, Nov. 28. Three teams have one conference loss — Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss.

The Bulldogs (7-1 in league play) are done with conference games, but Alabama (6-1) still plays at Auburn in two weeks and Ole Miss (6-1) still has to go on the road to beat Mississippi State in their rivalry game.

Oklahoma won't be playing in the SEC Championship Game, but wins against Missouri and LSU would get them to 10-2 and in the playoff. 

And once you get in the field, anything can happen. The Sooners are glad to be back in the conversation. 

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