John Mateer (Bryan Terry / The Oklahoman)
The Oklahoma Sooners were having a remarkable season which all came to a screeching halt in the college football playoffs. This can be linked to a single moment that swung the momentum in the other direction. It brought what some were calling a dream season to an unceremonious end.
The Sooners had earned themselves a home game and were ranked #8. In the first round they were pitted against an Alabama team which ranked #9 after having lost to the Sooners in the regular season, then took another loss in the SEC Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Amazingly, the Crimson Tide then became the first team to ever advance into the CFP with three losses.
The Game Changer
With less than five minutes to go in the second quarter and a 17-7 lead, OU was driving. It was third down with three yards to go. They were just shy of the 50-yard line. Quarterback John Mateer escaped what would have been a sack and scrambled to his left. Although there was open field in front of him in which he could have easily ran for the first down, he chose to pass to an open receiver. That receiver happened to be running back Xavier Robinson. Mateer launched the ball over 30 yards downfield. Meanwhile Robinson had a step or two on his defender and the ball hit him right in the hands and bounced out. It could have been a touchdown had he caught it.
After the failed conversion the Sooners decided to punt on fourth and three. With decorated punter Grayson Miller back to do so, it seemingly was a sure thing. Afterall, he’d won the Ray Guy punter of the week award in October. But it became an embarrassing failure of a punt attempt where Miller inexplicably dropped the ball onto the ground without even attempting the punt before picking it up and punting it directly into an oncoming defender.
After blocking it, Alabama went on to score 20 more consecutive points, taking a 27-7 lead. While OU attempted a comeback, it was too little too late for the game and hence their season.
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