January 2, 2014 Postseason Neutral site Belt defended

Oklahoma defends the belt, 45–31, at a neutral site over Alabama.

Home · Challenger

Alabama 31

Away · Defending Holder

Oklahoma 45

AI-Written

Recap

In a high-scoring defensive struggle marred by turnovers, Oklahoma held on to the belt with a 31-45 victory at home against Alabama. The first quarter set the tone for an explosive game, with Alabama striking first on a T.J. Yeldon touchdown run, but Oklahoma quickly answered with back-to-back scores from Trevor Knight touchdown passes to Lacoltan Bester and Jalen Saunders to take an early lead. Alabama's potent passing attack, highlighted by a 67-yard DeAndrew White touchdown reception in the second quarter, kept them competitive, but Oklahoma's defense forced critical turnovers and the Sooners' offense capitalized on a Zack Sanchez interception return to set up Sterling Shepard's short touchdown run just before halftime. Despite Alabama's overall yardage advantage and AJ McCarron's solid performance, Oklahoma's ability to force five turnovers and convert in crucial moments proved decisive in maintaining possession of the belt.

Oklahoma's first-quarter back-to-back touchdown passes to Bester and Saunders that established early momentum and a lead
Zack Sanchez's interception and 43-yard return in the second quarter that set up Shepard's touchdown to extend Oklahoma's halftime advantage
Trevor Knight's four touchdown passes overall, which overwhelmed Alabama's secondary despite the Crimson Tide's yardage production
Alabama's five turnovers compared to Oklahoma's one, which directly led to Oklahoma's scoring opportunities and belt retention

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

AlabamaOklahoma

Total yards516429

Rushing yards12981

Passing yards387348

First downs2024

3rd down conv.6/127/15

Turnovers51

Penalties–yards6–4511–95

Time of possession29:0530:55

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 13:11	Alabama	+1 yd	T.J. Yeldon rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 14:10	Alabama	+53 yd	AJ McCarron pass complete to Amari Cooper for 53 yards to the Okla 7 for a 1ST down.
Q1 13:11	Alabama	+0 yd	Cade Foster extra point GOOD.
Q1 10:03	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Trevor Knight pass intercepted by Landon Collins at the Alab 24, returned for no gain to the Alab 24.
Q1 9:54	Alabama	+6 yd	AJ McCarron pass intercepted by Gabe Lynn at the Okla 49, returned for 6 yards to the Alab 45.
Q1 9:43	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Michael Hunnicutt extra point GOOD.
Q1 9:43	Oklahoma	+45 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Lacoltan Bester for 45 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 8:40	Alabama	+63 yd	AJ McCarron pass complete to DeAndrew White for 63 yards to the Okla 10 for a 1ST down.
Q1 7:02	Alabama	+27 yd	Cade Foster 27 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 1:53	Oklahoma	+8 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Jalen Saunders for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 1:53	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Michael Hunnicutt extra point GOOD.
Q1 1:53	Oklahoma	+20 yd	Nick Hodgson kickoff for 65 yards returned by Christion Jones for 20 yards to the Alab 20.
Q2 14:03	Alabama	+67 yd	AJ McCarron pass complete to DeAndrew White for 67 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 14:03	Alabama	+0 yd	Cade Foster extra point GOOD.
Q2 14:03	Alabama	+30 yd	Cade Foster kickoff for 50 yards returned by Roy Finch for 30 yards to the Okla 45.
Q2 12:20	Oklahoma	+20 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Derrick Woods for 20 yards to the Alab 37 for a 1ST down.
Q2 11:45	Oklahoma	+47 yd	Michael Hunnicutt 47 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 2:59	Oklahoma	+43 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Jalen Saunders for 43 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 2:59	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Michael Hunnicutt extra point GOOD.
Q2 1:12	Alabama	+43 yd	AJ McCarron pass intercepted by Zack Sanchez at the Okla 44, returned for 43 yards to the Alab 13.
Q2 1:05	Oklahoma	+13 yd	Sterling Shepard rush for 13 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 1:05	Oklahoma	+35 yd	Nick Hodgson kickoff for 70 yards returned by Christion Jones for 35 yards to the Alab 45.
Q2 1:05	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Michael Hunnicutt extra point GOOD.
Q2 0:04	Alabama	+21 yd	AJ McCarron pass complete to Kevin Norwood for 21 yards to the Okla 15 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:00	Alabama	+32 yd	Cade Foster 32 yard field goal MISSED.
Q3 8:49	Alabama	+43 yd	Derrick Henry rush for 43 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 8:49	Alabama	+24 yd	Cade Foster kickoff for 63 yards returned by Roy Finch for 24 yards to the Okla 26.
Q3 8:49	Alabama	+0 yd	Cade Foster extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:09	Oklahoma	+22 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Sterling Shepard for 22 yards to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down.
Q4 10:44	Oklahoma	+9 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Sterling Shepard for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 11:35	Oklahoma	+34 yd	Trevor Knight pass complete to Lacoltan Bester for 34 yards to the Alab 9 for a 1ST down.
Q4 10:44	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Michael Hunnicutt extra point GOOD.
Q4 10:44	Oklahoma	+32 yd	Nick Hodgson kickoff for 65 yards returned by Christion Jones for 32 yards to the Alab 32.
Q4 6:22	Alabama	+61 yd	AJ McCarron pass complete to Derrick Henry for 61 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 6:22	Alabama	+0 yd	Cade Foster extra point GOOD.
Q4 6:22	Alabama	+20 yd	Cade Foster kickoff for 63 yards returned by Roy Finch for 20 yards to the Okla 12, OKLAHOMA penalty 10 yard Holding accepted.
Q4 0:47	Oklahoma	+0 yd	Michael Hunnicutt extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
AJ McCarronAlabama	19/30	387	12.9	2	2	32.8
Trevor KnightOklahoma	32/44	348	7.9	4	1	78.6

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Derrick HenryAlabama	8	100	12.5	1	43
T.J. YeldonAlabama	17	72	4.2	1	16
AJ McCarronAlabama	10	-43	-4.3	0	4
Brennan ClayOklahoma	17	44	2.6	0	12
Keith FordOklahoma	3	15	5.0	0	12
Sterling ShepardOklahoma	3	14	4.7	1	13
Trevor KnightOklahoma	5	7	1.4	0	10
Jalen SaundersOklahoma	1	4	4.0	0	4

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
DeAndrew WhiteAlabama	3	139	46.3	1	67
Amari CooperAlabama	9	121	13.4	0	53
Derrick HenryAlabama	1	61	61.0	1	61
Kevin NorwoodAlabama	2	30	15.0	0	21
T.J. YeldonAlabama	2	23	11.5	0	19
Kenny BellAlabama	2	13	6.5	0	7
Lacoltan BesterOklahoma	6	105	17.5	1	45
Jalen SaundersOklahoma	5	75	15.0	2	43
Sterling ShepardOklahoma	7	63	9.0	1	22
Brennan ClayOklahoma	7	36	5.1	0	10
Derrick WoodsOklahoma	1	20	20.0	0	20
Roy FinchOklahoma	2	18	9.0	0	15
Jaz ReynoldsOklahoma	2	14	7.0	0	7
Brannon GreenOklahoma	1	13	13.0	0	13
Taylor McNamaraOklahoma	1	4	4.0	0	4

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS
Landon CollinsAlabama	1	0
Zack SanchezOklahoma	1	43
Gabe LynnOklahoma	1	6

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Christion JonesAlabama	4	104	26.0	35	0
Roy FinchOklahoma	5	101	20.2	30	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Cade FosterAlabama	1/2	50.0	27	4/4	7
Michael HunnicuttOklahoma	1/1	100.0	47	6/6	9

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Christion JonesAlabama	2	18	9.0	9	0
Jalen SaundersOklahoma	2	6	3.0	6	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Cody MandellAlabama	4	174	43.5	0	0	48
Jed BarnettOklahoma	6	254	42.3	0	0	56

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.

← Oklahoma at Oklahoma State Louisiana Tech at Oklahoma →