Oklahoma defends the belt, 45–31, at a neutral site over Alabama.
AP poll, week 16: Oklahoma No. 11 at Alabama No. 3 · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Oklahoma came in 26 days into reign #287, which began with a win over Oklahoma State, with no defenses yet; this was its first defense. Oklahoma went on to defend it 4 more times before TCU took it on October 4, 2014, 301 days after the reign began.
For Alabama this was its 20th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 9 times before.
This is the only time Alabama and Oklahoma have met with the belt on the line.
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.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull 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.
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).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
Alabama
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ McCarron | 19/30 | 387 | 12.9 | 2 | 2 | 32.8 |
Oklahoma
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Knight | 32/44 | 348 | 7.9 | 4 | 1 | 78.6 |
Rushing
Alabama
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derrick Henry | 8 | 100 | 12.5 | 1 | 43 |
| T.J. Yeldon | 17 | 72 | 4.2 | 1 | 16 |
| AJ McCarron | 10 | -43 | -4.3 | 0 | 4 |
Oklahoma
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brennan Clay | 17 | 44 | 2.6 | 0 | 12 |
| Keith Ford | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 12 |
| Sterling Shepard | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 1 | 13 |
| Trevor Knight | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 0 | 10 |
| Jalen Saunders | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 |
Receiving
Alabama
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeAndrew White | 3 | 139 | 46.3 | 1 | 67 |
| Amari Cooper | 9 | 121 | 13.4 | 0 | 53 |
| Derrick Henry | 1 | 61 | 61.0 | 1 | 61 |
| Kevin Norwood | 2 | 30 | 15.0 | 0 | 21 |
| T.J. Yeldon | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 0 | 19 |
| Kenny Bell | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 7 |
Oklahoma
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lacoltan Bester | 6 | 105 | 17.5 | 1 | 45 |
| Jalen Saunders | 5 | 75 | 15.0 | 2 | 43 |
| Sterling Shepard | 7 | 63 | 9.0 | 1 | 22 |
| Brennan Clay | 7 | 36 | 5.1 | 0 | 10 |
| Derrick Woods | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | 20 |
| Roy Finch | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | 15 |
| Jaz Reynolds | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 |
| Brannon Green | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 13 |
| Taylor McNamara | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 |
Show more stats (5 more categories)
Interceptions
Alabama
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landon Collins | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Oklahoma
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zack Sanchez | 1 | 43 | 0 |
| Gabe Lynn | 1 | 6 | 0 |
Kick Returns
Alabama
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christion Jones | 4 | 104 | 26.0 | 35 | 0 |
Oklahoma
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Finch | 5 | 101 | 20.2 | 30 | 0 |
Kicking
Alabama
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cade Foster | 1/2 | 50.0 | 27 | 4/4 | 7 |
Oklahoma
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Hunnicutt | 1/1 | 100.0 | 47 | 6/6 | 9 |
Punt Returns
Alabama
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christion Jones | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
Oklahoma
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalen Saunders | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 6 | 0 |
Punting
Alabama
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Mandell | 4 | 174 | 43.5 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
Oklahoma
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jed Barnett | 6 | 254 | 42.3 | 0 | 0 | 56 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 340020333) · This game in the downloadable dataset