The Alabama Crimson Tide looked dead in the water in Norman. Then, they woke up, and “Choklahoma” happened again. In a wild first-round College Football Playoff matchup, No. 9 Alabama erased a 17-0 deficit to stun the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners 34-24.

It was a tale of two halves that had the internet buzzing, especially after the Tide rattled off 27 unanswered points to silence the crowd at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Oklahoma stormed out of the gates, looking like the superior team while building a three-score lead. But just when it seemed like the Tide were rolling over, momentum flipped on a dime. A botched punt snap by Oklahoma set up a Bama field goal, followed quickly by a Ty Simpson touchdown pass to freshman phenom Lotzeir Brooks. The dagger came right before halftime when Zabien Brown intercepted John Mateer for a 50-yard pick-six to tie the game.

 

 

The total reversal of fortune left fans in awe. As one X user put it, “It’s as though, that during halftime, the players from the first half changed uniforms with the real Alabama players!”

By the time Simpson found Brooks for another score in the third quarter, the panic in Norman was palpable. The Sooners, who have historically struggled on the big stage, fell to 0-5 all-time in CFP games.

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The internet was ruthless in pointing out the pattern. One fan posted, “choklahoma is now 0-5 in the playoffs(0-2) vs alabama. but hey at least they beat bama in the regular season back to back years!!(27 unanswered btw).”

Even neutral observers were baffled by how quickly the game script flipped. “You guys are getting skull dragged to where you’re just embarrassing yourselves,” one user wrote. “Oklahoma goes up 17-0 as you guys have 12 yards through three drives. Sooner fans are partying. And then you guys just completely flip a switch. idk how you did that. Congrats.”

With the win, Alabama advances to face No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl, while Oklahoma is left wondering how another playoff lead slipped through their fingers.