On the road with CFP hopes on the line, Oklahoma's Brent Venables was at his mad scientist best

Alabama's doubled up Oklahoma in yardage, but the Sooners' defense dictated the moments that mattered most.

Now, the Sooners' College Football Playoff hopes not only have life, but momentum heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

Their hard-hitting 23-21 victory at Alabama was as impressive as any in the sport this season. The Sooners were out-gained 406-212 by the Tide, but forced three turnovers and scored 17 points off those miscues to hand Kalen DeBoer his first home loss as Alabama's head coach.

Their 212 yards?  The fourth-fewest yards by an FBS team in a win against a top-five team since 2000. Historic stuff.

Defensive mastermind Brent Venables was at his best Saturday night inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. He spun Ty Simpson in circles with several exotic blitzes -- a slot cornerback abandoning a tight end to knife in for a second-half sack in the second half was straight out of a mad scientist's lab.

The go-ahead 24-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter came only after a strip-sack produced by a backup forced into duty. Reserve defensive end Taylor Wein stepped in for star edge R. Mason Thomas and made life a living nightmare for freshman right tackle Michael Carroll, beating him twice for hurries.

Alabama fell in an early 10-0 hole after Ty Simpson threw an 87-yard pick six -- the first of his career -- to Eli Bowen. The Tide bounced back, as they have most of the season, but the turnovers didn't slow and neither did Oklahoma's swarming defense, which sacked Simpson three times in the second half.

"They give us a spark whenever we need it," OU quarterback John Mateer said after the win. "They didn't get a whole lot of turnovers at the beginning of the year, but the football gods loved them back because of how hard they play."

That spark has turned into a fire. Oklahoma's defense has ranked among the nation's best all season, but the lack of takeaways had led to close calls and the rivalry loss to Texas. In the first eight games? Just four turnovers. In back-to-back road wins over ranked opponents? Six takeaways leading to 30 points.

This wasn't easily predictable, either. Alabama ripped off three explosive plays on its opening drive of the third quarter and grabbed a 21-20 lead on Daniel HIll's touchdown. The Tide looked like they had answers coming out of halftime.

Then Oklahoma slammed the door.

The Sooners held Alabama to 15 total yards on the next three possessions, including a drive-ending sack and fumble. 

When Alabama mounted one final push from its own 4-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, Kip Lewis buried a crucial 11-yard sack as Alabama tried to push across midfield. Three snaps later, a last-ditch throw skipped harmlessly short of Ryan Williams as Peyton Bowen closed in.

This wasn't your typical blueprint, but the Sooners again proved defense is not only important, it's paramount in heavyweight fights. Venables' pressure packages, even without star players, harkened to his championship game plans as Clemson's defensive coordinator in the mid-2010s. 

The Sooners now share the national lead in wins over AP-ranked opponents -- tied, fittingly, with Alabama.

The Tide may still win the SEC title, but their playoff odds look no better than Oklahoma's. Two-loss teams, even in the SEC, have no breathing room and Alabama must still travel to rival Auburn.

The Iron Bowl on The Plains is always unpredictable, even if the Tide haven't lost there since 2019. A lot has changed since then: three full-time Auburn coaches and three interim coaches.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma proved it can win postseason-style games on the road. The performance was the clearest sign yet of a tremendous turnaround for Venables, who started the year on the hot seat with only four combined wins against ranked opponents in three seasons.

Now he has the Sooners on the doorstep of the playoffs.