Oklahoma did not lose its College Football Playoff game to Alabama.

It unraveled.

Not all at once. Not explosively. But in the slow, visible way that only structurally unstable teams do — the way you can see coming before it arrives, the way you can feel before the scoreboard confirms it.

The Sooners built a 17–0 lead in the biggest game The Palace has ever hosted. It looked like a statement. It felt like a breakthrough. It smelled like a third straight win over Alabama and a date with destiny.

And yet, even as it happened, it wasn’t solid.

It was teetering.

And when Alabama leaned on it, the whole thing came down.

The Sooners may have been 'Hard to Kill' in the final month of their second SEC season, but they weren't built to finish in the CFP, and exited it accordingly.