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The Tuscaloosa News
Ryan Grubb, Alabama football 'just ran out of downs' on final drive vs Oklahoma
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Ryan Grubb, Alabama football 'just ran out of downs' on final drive vs Oklahoma
Ryan Grubb's plan ahead of Alabama football's final drive against Oklahoma was not different than any other he called against the Sooners , a game that ended in a 23-21 Alabama loss .
"The plan was to score," Grubb said.
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There was "plenty of time," Grubb said. Alabama had more than seven minutes left on the game clock and two timeouts. Even after the two-minute warning, a point where the Crimson Tide hadn't reached midfield, Grubb said he didn't see an issue.
"We do that all the time," Grubb said. "We're just trying to make sure we stay on the field. That was the biggest part. And ultimately that was the problem. We didn't convert."
Alabama ended its game with a 13-play drive that concluded on its own 48-yard line line, one that ticked the game clock down to 53 seconds when Oklahoma forced a turnover-on-downs. Alabama balanced eight run plays with five pass plays.
"We just ran out of downs," Grubb said.
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A Ty Simpson 11-yard sack set the Crimson Tide back, a play, Grubb said, that "complicated" the rest of his game plan.
"Just trying to keep the ball moving forward against a defense that was pretty good at putting you in negative yardage situations," Grubb said. "I just didn't want the ball to go backwards at any point and then set up the shot plays. Which I thought we had a good opportunity on a couple at the end. And we obviously didn't connect."
Alabama finished with 406 yards, nearly doubling Oklahoma's total offense output. Three turnovers helped secure the Crimson Tide's second loss of the 2025 season.
Alabama will face Eastern Illinois at 1 p.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 22 on SEC Network+.
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Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Ryan Grubb shares plan for last drive of Alabama vs Oklahoma
