Kalen DeBoer talks Jalen Milroe, running back Deontae Lawson as Alabama falls to Oklahoma

Alabama football’s College Football Playoff dream was likely dashed on Saturday when it lost to Oklahoma 24-3. The loss to the Sooners, who had won just one SEC game before beating the Crimson Tide, handed UA its third loss of the season.

It’s not the first time Kalen DeBoer’s team has lost to a heavy underdog. Alabama fell to Vanderbilt on the road earlier this year, in addition to its defeat at the hands of Tennessee in Knoxville.

This one could almost effectively ruin the 2024 season. It’s the first time UA has lost three games in a year since 2010, and knocks the Tide off its path to both the CFP and SEC championships.

After the game, DeBoer took questions from reporters in Norman. Here is a summary of some of what he said.

Kalen DeBoer press conference after Oklahoma beat Alabama

— “Extremely disappointed. Frustrated.”

— “It will come down to the end of the first half.” DeBoer pointed to Oklahoma scoring a touchdown before halftime and then Alabama turning the ball over immediately in the second half on the first drive.

— DeBoer credited Oklahoma’s running game for the Sooners’ success.

— DeBoer said the game got away from Alabama in the third quarter.

— “Anytime you lose a guy like Deontae, it’s going to affect you.” (Lawson left the game with an injury in the first half).

— DeBoer on Jalen Milroe: “We just all needed to get a little better … I thought he kept fighting.”

— DeBoer’s message to Jalen Milroe after second interception: “Don’t regret it. Go out there and keep swinging.”

– DeBoer said the locker room right now is “wins and losses as a team”

— “We’ve got to regroup. Stick together. The right things are being said in there by the guys.” \

— Deontae Lawson status: “We’ll evaluate further here when we get back.”

– DeBoer on Alabama struggling to run the football: “We have to give some credit to who they are and what they do defensively.” DeBoer said staying on blocks was a problem at times. “And then the penalties there in the fourth quarter put you behind the sticks as well.”

— “We didn’t run it as well as we had hoped early in the game.”

— DeBoer on Oklahoma’s running game: “That was the story for them, those guys, inside, outside, different ways to move the chains and hit the explosives they had. It seemed like they were always falling forward.”

– DeBoer on what Oklahoma did to make things difficult for Jalen Milroe and Alabama: “I think there were some things that were pretty easy that didn’t happen for us.” DeBoer cited drops, not having explosive plays and more as some of those issues. “We couldn’t get over the hump tonight. That’s the unfortunate thing.”