Just wrapped up my latest dive into college football stats, so let’s break down exactly how I approached that Alabama vs Oklahoma matchup analysis.
Starting Point Was Simple Curiosity
Honestly? Saw the game mentioned on ESPN highlights while eating cereal. Thought “Huh, wonder who actually dominated beyond the scoreboard?” Pulled out my ancient laptop and went straight to NCAA stats page first thing morning. Didn’t overthink it – just searched “Alabama Oklahoma box score.” Took coffee sip. Waited for page load. Classic.
My Messy Notebook Phase
Grabbed physical notebook – always do. Wrote “BAMA” left page, “OU” right page like some high school project. Started scribbling:
- First Down Chicken Scratch: Jotted both teams’ rushing yards. Saw Bama had like 200+, OU barely 100. Circled that twice.
- Penalty Madness: Counted yellow flags section. Oklahoma 8 penalties?? Drew frowny face next to it.
- Quarter Breakdown: Made four ugly boxes per team. Wrote “OU only 3 points in Q3?!” in red pen. Highlighted with actual yellow marker.
Got distracted here – dog brought his ball over. Threw it twice before getting back to numbers.
The “Oh Snap” Realization
Stared at time of possession stat. Alabama held ball 38 minutes?! That’s insane. Immediately texted buddy “Bro Bama bled clock dry wtf.” Flipped notebook page aggressively. Tried calculating OU’s yards per play: total yards divided by plays… did mental math twice. Got different numbers both times. Used phone calculator eventually.
Checked QB stats after. Oklahoma’s passer completed like 50% throws? Yikes. Drew arrow from that to penalty count. Smirked. Knew right then why they lost.
Putting It All Together
Opened Google Docs. Pounded keyboard summarizing three things:
- Ground Game Obvious: Typed “Bama ran downhill all night” first
- OU Self-Sabotage: Added “Sooner penalties murdered drives” second
- QB Differences: Finished with “One QB efficient, one QB stressed”
Squinted at screen. Deleted half of what I wrote. Made it simpler: “Bama controlled clock, OU beat themselves.” Saved document. Sent draft to same buddy. He replied “Knew it.” Felt validated.
Why This Matters To Me
Stats show truth beyond highlights. Saw Oklahoma had flashy plays – but numbers exposed their messy fundamentals. My old coach always said “Stats don’t lie, people do.” This? Proved him right again. Next time I’ll check third-down conversions first. Always forget that until after.
