Lawson Reflects on Oklahoma Loss: “Our Performance Today was not our Standard”

After Alabama's 23-21 defeat against Oklahoma on Saturday, fifth-year senior linebacker Deontae Lawson addressed the media regarding what went wrong and how the team plans to respond following their first conference loss of the season.

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When asked what the locker room was like following the Tide’s two-point loss to Oklahoma, which saw Alabama turn it over on downs on their final drive of the game with less than a minute left, allowing the Sooners to kneel the ball and run the clock out to secure the victory.

Lawson shared that, obviously, the locker room is disappointed. Still, the team is hungry and eager to get back to practice and correct all the mistakes from tonight, finishing the season strong with the Tide just needing to beat Auburn to secure an SEC championship appearance.

“Obviously, we’re all disappointed it didn't go the way that we planned, but we pride ourselves on being unbreakable.” Lawson added, “This is just another step in the way, and you know we are ready to get back tomorrow and see what we can fix and just continue to get better.”

Lawson played a solid game tonight. The senior linebacker recorded five total tackles, with two of those being solo tackles in the Crimson Tide's two-point loss to Oklahoma.

When asked if the team considers playoff or championship implications after tough losses, Lawson, the Tide's senior linebacker, responded that their focus should be solely on improving each day. He emphasized that they need to concentrate on becoming better before they can even think about competing for the SEC championship.

“Man, honestly, we can’t worry about anything like that until we get better. We need to get better and play better before we can even think about something like an SEC championship.” Lawson added, “Our performance today was not our standard, and we pride ourselves every day on practicing hard so we can show up on game day. We’ll get back to the drawing board and figure this thing out for sure.”

When asked about the frustration on the defensive side during the game, Lawson noted that Alabama’s defense played one of its best games of the season. They allowed John Mateer-led Oklahoma to gain only 212 total yards and forced the Sooners to convert just 3 out of 13 on third downs. However, Lawson disagreed with the assessment of the defense's performance, pointing out that they failed to force any turnovers, while Oklahoma recorded three turnovers. Ultimately, Alabama came away with none in Saturday’s loss.

“Well, I wouldn't say it was our best game because we didn't create any turnovers, and that's what we pride ourselves on, and they beat us in the turnover margin, and when you turn the ball over three times, you really can't expect to win in this league.” Lawson said, “Like I said, we are just gonna get back to the practice field tomorrow, and we're gonna watch the film, and we gotta be better, as a defense, we gotta take the ball. We gotta give our offense a short field or some field position or something like that, or an extra possession or anything like that, so not our best game, I would say.”

Lawson and the Crimson Tide will have the opportunity to turn things around next Saturday, November 22, when Alabama hosts Eastern Illinois. Following that, the Tide will aim to keep their SEC championship and playoff hopes alive with a victory against their rivals, Auburn, in the Iron Bowl on Saturday, November 29, at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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