A season full of dropped passes continued for Ryan Williams as Alabama football navigated the first round of the College Football Playoff at Oklahoma.
Coming out of the second half tied against the Sooners, quarterback Ty Simpson found the wide receiver that wowed the nation as a 17 year-old freshman, but the ball sailed straight through Williams’ hands.
Williams’ 10th drop of the year forced Alabama (10-3) to punt and gave Oklahoma an opportunity to renew the momentum it had that while scoring 17 unanswered points in the first half.
Simpson targeted Williams in the second quarter, too. However, the short attempt was off-target, and it wouldn’t have hit Williams either way as the Mobile native fell to the ground while trying to get in position for the catch.
After Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer delivered a touchdown pass to Deion Burks in the first minute of the fourth quarter, Alabama could’ve used a moment from Williams like the one against Georgia in 2024 that made him a household name.
Instead, Williams went without a target on the drive and Alabama came up scoreless after Simpson was sacked by OU’s Owen Heinecke for a loss of nine yards on third-and-11. Pushed back to the Sooners’ 47-yard line with 10:57 to play, Alabama brought Blake Doud out to punt.
In the postseason so far, Williams has 33 yards on two catches, both in the SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia. He has yet to record a yard against Oklahoma midway through the third quarter.
Against Oklahoma in November, when Alabama fell 23-21, Williams had three receptions for 45 yards.
On the season, Williams has participated in two games where he didn’t record a catch: Missouri and Auburn.
Should Williams not record a touchdown in Norman, it will mark his fourth consecutive game without a score.
This article will be updated with new information.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@usatodayco.com.
