The warning signs were everywhere before Oklahoma’s CFP meltdown

Coming into the College Football Playoff, the concern for Oklahoma was that their offense wasn't good enough to win against the best teams in the country. When the game kicked off the Sooners and John Mateer looked like the team we saw lighting up the competition during Non-Conference play.

Brent Venables' team looked like they may run Alabama out of Norman as they took a 17-0 lead early. While everything was going wrong for Alabama and everything was going right for Oklahoma, there was a sense of impending doom hanging over the Sooners.

When Alabama finally got on the board thanks to a 4th and 2 conversion, it seemed as if the pressure could flip the game. Almost instantly, we saw Oklahoma show cracks as a dropped pass led to a dropped snap on the punt, allowing Alabama to cut the deficit to 7.

Oklahoma was clearly pressing after Alabama got right back into the game, and Alabama capitalized on a clear mix-up from Oklahoma to tie the game going into the half, which felt shocking after the way the game started.

The biggest change for Alabama once they fell behind 17-0 was that defensive coordinator Kane Wommack started to bring pressure. Once Alabama closed the rushing lanes Mateer was exploiting and made him beat them from in the pocket, the Oklahoma offense went right back to the group that's struggled all season long.

The writing was on the wall all season long for this Oklahoma team as they kept sneaking by teams thanks to their defense. The moment Oklahoma fell behind it felt like they were doomed as it forced the offense to try and throw their way to a win putting far too much pressure on John Mateer.

Oklahoma now heads into the offseason with a sour taste in its mouth as it just choked away a golden opportunity. John Mateer can return for another season, but Oklahoma may feel as if it can upgrade at the position. Brent Venables' defense continues to get let down by the offense, which may need to be the focus of the offseason.

All season long, the offense was a massive issue, and it was only a matter of time before it came back to cost Oklahoma. Brent Venables has done a great enough job with the defense that he can't just accept that his offense is going to make every game a struggle like it was this year.