Oklahoma Sooners kicker Tate Sandell entered Friday night’s College Football Playoff first-round game against the Alabama Crimson Tide on a roll. He’d been making field goals left and right all season long, especially ones from 50 yards and beyond.
Unfortunately, Sandell, who tied the FBS record for most 50-plus-yard field goals in a single season in the first half, couldn’t connect on two clutch kicks. The Crimson Tide, behind a vicious defense and quarterback Ty Simpson’s stellar play, went into Norman, Okla., and beat the Sooners 34-24.
What Did OU Kicker Tate Sandell Do Against Alabama?
With the win, Alabama advances to the Rose Bowl, where it will face Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers. With the loss, Sandell and the Sooners will wonder what might have been.
Sandell was simply automatic when it came to making field goals 50 yards and beyond. In fact, Sandell nailed another one, a 51-yarder, in the first half as the Sooners finished up tied with Alabama 17-17 at halftime.
At that point, Sandell was 8-for-8 in field goals of 50-plus yards. Sandell also won the Lou Groza Award as college football’s best field goal kicker this season.
But Sandell simply could not connect when it mattered most. His two misses, from 51 yards and 36 yards, including one that didn’t clear the left upright, ended up hurting Oklahoma in the end.
Oklahoma star kicker Tate Sandell misses a 36-yard field goal (maybe).
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and rules analyst Bill LeMonnier break it down for ESPN. #CFP pic.twitter.com/4ReGPAqs3s
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 20, 2025
ESPN’s cameras caught Sandell along the Oklahoma sidelines, looking bewildered and sad over his first miss. After the second one, Oklahoma players were seen approaching Sandell and hugging him. When the broadcast transitioned to its postgame show, cameras caught Sandell hugging what appeared to be his own mother.
After the game, On3 Sports’ J.D. Pickell posted on X, “That’s a low moment but Tate Sandell is massively responsible for about 2 wins for Oklahoma this year.”
Sandell is a junior and a native of Port Neches, Texas, located in Southeast Texas, which is known as a hotbed for college football recruiting. Entering Friday night’s game, Sandell had a 95.8% field goal accuracy and had made all of his extra points for the Sooners. Sandell’s longest field goal this season was from 55 yards.
By setting a new FBS single-season record, Sandell put his name in the college football record books.
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For the Sooners, they’ve needed Sandell’s kicks when the Oklahoma offense got stuck and couldn’t get into the end zone. Sandell has been a powerful secret weapon for Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables to utilize when needed. According to the PFSN CFB Offense Impact metrics, Oklahoma had an impact score of 77.0 and was graded a C+.
Sandell played his first three college football seasons at UTSA before transferring to Oklahoma this season. He’s now 43-of-51 in career field goals and is 72-of-73 in career extra points after Friday night’s game.
For Sandell to set this mark not only in front of a home crowd in Norman, but with the entire college football world watching, it shines a light on his play. Probably some NFL scouts are watching Sandell kick and looking forward to when he might declare for the NFL Draft, should he do so after this season.
If an NFL team can get a kicker who can nail 50-plus yarders all game long, then Sandell could become an even bigger weapon for some team. On Friday night, in a College Football Playoff game, Sandell made his presence felt in a big way. For Sandell, though, it wasn’t the ending he and the Sooners hoped for.
