Alabama runs intentional stumble play to set up TD vs. Oklahoma
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Alabama was down 10-0 early in the 2nd quarter on Saturday against Oklahoma, and the Crimson Tide needed a spark.
So offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb went into the playbook and found something unusual to get 4th-ranked Alabama rolling. The Crimson Tide had a 1st-and-10 from the Sooners’ 36-yard line with 12:40 left in a half that had produced 0 points. That would change soon, though, thanks to a little trickery by Grubb and his offense.
Quarterback Ty Simpson dropped back to pass but intentionally stumbled on his way back from center, which is designed to throw the defense off. It worked like a charm, as Simpson pretended to regain his footing from the pretend stumble, stepped up and found freshman tight end Kaleb Edwards, who was wide open streaking down the left sideline. Edwards caught the pass from Simpson and was tackled at the Oklahoma 11-yard line.
It was a 25-yard gain, and it was huge, setting the Tide up for Daniel Hill’s 1-yard touchdown run that cut the Sooners’ lead to 3. The fake stumble play, or “Stumblebum” as Awful Announcing called it on social media, was a takeoff on Ben Johnson’s play call when he was the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
Here is the 2025 Alabama version of the play:
Here’s the 2024 Detroit Lions’ version of the stumble play authored by then-OC Johnson, who ironically ran this play against the Chicago Bears and is now the head coach of the Bears:
Both plays were successful for the Crimson Tide and Lions, and who knows when we’ll see the crazy play call crop up again in a college or NFL game.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
