SAN ANTONIO — The Alamo Bowl was a microcosm of the 2023 season for Oklahoma’s defense.

The Sooners played well for stretches, limiting one of the most explosive offenses in college football, but Arizona had enough success to stage a second-half comeback in the Alamodome.

Brent Venables had a wrinkle for the Wildcats, rolling out three defensive lineman to get an extra defensive back on the field in hopes of keeping Arizona’s talented receivers out of the end zone.

Despite taking a bigger body off the field, OU (10-3, 7-2 Big 12) generated plenty of pressure.

The Sooners sacked Arizona (10-3, 7-2 Pac 12) quarterback Noah Fifita five times and totaled 11 tackles for loss.

But Oklahoma lost Tetairoa McMillan in coverage too many times, often on third down, as he hauled in 10 catches for 160 yards and teammate Jacob Cowing finished with seven grabs for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

The game was tied 24-24 in the fourth quarter, but Arizona slipped another receiver through the OU secondary and took the lead for good.

“Just thought that having a little more speed on the field would be important,” Venables said after the game. “… To me, if we played a little better on defense when the game is tied up, the second-and-17 , we can’t give up a conversion there and expect to win in a game that’s — through all the adversity that’s happened and the game is tied and it’s second-and-17 (to McMillan), I’ve got to put them in a better position. I think two plays later they scored a touchdown to go up.”

OU’s defense didn’t lose the Sooners the game.

Six turnovers from Oklahoma’s offense that the Wildcats cashed in for 20 points is why Arizona took the Alamo Bowl trophy back to Tucson.

But the inconsistencies defensively show the improvement the Sooners still have to make to enjoy success in the Southeastern Conference.

As has been the case all year, OU gave up yardage in the first quarter but rallied to force Arizona to kick a pair of field goals.

Venables’ unit then pitched a shutout in the third quarter, as the Wildcats’ only score came on a scoop-and-score.

There were still mental errors, however, ones that will need to be eradicated as the defense enters its third year under Venables.

“I feel like we did a great job preparing for Arizona,” safety Billy Bowman said. “Coaches put the right stuff. I just feel like tonight Oklahoma beat Oklahoma, and if you do that, you can’t expect to win.

“I feel like we did a good job putting them behind the chains. We’ve just got to find a way to get off the field.”