ATLANTA – Some storybooks don’t have the happy endings. Scripts written to perfection have an unfulfilling final chapter.

For an Oklahoma defense that had improved so much, you’re not supposed to allow 692 yards. For quarterback Jalen Hurts, you’re not supposed to be down by 35 points at halftime.

But supposed to be’s really don’t matter much. Because what was ended up being another letdown performance by the Sooners in the college football playoff. This time around, a 63-28 loss to No. 1-ranked LSU in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday evening at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

LSU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow threw for 493 yards and accounted for eight total touchdowns to help the Tigers improve to 14-0.

“It's a disappointing locker room right now,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “What can you say? I thought the game, we traded blows early. They went on the run there at the end of the first half. We got a little frantic and just didn't play our best.

“And give them credit. They certainly made plays, but we gave them a lot of plays with our mistakes. It's probably the most disappointing – most disappointing there at the end of the half. And, obviously, they made the big run and got some separation.”

All week long, the national perception was LSU was gonna rout OU. During media day, certain Tiger players started mouthing off about how dominant they knew they were going to be.

At least on the only night that mattered, they were correct. Because after OU scored on a Kennedy Brooks touchdown run midway through the first quarter to make it 7-7, LSU took over and scored the next 28 points.

This wouldn’t be Waco, though. There would be no epic comeback. No adding to the legend of Hurts. He finished 15 of 31 passing for 217 yards with an interception and two rushing touchdowns.

“It's hard to just sit here and reflect on four years, a whole year with my brothers this year, all of that right now,” Hurts said. “It hurts me. You talk about how much it means to you and the team. It's supposed to hurt. This is not a good feeling. This is a feeling I've never felt before.

“It hurts me in my heart, you know. When I decided to come to this school, I told Coach Riley, I'm going to go win you a National Championship, and I failed to do that.”

It was already a huge uphill battle going against the No. 1-ranked offense in the country, but things took a turn for the worse well before kickoff.

Defensive end Ronnie Perkins was suspended for the game. Starting safety Delarrin Turner-Yell broke his collarbone last week. And with OU trailing 21-7 early in the second quarter, the big blow felt like when Brendan Radley-Hiles was called for targeting and was ejected.

LSU would score again to make it 28-7, and the Sooners were forced to rely on Woodi Washington and Justin Broiles in crucial situations. It just didn’t pan out.

“You get into the excuse business… you’re judged by results,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. “We didn’t get the results, regardless of the personnel and all those things. We’ve absorbed a lot of personnel things over the year. We had to do a better job tonight as coaches.”

What surprised Grinch the most he said was his group’s inability to bounce back. So many times, the defense had been punched but delivered its own shot back. The resiliency wasn’t there. The composure was lost, and Grinch said he wasn’t sure if his group ever did get it back from the second quarter to the end of the game.

It’s obviously an incredibly sobering way to end the season for the Sooners. A fourth berth in the college football playoffs is obviously an accomplishment. Winning the Big 12 for the fifth consecutive season is something to be proud about.

But the hump? The hump is still there. At least for another year.

“We're continuing to make strides. There's no doubt about it,” Riley said. “I mean, just putting yourself here four times in five years is -- I mean, that's so hard to do, man. I mean, it's so hard to do. So I think we've made some great improvements with the program. I'm excited about where we're heading defensively. I think we've just scratched the surface about how good we can get on that side.

“This program has championship DNA. We kind of find a way, and we'll be back.”