Live Updates From Oklahoma's Return to Neyland Stadium to Battle Tennessee

KNOXVILLE — Sooners On SI offers real-time observations from Neyland Stadium throughout Saturday’s matchup between No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 14 Tennessee. Just keep your browser open and refresh often.

11:05 fourth quarter

Tate Sandell continues to be one of OU’s most valuable players.

Sandell’s 55-yard field goal with 11:05 remaining was his fourth of the game, tying an OU record with plenty of time remaining in the game to get another chance.

Sandell made field goals of 55, 51 and 40 yards in the first half.

The fourth field goal was a bit one, giving his team a two-possession lead.

Sandell’s four field goals are the 15th time in OU history a kicker has accomplished the feat.

The most recent was Gabe Brkic against Texas in 2021.

After missing his first attempt of the season, Sandell has now made 18 consecutive tries.

—Aber

11:05 Fourth Quarter

In arguably the most important play of the game so far, a third-and-7 from the Tennessee 30, Mateer is sacked for a loss of 7. That makes Sandell’s field goal attempt a 55-yarder. Mateer bumped into Ryan Fodje on his way to the sack.

But Sandell smashes the 55-yarder. Wow. Not sure I’ve ever seen a guy hit four 50-yarders in a college game before. Holy cow.

That one cleared the crossbar literally by 2 inches. Goodness.

— Hoover

FOURTH QUARTER

Third quarter stats:

4:51 Third Quarter

It was Tennessee, not Oklahoma, that was flagged on special teams.

A false start almost allowed OU to block a punt. The Sooners will take over on their 48-yard line following Sategna’s fair catch.

Will the offense be able to build on last drive’s pre-fumble gains? Has to support the defense here and reward the stop with at least a field goal.

— Chapman

5:30 Third Quarter

PJ Adebawore pulled down Joey Aguilar on third down and the defense held Tennessee to three-and-out following the fumble.

— Chapman

6:47 Third Quarter

Xavier Robinson breaks a 14-yard run, then fumbles at the end of the run and Tennessee recovers at the UT 10-yard line. Fumble forced by Idriss Farooq — former OU receiver Jalil Farooq’s cousin.

6:47 Third Quarter

Oklahoma’s best drive of the game ends in a fumble.

Xavier Robinson bounced the play back to the middle of the field after running through an arm tackle, but the ball popped out and Tennessee recovered on its own 10-yard line.

At the worst, OU was going to set Sandell up to take the lead back.

Brutal turn of events.

— Chapman

7:56 Third Quarter

Oklahoma went to a five-receiver, no-back formation there but the play clock was winding down and had to burn their first timeout of the second half.

— Hoover

9:56 Third Quarter

Mateer salvages a rough start to the first half with a 21-yard scramble on third-and-16.

Great recognition by Robinson to see his quarterback was coming and get into blocking mode. He helped open up a big lane for Mateer to run through downfield.

— Chapman

11:52 Third Quarter

That’s some shabby defensive play in the OU secondary there on third-and-8.

Peyton Bowen missed coverage on an out throw to Staley, and Guillory comes in and bounces off Staley as he spins away. Then he jukes past Robert Spears-Jennings and it’s a 54-yard touchdown pass for Tennessee. Probably should have been a 6-yard gain and fourth down coming up.

Instead, Vols lead 17-16.

— Hoover

11:52 Third Quarter

Courtland Guillory went for a kill shot, and instead Braylon Staley spun out and put the Volunteers back on top with a 54-yard touchdown.

Guillory read it and broke on the play quickly, but you just have to tackle there. Vols now up 17-16.

— Chapman

12:36 Third Quarter

Aguilar with another perfect throw on second down, this one to Brazzell for 27 yards. Guillory was on the coverage, but looked like he collided with Peyton Bowen on the tackle attempt.

— Hoover

13:45 Third Quarter

A drive that started with some promise stalls after Mateer almost throws an interception into the line, and then he drifts into a sack.

No attempt to run with Xavier Robinson at all. Odd.

Tennessee will take over at its own 16.

— Chapman

13:49 Third Quarter

Not ideal at all. With a chance to add to its unlikely lead, Oklahoma goes five-and-out, finished off by a Tennessee sack.

— Hoover

Halftime

A note from OU stats guru Mike Brooks:

Tate Sandell is one field goal away from matching Gabe Brkic’s school record of 18-straight field goal makes.

Feels like he’ll have a few more chances tonight.

— Chapman

Halftime

Sandell drills a 40-yard field goal as the first half expires.

No. 18 Sooners are getting blown out statistically, but they lead No. 14 Tennessee 16-10 at the half.

— Hoover

Halftime Stats

Yes, the Sooners are getting lapped in the yardage and a million other stats.

But the Sooner defense has three takeaways, and Owen Heinecke has 12 tackles, a forced fumble and a sack in the first half as he replaces starting middle linebacker Kobie McKinzie.

Amazing day for the former walk-on and one-time lacrosse player, and finally, some impact plays from the OU defense.

— Hoover

0:16 Second Quarter

Aguilar has done it again as he overthrows a receiver in the middle of the field and Robert Spears-Jennings picks him off and then returns it 37 yards.

OU has the football at the Tennessee 28.

What is happening.

— Hoover

0:16 Second Quarter

Another interception!

Aguilar’s air mail lands in the hands of Robert Spears-Jennings, and after the return, the Sooners have the ball at the 27-yard line.

OU entered the week having forced four turnovers total, and it has three in the first half!

— Chapman

1:08 Second Quarter

Sooners can’t keep the drive going, bringing on Sandell for a 51-yard field goal — and it’s good.

OU leads it 13-10.

Didn’t clear the bar by much, but what a weapon this kid is.

— Hoover

1:14 Second Quarter

Tate Sandell drills a 51-yard kick.

MVP!

— Chapman

2:00 Second Quarter

Nice pickup as Mateer escapes and finally hits a tough throw — feels like a month since he’s done that — to Isaiah Sategna for a 13-yard gain on third-and-3.

Tory Blaylock no gain, and we’re at the 2-minute timeout

— Hoover

2:00 Second Quarter

Fascinating decision ahead for Ben Arbuckle.

The Sooners haven’t truly gotten anything going in the passing game, but do you take a deep shot?

Tennessee has all its timeouts, so if you play it conservatively, the Vols will have a chance to get the ball back with time anyway.

But if you opt for something over the middle of the field, you’re two first downs away from running out the clock in the first half.

I’d take the shot, but I’m also cozy on press row and not making the big bucks to actually make these decisions.

— Chapman

3:23 Second Quarter

Great stat by Kirk Herbstreit: OU has 74 yards on offense and 108 yards on defense — from a fumble return and an interception return.

— Hoover

3:23 Second Quarter

Another Vol is down, this one on defense. Fourth one this quarter. Defensive lineman Tyre West wasn't around moving much, but he's up now and walking with help to the Tennessee sideline. Caught some friendly fire from a helmet collision with a teammate.

— Hoover

3:41 Second Quarter

Another bad break for the OU defense as Sammy Omosigho grabs a facemask on a 2-yard pass, and the Vols are nearing the red zone.

Peyton Bowen, however, picks off an Aguilar pass at the goal line. Eli Bowen was in coverage on the receiver.

Wild.

— Hoover

5:49 Second Quarter

Timeout on the field as the Vols are now dealing with TWO injured players.

Last drive, right tackle David Sanders got rolled up from behind and suffered an injury to his right ankle.

This drive, the backup right tackle was hurt at the line, while wideout Mike Matthews was injured up the field.

Sanders is a true freshman making his second start after replacing Jesse Perry.

— Hoover

5:49 Second Quarter

The SEC just gave us a quick preview into what it will be like to hear the control room throughout reviews ACC-style.

Despite multiple reminders from his crew, the referee left his stadium microphone on throughout the entire video review.

— Chapman

7:36 Second Quarter

Bang! Tate Sandell boots a 55-yard field goal and the Sooners and Vols are tied at 10-10. That kid can kick, and he just set an OU record with his 10th field goal of 40 yards or more. It was also his 15th in a row. That was also tied for the longest FG in Neyland Stadium history. It was also his third 55-yarder of the season.

— Hoover

10:16 Second Quarter

Nice play design there to run Xavier Robinson in motion and then fake a throw to him, because the middle linebacker flew out to cover him and there was nobody in the middle of the field, giving Mateer room to pick up 22 yard.

— Hoover

10:05 Second Quarter

Even if this drive ends with no points, this is a major win for Oklahoma.

The offense will finally be able to hold onto the ball for a few minutes, barring a catastrophic turnover, to give the defense a chance to breathe and make adjustments.

— Chapman

11:14 Second Quarter

Big win there for the Oklahoma defense. After another great drive by the Vols — 12 plays, 61 yards — they force an incomplete pass on third down and Max Gilbert pulls a 37-yard field goal, just his third miss of the season.

Stats are one-sided — OU has 34 yards, Tennessee has 220, OU has two first down, UT has 13 — but it’s still just 10-7 Vols.

— Hoover

11:19 Second Quarter

Another minor victory for the OU defense to hold Tennessee to a field goal attempt.

It turned into a major win when the Vols pushed the 37-yard kick wide left.

Huge.

— Chapman

SECOND QUARTER

First quarter stats

1:06 First Quarter

More disorganization from the Sooners there as they sub Peyton Bowen on late for Elijah Thomas, and are flagged for 12 men on the field. Venables is livid at Thomas.

Grayson Miller then drops the snap but picks it up and still gets off a 40-yard punt.

— Hoover

1:52 First Quarter

Vol Nation rose up and caused a delay of game. OU thought they got the timeout, which would have been their second of the half. And now the official gives the Sooners their timeout.

OU down to one TO this half.

— Hoover

3:30 First Quarter

— Hoover

4:33 First Quarter

Two massive plays by Michael Boganowski there:

He and Heinecke drop Star Thomas for a 2-yard loss on first down, and then he sacks Aguilar on a blitz for an 8-yard loss on second and long. It’s third-and-20 coming up.

— Hoover

5:52 First Quarter

Chris Plank reports that R Mason Thomas is out of the injury tent and working on his right hamstring with medical personnel. Plank says “he seems to be frustrated” and is “not looking promising from this perspective” that he’ll be able to return to the game.

And now, d-tackle Gracen Halton has been helped off the field with some kind of injury to his right leg.

That would be a massive impact to this game if those two can’t go.

— Hoover

5:52 first quarter

R Mason Thomas' 71-yard fumble return is the longest in Sooners' history.

The previous longest was Nik Bonitto's 70-yarder against Kansas State in 2021.

While Owen Henecke helped make this big return happen, the previous second-longest fumble return came by his uncle, Cory Heinecke, against Air Force in 2001.

—Ryan Aber

8:01 First Quarter

Wow. What a play. Owen Heinecke blitzed and knocked the ball away from Aguilar, and it bounced into R Mason Thomas’ right arm. He then stiff armed TE Miles Kitselman for about 25 yards as he trudged down the sideline.

Then he almost stepped out of bounds inside the 20 (man, it was close) but made it to the end zone for a touchdown and a 71-yard fumble return. Then during the extra point, Josh Heupel was jumping up and down and screaming at the officials to review the near-out of bounds step by Thomas as the crowd roared its disapproval.

PAT was good and this thing is tied 7-7 and Thomas is still in the injury tent.

— Hoover

8:01 First Quarter

What a turn of events.

Heinecke hit Aguilar, and R Mason Thomas rumbled 71 yards for a touchdown.

The Sooners had just given up a crushing 40-yard gain on third-and-5 three plays prior.

Incredible turn of events to tie this ballgame up 7-7.

— Chapman

8:35 First Quarter

Aguilar with an absolute dime to Ethan Davis for a 40-yard completion down the right sideline, and then David Stone drops the hammer on Aguilar for a 15-yard penalty on the next play — an incomplete pass.

Aguilar already 4/6 for 99 yard with one TD.

— Hoover

9:04 First Quarter

Staley was about to catch a 25-yard completion over the middle and Peyton Bowen delivered a sledgehammer blow to the midsection and the ball is incomplete. Great shoulder to shoulder hit by Bowen, and Tennessee medical folks are tending to an injured Staley.

— Hoover

9:30 First Quarter

That third-down throw by John Mateer to Jaren Kanak was an instant replay of exactly what’s been haunting Mateer these last four games. He felt pressure that wasn’t there, started the happy-feet routine and then launched a jump-throw to Kanak that had no chance of being completed.

End zone replay showed that if he had set his feet and delivered a confident, on-time throw, Kanak was open and would have had a chance at an easy reception.

Mateer’s got to get that figure out ASAP.

— Hoover

9:35 First Quarter

Tennessee references the “Neyland Effect” on the video boards.

But the effect that was felt ahead of that third down was more PTSD.

The edit of Lil Jon’s “Turn Down for What” was back.

Third Down for What is BACK.

(And so are Oklahoma punts after a pair of puzzling throws by Mateer).

— Chapman

11:17 First Quarter

Oklahoma’s starters on offense:

Fasus - Pierre-Louis - Maikkula - Nwaiwu - Fodje

Gibson - Kanak - Burks - Sategna

Mateer - Robinson

— Chapman

11:17 First Quarter

That Tennessee drive was 9 plays, 75 yards. Big third-down stop was wiped out by a questionable pass interference penalty vs. OU, and a Vols touchdown was negated by a questionable illegal formation call vs. UT.

Sooners are gonna need a response.

— Hoover

11:17 First Quarter

The Sooners got a second chance after a touchdown was pulled off the board due to an illegal formation.

Three plays later, the Vols got into the end zone anyway.

Last week, the OU defense did an admirable job of making Ole Miss kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. Whiffed on the first chance tonight.

— Chapman

11:17 First Quarter

Geez, Brent Venables might need to burn another timeout. Tennessee is churning out yards in chunks. DeSean Bishop goes for 16 after a penalty wipes out a Vols touchdown, and Aguilar finds Braylon Staley for a 16-yard touchdown.

It’s the first time the year the Sooner D has given up a touchdown on the first drive.

Buckle up.

— Hoover

13:47 First Quarter

Bad break for OU. Third-and-long pass interference on Courtland Guillory on a ball that had no chance of being completed. Looked like Guillory initiated the content deep into the route and locked hands on the receiver just a bit. Probably more of a 50-50 call that goes either way. Then Tennessee lands another intermediate completion.

Now Brent Venables wants a timeout and burns No. 1 with 13:47 showing on the clock.

— Hoover

13:31 First Quarter

Unsure how Guillory got a pass interference flag there with the ball thrown miles over everyone’s head, but he almost made up for it with a circus interception.

Not sure about that timeout usage, but Oklahoma allowed a 37-yard catch-and-run out of it. What a waste.

— Chapman

15:00 First Quarter

Oklahoma’s starters on defense:

Thomas - Halton - D. Williams - Wein

Daniels - Kip Lewis - Heinecke

E. Bowen - P. Bowen - Spears-Jennings - Guillory

— Chapman

1 minute until kickoff

Well guys, tonight's head referee, Jason Autrey, had a YouTube video made about him called "The Worst Referee In College Football History." Have fun.

That nugget from OU sideline reporter Chris Plank.

2 minutes until kickoff

Neyland at night lives up to the billing.

— Hoover

The Vols put on an outstanding light show before the band marched, and now both teams are on their sidelines.

The Sooners won the toss and deferred to the second half.

Venables vs. Heupel up first.

— Chapman

30 minutes until kickoff

It appears Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke will start at linebacker for the Sooners.

— Chapman

39 minutes until kickoff

McKinzie is going through warmups still, but the body language does not look great.

He’s pulled himself from one or two stretching lines early and is still in discussions with an OU trainer.

It does not appear that he will play tonight.

— Chapman

42 minutes until kickoff

Oklahoma’s projected starting offensive line per warmups, from left to right:

Fasusi-Pierre-Louis-Maikkula-Nwiawu-Fodje

— Chapman

50 minutes until kickoff

Linebacker Kobie McKinzie was the second guy out of the tunnel to lead the defense onto the field. He immediately greeted the Tennessee student section before undergoing his warm-up.

We’ll wait and see until the linebackers get into their individual warmups to truly get a better idea of if he’ll play tonight, but this is a good start.

— Chapman

65 minutes until kickoff

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey spoke in the press box before the game. He re-inforced the SEC’s view that a 16-team College Football Playoff is preferred and that the conference just has to get an agreement from the Big Ten to move forward.

— Chapman

90 minutes until kickoff

No real shocks on the final availability report.

Linebacker Kobie McKinzie was listed as a game-time decision. He was initially upgraded to probable on Thursday’s availability report before getting downgraded again to questionable on Friday night.

Right tackle Derek Simmons was downgraded to out, but swing tackle Logan Howland is available.

Fans are starting to make their way into Neyland Stadium right now. Knoxville has been buzzing all day; it should be another fantastic atmosphere tonight.

— Chapman