Position-by-Position Report Card for Oklahoma vs. Tennessee

After a rough first half, Oklahoma’s offense woke up in the second.

Luckily for the Sooners, the defense and kicker Tate Sandell did enough in the first half to give the Sooners a chance.

After managing just 99 yards in the first half, the Sooners had 252 yards in the second as No. 18 Oklahoma pulled off a wild 33-27 win over 14th-ranked Tennessee on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Here’s a position-by-position report card after the Sooners’ win:

Quarterback: B+

The first half was mostly forgettable for John Mateer.

But early in the second, there was a glimpse that maybe something was different for the Sooners’ quarterback than in his first three games since returning from thumb surgery: On second-and-8 from the OU 22, Mateer broke free for a 22-yard run.

Mateer had rushed for just 36 yards in losses to Texas and Ole Miss and a win over South Carolina since his return.

Mateer was 7-of-13 for 44 yards in the first half.

In the second half, though, the difference was evident from the start.

He ultimately completed 12-of-16 passes after the break, including nine consecutive completions, before throwing an interception off a teammate's hands with 4:18 remaining.

Mateer finished with 159 yards passing and a season-high 80 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Running Backs: B

Xavier Robinson was excellent once again, finishing with a career-high 115 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

Robinson was a bit slow to get going, but broke free for what looked to be a big 14-yard gain to put the Sooners at the Tennessee 10 midway through the third.

But Robinson coughed the football up at the end, giving the Volunteers possession.

He made up for it.

The sophomore ran for a 4-yard touchdown on Oklahoma’s next drive to put the Sooners up 23-16, made a tackle on Mateer’s interception late, then broke free for what looked to be a game-clinching touchdown.

But drawing memories of Samaje Perine’s kneel down in Bedlam 2016, Robinson pulled up just short of the goal line.

With the Sooners up by two, and Tennessee having timeouts available, the move was a questionable one and Mateer raced into the end zone on the next play. But Robinson’s 43-yard run still proved to be crucial.

The only other back to get a carry Saturday was Tory Blaylock, who was stopped for no gain on his lone carry.

Xavier Robinson, Sooners — Oklahoma Sooners running back Xavier Robinson (24) runs the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Neyland Stadium. | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B-

After making more of an effort to stretch the field last week vs. Ole Miss, the Sooners had just one completion of 15 or more yards against Tennessee.

Isaiah Sategna led the way once again with six catches for 68 yards, while Deion Burks had six catches for 45 yards.

With Keontez Lewis out for the third consecutive game, Jer’Michael Carter finally got involved in the offense.

He had two catches for 21 yards after entering the game with just one catch for a 2-yard loss.

Offensive Line: B+

After having success in the running game last week when Eddy Pierre-Louis came in at left guard in place of Heath Ozaeta, the Sooners stuck with that lineup — Michael Fasusi at left tackle, Pierre-Louis at left guard, Jake Maikkula at center, Febechi Nwaiwu at right guard, and Ryan Fodje at right tackle.

Pierre-Louis and Fodje were called for false starts but neither proved particularly costly.

The group mostly kept Mateer clean against a Tennessee defense that came in among the nation’s leader in sacks. Mateer was sacked three times.

Oklahoma’ 192 rushing yards were its second-most of the season behind the 228 the Sooners had against Temple.

Defensive Line: A-

It was very early, but things were starting to look bleak for the Sooners.

With OU already down 7-0, Tennessee drove into OU territory and the Sooners’ penalty problems showed once again, as defensive tackle David Stone was flagged for roughing the passer, giving the Vols the ball at the OU 24.

But then OU’s defensive line made its biggest play in quite awhile.

Tennessee tight end Miles Kitselman still had R Mason Thomas blocked when linebacker Owen Heinecke popped the ball free from Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar.

Something as simple as a block wasn’t slowing Thomas down.

He reached down, scooped the ball up one handed and started his trek downfield.

Kitselman was along for the ride for nearly 25 yards of Thomas’ OU-record 71-yard fumble return to tie up the game.

The play was a costly one, as Thomas sustained a hamstring injury on the play and did not return, but despite nearly stepping out of bounds after he started limping, and almost needing some assistance from teammates to make it across the goal line, Thomas found the end zone to turn the momentum back OU’s way.

Thomas and Danny Okoye had sacks for the Sooners, while Gracen Halton teamed up for another.

Adepoju Adebawore also added a big tackle for loss late.

Linebackers: A-

With Kobie McKinzie on the shelf, sitting out after being listed going into the game as a game-time decision, Owen Heinecke made his first career start.

The former walk-on came off the edge to get to Aguilar and force a fumble leading to Thomas’ touchdown early, but that was far from the only impact the redshirt junior had.

After having a career-high eight tackles last week, Heinecke shattered that with 13 Saturday, five of them solo and 12 in the first half.

Kip Lewis added 10 tackles, broke up a pass and had a quarterback hurry.

The group also played a big role in the Sooners’ big shift in third-down success in the second half.

After Tennessee was 6-of-8 on third down inthe first half, the Sooners held the Vols to just 1-of-5 on third down after halftime and also added a fourth-down stop.

Defensive Backs: B-

The Sooners gave up 393 passing yards and three touchdowns to Tennessee.

Freshman cornerback Courtland Guillory was twice called for pass interference, but showed his resilience by immediately breaking up a pass on the first play after his first penalty.

The safeties struggled last week but both Robert Spears-Jennings and Peyton Bowen had first-half interceptions that both set up field goals.

Special Teams: A+

Despite being outgained 255-99 in the first half, Oklahoma led 16-10 at the break.

Sandell was a big reason why.

The UTSA transfer hit three first-half field goals, keeping his remarkable streak alive.

Then in the second half, Sandell nailed another, a 55-yarder to tie the program record for most field goals in a game.

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

Three of Sandell’s field goals Saturday were 51 or more yards.

The only other OU kicker to make three field goals that long in a game was Gabe Brkic against Tulane in 2021.

There weren’t a lot of key special teams moments in the game, but punter Grayson Miller did make one early after the snap hit the ground.

Miller kept his cool, picked the ball up and got the kick away to avoid what could’ve been a disastrous play.