All Sooners

Three Takeaways From Oklahoma's Massive Road Victory Over Tennessee

The No. 18 Sooners kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive by knocking off the No. 14 Volunteers on Saturday night.
Ryan Chapman|
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer rolls out to pass against Tennessee.
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer rolls out to pass against Tennessee. | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

KNOXVILLE — Somehow, Oklahoma survived. 

The Sooners were up nine with just over four minutes left in the game, and instead of running the ball, OU threw an interception. 

No. 14 Tennessee pulled within two points 1:56 remaining, but the Sooners recovered the onside kick and Xavier Robinson popped a big run.

That turn of events was preceded by OU taking a lead into the locker room despite getting outgained by 156 total yards in the first half. 

But Oklahoma’s defense held up.

The No. 18 Sooners forced three turnovers and kept the SEC’s most explosive offense out of the end zone time after time to notch a 33-27 win at Neyland Stadium. 

OU moved to 7-2 on the year and 3-2 in the SEC. Crucially, the Sooners’ College Football Playoff hopes are still alive ahead as Oklahoma heads into its final bye week. 

Here are three quick takeaways from Brent Venables’ massive road win over Josh Heupel.

Mayfield, Shepard and Sandell

Oklahoma made the most of its first trip to Neyland Stadium a decade ago. 

The win birthed the legend of Baker Mayfield, and players like Sterling Shepard added iconic plays that went straight into Sooner history. 

Tate Sandell penned his name into OU lore in the Sooners’ second trip to Neyland. 

Kickers across the country might adopt the short pants look after Sandell’s four field goals on Saturday. 

He knocked through two 55-yarders, a 51-yarder and a 40-yarder. 

Sandell’s now made all six of his attempts from 50 yards or longer this year, and he tied Gabe Brkic’s program record for most consecutive makes (18).

The only miss of the year for the OU kicker came on his first attempt against Michigan, and he’s been money ever since. 

OU’s offense merely had to cross midfield in the midst of its first-half struggles to put points on the board, and Sandell did enough to support the defense until Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer could find their groove.

Turnovers Equal Victory

Oklahoma’s defense has done virtually everything right except turn opponents over this year. 

It appears the Sooners might have just been saving all the takeaways up for Tennessee. 

R Mason Thomas was the beneficiary of a Joey Aguilar fumble that was forced by linebacker Owen Heinecke. The ball bounced right into the hands of Thomas, and he dragged Volunteer tight end Miles Kitselman 25 yards en route to a 71-yard scoop-and-score. 

Toward the end of the half, Peyton Bowen picked Aguilar off as the Volunteers were marching toward the end zone, then Robert Spears-Jennings picked off Aguilar again inside the two-minute timeout. 

The flurry of turnovers meant that OU took a 16-10 lead into halftime despite Tennessee’s offense outgaining the Sooners 255-99 in total yards across the first two quarters. 

A turnover by the offense even spurred the Oklahoma defense forward. 

Robinson had the ball punched out of his hands as the Sooner running back crossed into the red zone in the third quarter, but the OU defense bowed up to force its first punt of the day. 

Venables’ unit forced another three-and-out on the next possession, which allowed the Oklahoma offense to keep the Tennessee defense on the field for most of the third quarter — a complete role reversal from the first half. 

The Offensive Line Finds Its Groove

Arbuckle’s offense only ran 25 plays in the first half, but things changed after halftime. 

The Sooners shook off a poor first possession and got into a rhythm on the ground. 

Oklahoma rushed for 151 yards in the second half, out-gaining Tennessee by by 123 rushing yards after halftime.

Had it not been for the puzzling decision to throw on first down on the Volunteers’ 35-yard line deep in the fourth quarter, the offensive line would have had the opportunity to seal the game with a soul-sucking drive. 

Instead, Mateer threw the ball and it popped off Jer’Michael Carter and into the hands of Edwin Spillman to give Tennessee a second chance. 

Oklahoma survived the late push, but it appears to have found something with a pair of true freshmen and a redshirt freshman up front. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is co-publisher at Sooners On SI and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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