Two Oklahoma Players Earn SEC Weekly Honors After Notching Huge Win Over Tennessee

The Sooners had a pair of SEC Players of the Week following their 33-27 win at Neyland Stadium.

Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell kicks a field goal against Temple. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The recognition for Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell continues to roll in following his outstanding performance at Tennessee. 

He was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday. 

Sandell made all four of his field goal attempts in OU’s 33-27 win over Tennessee. 

He wasn’t the only Sooner honored, however. Linebacker Owen Heinecke was also named SEC Defensive Player of the Week. 

Heinecke made a team-high 13 tackles in his first career start, and his forced fumble was scooped up by R Mason Thomas and returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. 

Heinecke now has 45 tackles and 7.0 tackles for loss in 2025. 

Sandell made two 55-yard field goals, and also nailed a kick from 51 yards and a kick from 40 yards. 

Sandell tied the record for the longest field goal made at Neyland Stadium with his first 55-yard field goal, which was just the start of a record night. 

He tied an FBS record by making three field goals of at least 50 yards (former OU kicker Gabe Brkic also tied that record against Tulane in 2021). Sandell’s four made field goals tied a school record, and his streak of 18 consecutive made field goals also ties a school record that is held by Brkic. 

Sandell has made 12 field goals from 40 yards or more this season, which is a program record, and he is 6-for-6 from more than 50-plus yards this season, which is a single-season school record. 

“Tate Sandell, man, probably the MVP,” OU coach Brent Venables said after the win. “He was an absolute animal.” 

Heinecke and Sandell were the seventh and eighth Sooners to earn an SEC weekly award this season.

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Read More Oklahoma Football

• Tate Sandell's Record Day Helped Oklahoma Stay Afloat at Tennessee
• Oklahoma Overcame Slow Start to Deliver the Signature Win of the Venables Era
• 'When's Enough Gonna Be Enough?' What Brent Venables Said in His Postgame Radio Interview

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No. 11 Oklahoma now sits idle after notching the huge road victory. 

OU will have time to heal up and it will get an extra week to prepare for No. 4 Alabama. 

The Crimson Tide hosts LSU this week in the Tigers’ first contest since firing coach Brian Kelly. 

By the time the Sooners head to Tuscaloosa, they’ll have a great idea of where they stand in the eyes of the College Football Playoff Committee. 

The first CFP rankings will be revealed on Tuesday at 7 p.m.