How It Happened: No. 6 Tennessee 25, No. 15 Oklahoma 15
NORMAN, Okla. — Nico Iamaleava completed 13 of 21 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown, No. 6 Tennessee rushed for 151 yards and another score and the Vols played lock-down defense in a 25-15 win at No. 15 Oklahoma Saturday night, giving Josh Heupel a happy homecoming at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Here’s how it happened, as it happened:
First Quarter
Tennessee 3, Oklahoma 0 (3:45): Max Gilbert kicked a 27-yard field goal to open the scoring. Nico Iamaleava hit Bru McCoy on a slant on second down and McCoy did the rest, turning it into a 38-yard catch-and-run to set the Vols up with first-and-goal at the Oklahoma 10. DeSean Bishop was stopped for a short gain on first down, Iamaleava threw incomplete on second down and was stopped for a loss of one on third down.
Tennessee 3, Oklahoma 3 (0:33): Oklahoma matched the Tennessee field goal late in the first quarter, with the Vols getting a stop on third-and-short to stall the Sooner drive. Oklahoma went 55 yards in 10 plays before kicking a 37-yard field goal.
Tennessee 10, Oklahoma 3 (0:03): The Vols needed two plays to answer. Iamaleava threw a 66-yard touchdown to Dont’e Thornton, completing the pass on a post route with Thornton running away from the Sooner secondary to give Tennessee the lead on the game’s first touchdown. The two-play drive covered 77 yards in 30 seconds.
Second Quarter
Tennessee 12, Oklahoma 3 (9:12): Tennessee pinned Oklahoma on its own 4-yard line with a punt and the Sooners jumped offsides before first down. That’s all the Vols needed for Jayson Jenkins to make a tackle the end zone for a safety.
Tennessee 19, Oklahoma 3 (1:40): Tennessee took advantage of another turnover and another short field with Dylan Sampson rushing for a 1-yard touchdown. The drive started at the Oklahoma 46 after the Sooners fumbled on what was ruled as a backward pass. The drive covered the 46 yards on eight plays, taking 3:47 off the second-quarter clock.
Third Quarter
Tennessee 22, Oklahoma 3 (6:03): The Vols opened the scoring in the second half with a 41-yard field goal from Max Gilbert. The bulk of the six-play, 53-yard scoring drive was a 42-yard connection between Nico Iamaleava and Bru McCoy, with McCoy extending his arms and tumbling down as he caught the deep ball after running it down.
Fourth Quarter
Tennessee 22, Oklahoma 9 (8:25): Oklahoma finally got in the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. to Jovante Barnes. It was the first touchdown scored against the Tennessee defense since the fourth quarter of last season’s Vanderbilt game on November 25. Tennessee went 19 straight quarters without allowing a touchdown before the Sooners scored.
Tennessee 25, Oklahoma 15 (1:09): Javontae Barnes scored on a 1-yard run to cap the final scoring drive, which went 75 yards over nine plays. Tennessee stopped the Oklahoma two-point attempt and recovered the ensuing onside kick.
