Tennessee players talk Oklahoma win
Tennessee got a 25-15 win over Oklahoma in Norman tonight, but it wasn’t the high-flying, offensive high-wire act we’ve come to expect from Josh Heupel’s troops. Nope, this was a defensive thrashing the likes of which the Vols haven’t put on a quality opponent in years.
Oklahoma had benched starting quarterback Jackson Arnold before halftime following his 7-of-16 effort that including an interception, a lost fumble and a backwards lateral that Tennessee recovered.
The Sooners managed just 36 yards rushing on the night and didn’t find the end zone until back-up quarterback Michael Hawkins directed a pair of scoring drives late in the fourth quarter with the outcome all but salted away.
Oklahoma was just 3-for-15 on third down and starting tailback Javontae Barnes had a long run of 17 yards on the night, but finished with 12 rushing yards on eight carries because of all the negative plays generated by the defense.
Tennessee recorded 11 tackles for loss and had three quarterback sacks. The Vols were credited with four quarterback hurries, but the real number seemed to be at least twice that.
Offensively the Vols found it tough sledding on the ground against a solid Oklahoma defense.
Tennessee finished the night with 151 rushing yards, but it took 52 carries to get there. Those 52 rushing attempts were a reflection of just how bottled up the Oklahoma offense was.
Heupel didn’t take many chances on offense tonight simply because he didn’t have to.
Nico Iamaleava was just 13-of-21 on the night, but those 13 completions accounted for 194 yards. He had four completions of 35+ yards on the night, including a 66-yard touchdown to Donte’ Thornton that was the first touchdown of the game.
Dylan Sampson carried 24 times for 92 hard-earned yards. DeSean Bishop had 16 carries for 65 yards.
The Vols’ longest rush of the night was a 17 yard tote from Bishop.
Redshirt freshman kicker Max Gilbert was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals tonight with a long of 41.
Jackson Ross had attempted just two punts in the Vols first three games, but he got a workout against the Sooners.
Ross punted eight times for a 48.4 yard average with a long of 57 yards. He had a punt in the second quarter that pinned Oklahoma on its own four yard line. That placement led to a safety for the defense on the ensuing series that put the Vols up 12-3.
