RECAP: No.6 Vols’ defense paves way for No. 14 Oklahoma’s first loss, Sooner rather than later

The Vols got it done tonight.

With Saturday’s win, the Vols beat their first top-15 opponent on the road since 2006, and while folks keep wanting this team to be like the 2022 team, this game really showed that the defense is capable of being the backbone of the squad.

The Sooners put up 102 yards in the first quarter, -20 in the second and 16 in the third. By that point, the contest was in hand, and OU had changed to its backup QB.

Oklahoma outgained the Vols 125-ish yards to fewer than 50 in the fourth quarter as the Vols basically let the air out of the from the eight-minute mark on. Sooners’ backup Michael Hawkins, Jr., showed some moxie, but it was too little, too late. With the defense playing well, issues on the offensive line, I can see why Heupel got conservative at the end and dialed back the offense.

The Volunteer defense combined for 11 TFLs, an interception, four QB hurries, four PBUs, two forced fumbles and the second safety of the season. 10 different Vols had TFLs, with Jayson Jenkins and Jaxon Moi each notching more than one TFL. Tyre West had his team-leading second sack and added three tackles and a TFL. DB Jermod McCoy had three tackles, a PBU and an interception, while Arion Carter led the way with six tackles, a TFL and a PBU.

To start the game, the Vols deferred, but both opening drives yielded nothing. The Sooners accumulated 13 yards before failing to convert a fourth down near midfield. On the Vols’ first drive, Nico went 1-1 for no yards while the only positive play was a second down scramble. UT couldn’t convert the third-and-short.

OU’s second drive began with a Jackson Arnold rush for minus-two yards which Tyre West followed with his aforementioned, team-leading second sack for minus four yards.

The Sooner defense was all over the Vols’ short game, negating UT’s screen game and ground game.

The Vols’ defense struck first on Oklahoma’s third drive. Arnold completed the first throw of the drive, then the Sooners busted out an 11-yard rush. OU looked to be getting in a rhythm before McCoy baited Arnold into an interception at the 33 that he returned to near midfield for UT.

Tennessee’s run game continued to look well contained – five runs for five yards before Nico hit Bru for a 38-yard gain. The ball traveled a good way through the air but he finished it off by dipping and dodging two or three defenders that put the Vols at the 10-yard line. Three plays later, with a two-yard gain on the ground in the middle, Tennessee walks away with three points.

Through three drives, the Vols have started at the 50-yard line twice, the OU 43-yard line once but managed just a field goal despite the repeated good field position.

After the FG, the Sooners ran the ball once inside for two yards then bounced a run outside for a 17-yard chunk play. To this point, the Sooners have had success getting the ball outside the tackles.

The Sooners ran 10 plays, had one incomplete pass, four runs for 4-plus yards, one pass that went for 11 yards, a Ricky GIbson pass interference, but the defense held OU to a couple incomplete passes that led to a field goal.

The Vols didn’t wait long – Andrej Karic was called for a false start to begin the drive, and then Iamaleava completed a 14-yard pass to Squirrel White before throwing an absolute strike to Dont’e Thornton, Jr., for an 66-yards to put a Volunteer TD on the board. Thornton had single coverage on the far side, beat his man by a couple steps and Nico led him perfectly to catch the ball without missing a step.

UT got the ball back, but Tennessee picked up another penalty – its fifth for 36 yards in just more than one quarter off the clock. Two plays later, Dayne Davis, who stepped at left tackle for the injured Lance Heard on Nico’s blindside, got beat off the snap and Iamaleava got strip-sacked for a recovery at UT’s five-yard line.

Fortuitously, Jackson Arnold was sacked and Joshua Josephs forced and recovered the fumble. De’Sean Bishop got three-straight runs for a combined 16 yards to get Tennessee outside its own endzone, and Nico hit Thornton for a seven-yard look before another Bishop run for 12 yards and a first down. Iamaleava took his second sack of the game – looked like he just held the ball too long – to put the Vols at 2nd-and-12 at their own 39-yard line.

An incomplete pass to Brazzell and a blown-up screen play forced a Ross punt that went 57 yards and stopped on a dime at the Sooner four-yard line.

After a first-down false start, Jayson Jenkins blew up the near side of the field and stopped the Sooners inside their goal line for the Vols’ second safety of the season. The Vols ran two run plays for five yards, attempted a pass that Nico ended up scrambling for no gain and gave it to Bishop on third-and-five where he ended up two yards short of a first down.

OU didn’t do anything with its possession, but after two negligible offensive plays, Nico got sacked and fumbled the ball for the second time. But then Arnold threw a pass to the sidelines which the officials called a backward pass that Tennessee recovered. This was the second time that the two teams fumbled the ball to the other team on consecutive plays.

The Vols started another drive in OU territory – the third time since the game started – and Sampson went for no gain on the first play but picked up eight and 10 on the next two plays, which was the first time he’d found any daylight through the Oklahoma defense. On third-and-five, the Vols executed a well-called speed option to the short side of the field where Nico read the end and pitched to Sampson for a six-yard gain to put the Vols inside the red zone with two minutes left before halftime.

A 16-yard gain from Sampson set up a one-yard touchdown run to put the Vols up 19-3. UT ran eight plays, all runs, for 46 yards and Tennessee’s first rushing TD for the game.

After Arnold led the offense to just 82 total yards, going just 7-16 for 54 yards with an interception, a safety, two fumbles and 1-7 on third downs, Sooners’ Head Coach Brent Venables benched Arnold in favor of former three-star prospect and backup QB Michael Hawkins Jr.

Tennessee’s defense kept OU’s offense to zero pass plays of 15-yards or longer and gave up just two runs of 10-plus yards. Through the first two periods, the Vols’ defense had one sack, six TFLs, one interception, two PBUs, one QB hurry, two forced fumbles and the second safety this season. The Sooners put up -19 yards in the second quarter.

On the other side of the spectrum, Oklahoma’s defense was playing fast and aggressive early, but Nico went 8-11 for 126 yards and one touchdown. The bulk of Iamaleava’s yards came on the 66-yard dime to Thornton, Jr., and a 38-yard throw-and-catch to McCoy. As the half wore on, Sampson had rushes of 10 yards, 16 yards and then Bishop’s 12-yard run.

Tennessee got the ball after the break, picked up two first downs, then completed a 50-yard pass to Thornton, Jr., but the play got called back due to a holding penalty that killed the drive. That was the Vols’ sixth penalty of the game and in totality cost UT 46 yards. It put the offense in a second-and-24 from which it couldn’t recover. A 50-yard Jackson Ross punt gave the Sooners the ball at their own 17.

The Sooners went three-and-out, and the Vols responded with a six-yard, first-down run that set up a 42-yard bomb to McCoy down the near sideline.

Bishop got three carries but got just five total yards, and Tennessee sent out Max Gilbert for his second FG, this one right down the middle from 41 yards. 22-3 with six-ish minutes left in the third quarter.

Neither team added any points in the rest of the third quarter – but on the broadcast, Kirk Herbstreit tossed out an impressive stat: On 23 Oklahoma run plays, Tennessee’s defense made contact at or behind the line of scrimmage 16 times. The Vols ended OU’s last possession of the third with its second sack of the game, led by Jenkins with a number of defenders behind the line.

A fourth-quarter, 12-yard scramble by Hawkins, Jr., put the Sooners at the half-yard line, and two plays later, the young QB tossed a ball into the flat for a TD, which broke Tennessee’s nation-leading 16-straight quarters without allowing an offensive touchdown. The true freshman orchestrated a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive that definitely put some wind in the Oklahoma sails.

WIth a 22-9 lead in hand and fewer than nine minutes left, UT ran once for one yard, threw a pass that got called back on a penalty and then ran it up the middle again on third-and-14, seemingly content to keep this one in the hands of the defense.

Hawkins, Jr., led the Sooners on one more scoring drive in the fourth while OU outgained Tennessee 124-48 in yards and outscored UT 12-3. But for the game, the Vols racked up 345 yards of offense to OU’s 222. Nico finished his day 13-21 with 194 yards and the one TD while completing passes to six different receivers. Sampson had his first sub-100 yard game with 24 carries for 94 yards and one score, while Bishops seems to have slid into the RB2 spot with 16 carries for 65 yards.

Tennessee goes into the bye week at 4-0 with a top-15 win under its belt. The one glaring concern from Saturday was the offensive line, which most knew could be an issue if injuries come into play. When Dayne Davis is the primary backup at LT, RT and C, the Vols need to hope for good injury luck or figure out what to do with the second-string offensive line.