Game Recap: Tennessee

Well, it had to happen at some point. In a season in which Oklahoma had to face Tennessee, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU, there's no way we could've gone through that undefeated. And last night, despite the play of their defense, the Sooners had their first loss of the season. Let's discuss what happened. Also, sorry for the delayed post. This was tough to write about.

1st Quarter

The first quarter was the most deceptive quarter of the game offensively. We ran the ball at will and gained 101 yards of total offense. Jackson Arnold threw a terrible pass that was intercepted, but they also led the offense down the field to tie the game with a field goal. Combine that with the play of the defense; it was looking like we had a good shot to win this game. Unfortunately, early injuries began to pile up. We needed all the help we could get against Tennessee, and we started losing the players making the most significant impact. Before he could catch a pass, Nic Anderson re-aggravated his leg injury. Taylor Tatum's injury kept him out for the rest of the game. Deion Burks had an injury that slowed his production before he was pulled for the rest of the game. We needed all the help we could get offensively and lost too much. One other area that fooled us was the offensive line. They didn't look great in the first quarter, but they certainly didn't look bad. That would change as the game progressed.

The Sooners' defense started strong, forcing Tennessee to a three-and-out on their opening drive. They also managed to limit the damage from Nico Iamaleava's 38-yard pass to Bru McCoy, with Kani Walker nearly securing an end zone interception on an ensuing play. The defense helped keep the game tied 3-3 until the end of the quarter, when Dont’e Thornton hauled in a 66-yard score in a rare bust for OU’s defense.

Score at the end of this quarter: 10-3 Tennessee

2nd Quarter

The offense completely collapsed in the second quarter. If you're looking for one specific reason we lost this game, the complete lack of an offense in the second quarter is your winner. The offensive line fell apart. We lost the ability to run the ball, and Jackson Arnold had absolutely no time to throw. Evidence of the collapse of the run game showed when we had the ball at our two-yard line, and Jovantae Barnes was mauled in the end zone for a safety. On top of this, Jackson Arnold could not hold onto the ball. After we forced a fumble that we recovered inside the ten-yard line, he kept the ball on a fake pitch and ran up the middle. He fumbled the ball on that play, and Tennessee recovered. A few drives later, he missed a wide receiver screen for the second time in the game. The problem with this one is that he threw the ball backward, making it a fumble recovery for Tennessee. Eventually, for obvious reasons, he was pulled. Michael Hawkins Jr. came in at quarterback and did everything he could to salvage the offense and end the half, but it was too little too late. We ended the second quarter with -22 yards of offense.

In the second quarter, the defense made some key plays, including Robert Spears-Jennings stripping Iamaleava on third down, and Ethan Downs recovering the fumble at the 5-yard line. The defense also forced another turnover, courtesy of Trace Ford and Gracen Halton. Neither one amounted to anything though, with both turnovers being immediately negated by the offense in similar fashion. They ultimately scored a couple more before the half was up, rounding out a 19-3 halftime deficit for the Sooners.

Score at the end of this quarter: 19-3 Tennessee

3rd Quarter

We were officially in panic mode. Our offensive line had collapsed. Our WRs were dropping like flies. We had to throw in the backup QB. We had only two first downs in the entire third quarter. Given that it was a two-score game at halftime, our defense did everything possible to allow our offense to succeed. They couldn't figure it out. Gavin Sawchuk was once again shut down (on his two carries). Michael Hawkins was still getting the hang of running the offense. There just isn't much good to discuss from the third quarter.

The third quarter saw the defense continue to stiffen, holding Tennessee’s run-heavy offense to nothing more than a field goal.

Score at the end of this quarter: 22-3 Tennessee

4th Quarter

Our offense in the fourth quarter looked more like our offense from the first quarter. Michael Hawkins got the hang of what he was doing and started torching the Tennessee defense. His one blunder was overthrowing an open receiver on fourth down, causing a turnover on downs. Through the fourth quarter, he showed he has a cannon for an arm that can be used to bullet passes down the field in a second, he's accurate, and he is very fast. He laid it all on the line two drives in a row to try to get OU back in the game, but pointless penalties, a failed extra point, and a failed two-point conversion kept us from making it a one-score game. The offense showed a spark of life against a stout Tennessee defense (who hadn't allowed a TD in 19 quarters before we scored two against them). It just wasn't enough.

In the final quarter, the defense forced a stop, but OU's offense couldn't capitalize. Tennessee added another field goal, closing the game up with a final score of 25-15.

Going into the week, everybody would have projected OU to win if they were told Tennessee would only reach the end zone twice in this game. Ultimately this great defensive performance by the Sooners will be lost to time as an offensive failure that cost us out first SEC contest.

Final Score: 25-15 Tennessee

Observations

• Michael Hawkins needs to be our QB from this point on. He showed more ability to handle the moment against a stout Tennessee defense that kept their starters in the whole game.

• Our offensive line is garbage, which might be broken beyond repair for this season.

• The Oklahoma defense is an elite unit.

• The competitive depth of our defense is second to none. The depth of our offense is almost nonexistent.

• Robert Spears-Jennings might be the best safety in college football.

• The defense will give our offense an opportunity to win out if they can improve (big if).

• Jaquaize Pettaway needs to see more snaps.

• We have fixed our issues in the secondary. Nico Iamaleava had nowhere to throw for much of the game except for one play, especially in the second half.

Key Players

• Robert Spears-Jennings: 13 tackles, seven solo, one sack, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble.

• Michael Hawkins Jr: 11-18, 132 yards, one touchdown. 12 rushes, 22 yards.

• Jaquaize Pettaway: Three catches, 79-yards.

• Jovantae Barnes: Two touchdowns scored in close-yardage situations.

• Trace Ford: Three tackles, three solo, one sack, two tackles for loss.

• Kani Walker: Five tackles, three solo, one tackle for loss, one pass deflection.

• Damonic Williams: Four tackles, four solo, one tackle for loss.

Other Stats

• Offense: 18-34, 186 yards, 5.5 yards per pass, one touchdown, one interception. 34 rushes, 36 yards, 1.1 yards per rush. 3-15 on third down, 1-3 on fourth down, 16 total first downs.

• Defense: 6-19 on third down, 0-0 on fourth down, 9.2 yards per pass, and 2.9 yards per run—13 first downs.

The most frustrating part of this loss isn't that we had no shot to win but that we had every opportunity to win, and the offense couldn't capitalize. Despite this, we know these things: the Oklahoma defense is one of the best in the country, the offense is among the worst, and there will be a battle for the QB1 spot for next week's game against Auburn. Let's hope this game is a wake-up call for the change needed to win in the SEC. Boomer!

All stats above courtesy of ESPN.