Oklahoma’s comeback shows it’s everything Tennessee still wants to be

Oklahoma escaped from Tennessee with a preposterous comeback win, rallying from 17-0 to win 31-24 in double overtime. They’d heard about the power of the SEC for the past -- oh, let’s just say THE ENTIRETY OF THEIR LIVES -- and presumably they heard some things from Tennessee fans during the game. So the Sooners left the field with something to say (and show) to Vols fans.

“Their actions, in the heat of the moment and all emotionally, are absolutely inappropriate, and they’ll be dealt with in an educational manner,” head coach Bob Stoops said on Monday, while letting off some milder anti-SEC steam of his own. “We’ll handle it internally.”

Bob Stoops and his team have been known to take a lot of shots at the SEC, so when Paul Finebaum called Stoops “irrelevant” on SEC Nation before the Sooners’ win over Tennessee in Knoxville, you knew Stoops would have something to say about it.

Finebaum actually got DOUBLE STOOPSED. Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops defended his team’s SEC trash talking after the game by saying, “Paul Finebaum slanders us every time he’s on the radio.” The postgame celebration was all trash talk. Sooner safety Hatari Byrd flipped off the crowd, while Tennessee coach Butch Jones told Oklahoma star Eric Stryker to “have some damn class.”

Here’s what we learned about both teams:

1. Oklahoma gets to write off a bad, bad performance on offense early in the season without taking a loss. For as effective as Mayfield was on all four touchdown drives to end the game, OU was awful in protection and inconsistent in running.

A game that had no fireworks for much of its duration got some late pyrotechnics — and, because of the pyrotechnics, No. 19 Oklahoma has a 31-24 road triumph, and No. 23 Tennessee still doesn’t have a big win to call its own under Butch Jones.

The squandered lead is the largest at home by Tennessee in its history.

Oklahoma forced double overtime, with Baker Mayfield converting a fourth down.

Hello, we’re doing a weird game story this week. This part is really good.

A pass interference call kept Oklahoma’s last hope of a drive alive. As you can see, it was controversial.

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Here are some facts about Oklahoma’s game against Tennessee:

The Vols still have a 14-point lead near the end of the third quarter - it’s not over by any stretch, but the most recent three-and-out from Oklahoma might disagree.

It’s really, really loud. This is an OU third down shot behind glass in a closed press box, but you can still feel it:

Given the levels of “consumption” I’ve witnessed today, this amount of organization is impressive.

Elsewhere, the Vol Walk:

Via Wikipedia:

My parking lot neighbors from Newport offered me some East Tennessee ‘shine, cut with apple.

For all the overplayed marketing and message board snobbery, it’s the hospitality that built the SEC’s reputation.

a handcrafted Vols wine stopper, made in Dandridge, Tennessee.”

Elsewhere:

This is the Greene tailgate. They’re from Bridgeport, Ala. Fans can sign anywhere on the banner, which was made in ‘95 -- I just did in the upper right -- and Vol players can sign inside the “T.”

This is Bones, Tennessee’s oldest tailgater. “Used to you could hit a button, and he’d dance. 1998 Florida game, a Florida girl danced on Bones, and he ain’t moved since.”

That’s a 30-year-old bottle from Maryville, Tenn., refilled each week with scotch for good luck.

The No. 23 Tennessee Volunteers have momentum right now because of success on the recruiting trail. Over the last two signing periods, 32 of Tennessee’s 59 signees have been rated four- or five-stars. Almost all of the hype surrounding a program that hasn’t won an SEC championship in 16 years is directly related to the Vols beating programs like Alabama and Georgia off the field.

Recruiting like this suggests that Tennessee will be very good. The question is how soon?