What we learned in Oklahoma’s comeback win over Tennessee
Oklahoma rallied and the Volunteers blew it. After Tennessee stifled Baker Mayfield through three-and-some quarters on Saturday night, the Sooners came back from 17-3 to tie the game and eventually win it overtime.
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.
The Sooners get to improve on one of their worst regulation offensive showings in years and take home a road win over a ranked team. And maybe more importantly, they shored up their defense in a hostile environment by making noticeable halftime adjustments.
2. Tennessee's not ready yet, not "back" yet, but that's not just because the talent on the field hasn't matured. It's hard not to look back at the Vols' first scoring drive. They ran the smaller Alvin Kamara instead of Jalen Hurd on third-and-goal on the OU 1-yard line, then sent out the field goal team. A touchdown instead of a field goal would've forced OU to mount a third scoring drive in the fourth.
When asked after the game, Butch Jones said he never considered going for it.
“No, we’re looking for points. We knew it would be this type of game.”
3. This is a vicious blow to Tennessee’s immediate morale, but doesn’t damage long-term prospects. And yes, we know you’re tired of hearing that, Vols. But it’s the truth: Josh Dobbs is steadily improving, but struggled passing against man coverage when OU adjusted their looks in the second half. But Hurd is a beast and the pass rush is SEC-caliber, especially on the edge.
Jones is 1-12 against ranked teams. He has no real signature win in Knoxville and has yet to make a statement in non-conference play or beat one of the hated league trinity (Alabama, Florida and Georgia) despite coming ridiculously close. And yet, recruiting is almost great. The core is in place. The only real consequence of Saturday’s loss is that Jones almost certainly has to beat Georgia at home or Florida at The Swamp to propagate the idea of progress.
4. This was, to quote Sirius XM and Athlon’s Braden Gall before the game, a game that was impossible at surprises. A blowout either way seemed believable; so did a comeback from either side. Oklahoma is improving from 2014 but flawed, and so is Tennessee. The difference is that the Vols are craving the consistent national relevancy the Sooners took for granted until recently.
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