Tennessee Beats Sooners in SEC Opener
Oklahoma's football team played their first Southeastern Conference football game and lost to #6 Tennessee 25-15 at Owen Field in Norman on Saturday night.
The Volunteers had the ball 11 more minutes than the Sooners, and UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava was 13-for-21 for 194 yards and a touchdown.
OU quarterback Jackson Arnold didn't have a lot of time to throw, as OU's offensive line struggled against the Tennessee defensive line.
Arnold was just 7-for-16 for 54 yards, and OU gained just 222 total yards of offense.
The Sooners also had three key turnovers that led to 10 Tennessee points.
Michael Hawkins played the entire second half for OU at quarterback and was 11-for-18 passing for 132 yards
The Sooners got the ball first and on 4th and 2 from midfield, went for a first down, but Jackson Arnold's pass to Nic Anderson was incomplete and Tennessee took over on downs.
The two teams combined for three straight possessions that ended in punts.
OU then made the first big mistake of the game, as Arnold was intercepted by Jermod McCoy, who returned it 16 yards to midfield.
Nico Iamaleava passed to Bru McCoy for a gain of 38 to the OU 10-yard line.
The Sooner defense held from there and the Volunteers settled for a 27-yard field goal from Max Gilbert to go up 3-0 with 3:45 to play in the first quarter.
Oklahoma answered with their own drive resulting in a field goal.
Jovantae Barnes gained 17 yards for the big play on the drive, setting up a 37-yard field goal by Tyler Keltner to tie it 3-3 with 33 seconds left in the first quarter.
Tennessee responded before the quarter ended, as Iamaleava passed to Dont'e Thornton for a 66-yard touchdown to put the Vols up 10-3 with three seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Oklahoma went three-and-out and had to punt to start the second quarter.
The Sooner defense got the ball back three plays later.
Robert Spears-Jennings knocked the ball free from Iamaleava, and Ethan Downs recovered at the Vols' 5-yard line.
OU gave it right back on the next snap, as Arnold had the ball stripped in the middle of a pile and the Vols' Joshua Josephs recovered at the 6-yard line.
Tennessee had to punt and pinned OU to their own 4-yard line.
A penalty moved the Sooners back to the 2-yard line, and on the next play, Jovantae Barnes was tackled by Jayson Jenkins for a safety to make it 12-3 Vols with 9:12 to play in the second quarter.
The two teams exchanged punts, then the OU defense got a turnover.
Trace Ford stripped the ball from Iamaleava and Gracen Halton recovered at the Tennessee 33.
Once again, OU gave it back on the next play, as Arnold threw a lateral pass that hit the ground and was eventually recovered by Jakobe Thomas at the OU 46-yard line.
Tennessee took eight plays to convert the turnover into points.
Dylan Sampson scored on a one-yard touchdown run after a gain of 16 to the Sooners 1.
Sampson had 92 yards on 24 carries.
The TD put the Volunteers up 19-3 with 1:40 left in the first half.
Both teams had to punt on their first possessions of the second half.
Tennessee then got a 42-yard pass from Iamaleava to Bru McCoy.
That set up a 41-yard field goal by Gilbert to put the Vols up 22-3 with 6:03 left in the third quarter.
Oklahoma finally put together a touchdown drive midway through the fourth quarter, going 68 yards in 10 plays.
Michael Hawkins came in to replace Arnold at quarterback and passed to Barnes for a 2-yard touchdown.
On the two-point conversion attempt, OU was called for a personal foul penalty, and Keltner missed the extra point attempt wide right, making it 22-9 Volunteers with 8:25 to play.
The Sooners then put together a 9-play, 76-yard drive, with Barnes scoring from a yard out.
The two-point conversion failed and Tennessee led 25-15 with 1:01 to play.
The Vols ran out the clock to win it.
This was the fifth meeting between the two teams, with OU leading the all-time series 3-2.
Oklahoma falls to 3-1 on the season.
The Sooners visit Auburn next Saturday, with the kickoff time to be announced later.