Postgame Thoughts: Oklahoma 33, Tennessee 27
The Oklahoma Sooners secured a bizarre, pivotal win Saturday night at Neyland Stadium over the Tennessee Volunteers, 33-27.
For the second week in a row, OU was sparring with an opponent that featured an explosive offense operating at warp speed. The Sooners took advantage of some UT gaffes in the first half of the game to set the stage for their own offense to find a groove in the final two quarters. The end result was a resilient victory in a hostile environment.
Indulge me in some rambling observations, based on a live viewing of the television broadcast.
*Tennessee isn’t contending for the national championship or anything, but winning in Knoxville still represents a significant notch in OU’s belt.
The performance also showed what the Sooners can do when turnover luck stops working against them. With the Vols threatening to go up 14-0 in the first quarter, R Mason Thomas’ fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter prevented the game script from getting flipped heavily in favor of the home team. The Sooners later added field goals on back-to-back drives after intercepting UT quarterback Joey Aguilar with time winding down in the second quarter.
Note that the turnover scales came close to balancing out in the second half when OU gave the ball away twice.
*I laid a significant share of the blame for OU’s loss to Ole Miss last week at the feet of quarterback John Mateer. The first half felt like watching him repeat all the same errors. Something apparently clicked for Mateer in the second half, and it looked as though the rest of the offense fell into place as a result.
For the first two quarters, OU sputtered on offense as Mateer routinely held onto the ball too long on dropbacks. He also danced indecisively behind the line of scrimmage on called QB runs and scrambles. When the hesitation disappeared in the second half, the Sooners started moving the ball more consistently.
In particular, Mateer seemed to throw with more confidence after halftime. He accounted for 115 of his 159 passing yards in the third and fourth quarters, helping the Sooners build on a surprising lead at the break. Additionally, he enhanced OU’s ground attack with 89 yards and a score on 13 rushes, excluding sacks.
It won’t go down as Mateer’s flashiest effort, but OU becomes a tough out when he plays the way he did in the second half. Time for him to do some bye-week recuperating.
*Fans who were hoping to see sophomore Xavier Robinson emerge as OU’s lead running back finally got their wish on Saturday. Robinson toted the ball 16 times in the game, netting 115 yards and a touchdown. He did more than enough good to outweigh a lost fumble inside the red zone.
The confusing rotation in the backfield did continue, though, as freshman Tory Blaylock got a single rushing attempt on the day. Perhaps the plan going forward is to ride Robinson until the wheels come off?
*I worry sometimes that having a strong placekicker too often enables coaches to make poor decisions on offense. This is not one of those occasions.
*Historically, Brent Venables the defensive coordinator has emphasized stopping the run and pressuring the passer at the expense of leaving players exposed in the secondary. We saw that play out on Saturday night.
Tennessee got next to nothing from its rushing attack. Excluding sacks, the Volunteers ran the ball 31 times for 88 yards.
Meanwhile, the Sooners put relentless pressure on UT QB Joey Aguilar, sacking him four times and forcing him into a number of poor throws. Conversely, when Aguilar did get time to throw, he found ample opportunities for chunk plays. His 29 completions on 45 attempts produced nearly 400 yards through the air.
That’s the inherent trade-off in the Sooners’ defensive philosophy. Venables and the defensive staff now have a bye week to do some self-scouting that could affect OU’s tactics in the final three games. Even so, wins and losses in those three matchups will still depend heavily on the Sooners’ opponents handling all that pressure.
*Consider what it says about the depth OU has built if the defense doesn’t miss a beat after one of the best edge players in the country gets knocked out of the game.
*Courtland Guillory didn’t have a great night, but the Tennessee receiving corps represents a tough assignment for a freshman cornerback. As for the safeties, Robert Spears-Jennings and Peyton Bowen made up for some struggles in coverage with key interceptions in the first half. Their backup Michael Boganowski is gunning for more playing time as we get deeper into the season.
*The numbskullery involved in Mateer choosing the “P” in the “RPO” on his interception in the fourth quarter was only exceeded by the fact offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle gave him an option to pass in the first place. Frankly, that ranked among the worst unforced errors I’ve ever witnessed in a game. Seriously, Mario Cristobal probably sat in awe watching the OU try to give away this win in the fourth quarter.
*Can you really ask a team to do much differently with three games left to go in the season? Probably not, but channeling whatever OU did in the running game versus the Volunteers into its Nov. 15 date at Alabama sounds great.