No. 15 Oklahoma (3-1) lost to No. 6 Tennessee (4-0) 25-15 in Norman on Saturday.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:
Jackson Arnold was benched for Michael Hawkins
Second-year quarterback Jackson Arnold was benched in the final two minutes of the first half.
Notably, with Arnold at quarterback, the Sooners lost 20 total yards of offense in the second quarter and went into halftime trailing 19-3. Arnold completed 7 of 16 passes for 54 yards. He also threw an interception and lost two fumbles.
Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. took over for the former five-star prospect and struggled on his first few drives. Hawkins eventually found his rhythm and led a 10-play, 68-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to cut the Volunteers’ lead to 22-9.
Hawkins then led a 9-play, 76-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing OU possession. The freshman finished 11 of 18 for 132 passing yards and ran 12 times for 22 yards.
“This kid is your quarterback for next week,” Kirk Herbstreit said on the ESPN broadcast after Hawkins dove at the goal line, setting up OU’s final score.
Everything is going wrong with the Sooners’ offense
It’s hard to imagine Oklahoma having a worse night on offense than Saturday.
Oklahoma’s running attack, a weakness the last two games, was nonexistent against Tennessee. Overall, the Sooners ran 34 times for 36 yards and averaged 1.1 yards per run. Hawkins led the team in rushing, followed by redshirt junior wide receiver Deion Burks, who led the team in rushing with 18 yards on two attempts.
Even when they were gifted the ball at Tennessee’s 6-yard line after the Sooners defense recovered a fumble, they lost the ball again on Arnold’s first fumble of the night. The Sooners were then tackled on the first play of their next drive for a four-yard gain and a safety.
Two possessions later, Arnold fumbled an attempted backward pass on the first play of another drive.
OU’s defense holds strong
Oklahoma’s defense delivered a solid performance against the Volunteers’ offense.
The Sooners held Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava under 200 passing yards and allowed 2.9 rushing yards per attempt. Due to the offensive struggles, OU’s defense was 35-41 on the field while the Sooners’ offense was just 24-28 in possession.
Oklahoma forced two turnovers, but the Sooners offense did not score any points. Defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings led the Sooners with 13 tackles and a sack.
The Sooners will face Auburn on Saturday, September 28th in Auburn.
