The Tennessee football team relied on its defense and stifled Oklahoma’s faltering offense to pull out a 25-15 victory to open SEC play on Saturday night. The Vols led 22-3 early in the fourth quarter before holding on for the win after a late push by Oklahoma.
Here are five key moments from Tennessee’s win over Oklahoma.
Iamaleava to McCoy revives the offense
Tennessee had good field position on its first two drives of the night. The Vols promptly managed a three-and-out on both drives and punted the ball back to the Sooners.
This is how the game started when Jermod McCoy gave Tennessee good field position again on his third drive by intercepting a pass from Jackson Arnold.
Tennessee needed to take advantage of the strong field position and this time they did so thanks to a big play. Nico Iamaleava found Bru McCoy up the middle on a slant route and the super senior receiver carried the ball xx yards.
This big play gave Tennessee its first and decisive attempt, and although the Vols’ offense could not reach the end zone, they opened the scoring streak with a field goal.
The long touchdown that initiated the separation
After the Vols’ field goal drive, Oklahoma delivered its best drive of the first three quarters and tied the game with a field goal of its own.
Tennessee had just one first down as the first quarter ended and they faced a second-and-one. Then the Vols made one of the most important plays of the game. Iamaleava ran into Dont’e Thornton in a post and Thornton carried the ball 66 yards for a touchdown.
On a night when Tennessee struggled to sustain offense, the long touchdown was hugely significant, giving the Vols a lead they would not relinquish as they scored 12 more points before Oklahoma scored again.
More from RTI: Josh Heupel explains Tennessee’s conservative offensive game against Oklahoma
Tennessee’s defense strengthens the offense
I’ve written several times this week saying that it felt like Oklahoma needed a defensive touchdown or a short field if they wanted to win the game.
And midway through the second quarter, it looked like they had done it. Nico Iamaleava was stripped of the ball from behind on third down deep in the Vols’ own territory. Oklahoma took control on first-and-goal at the six-yard line and had a chance to tie the game with a touchdown.
To quote Lee Corso: “Not so fast, my friend.”
Josh Josephs had other plans and took the ball from Arnold on a planned first down. Tennessee recovered and immediately defended in what looked like a big momentum swing for Oklahoma.
Eight runs lead to six
Later in the second quarter, Oklahoma sacked Nico Iamaleava again on third down. This time, the Sooners took over at Tennessee’s 33-yard line and had a chance to cut Tennessee’s nine-point lead. Instead, Oklahoma immediately lost possession again when Jackson Arnold threw a backwards pass and Tennessee pounced on the ball.
On a night when Tennessee’s running game was shaky, the Vols relied on it on their ensuing drive, a drive that turned out to be their best of the night.
Tennessee ran Dylan Sampson eight times in a row for a 46-yard gain. The Vols converted two third down attempts and a 16-yard run set up a one-yard touchdown.
The dominant ground drive gave Tennessee a very comfortable 19-3 lead at halftime.
The two-point stop at the end
The second half was largely slow as Tennessee played conservatively and trusted its defense to get them to the finish line.
But penalties on third and fourth down late in the game prevented Tennessee from winning the game completely. Oklahoma scored a touchdown with 1:01 left and had to use the two-point conversion to bring the game to one point.
Tennessee made the decisive stop when Arion Carter brought down the charging Michael Hawkins. The Vols recovered the ensuing onside kick and created a first down that allowed them to go into the Victory Formation.
