Quick Reaction: Tennessee wins in Norman
The Tennessee Volunteers strutted into Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday night and earned a HUGE conference win. The defense played lights out, the offense made enough plays, and Josh Heupel coached Tennessee to their first road win against a top-15 team since George W. Bush was in office. Heupel coached conservatively and played to his defense Saturday night because he realized the only way OU could stay in the game was if Tennessee turned it over. I know it’s not flashy or fun to watch but if you are doing things that the program hasn’t done in nearly 20 years I could care less. Win the game 3-2 for all I care.
Nico protected the ball as well as he could have with both of his starting tackles out for the majority of the game. After the 2 strip sacks, Heupel decided to pound the rock and trust his defense which is something that just wasn’t an option in past years. If Heupel chose to call more pass plays on Saturday night it could’ve led to more turnovers forced by OU’s salty defense or even Nico getting injured. I give Heupel credit for winning a game in a way that he isn’t entirely comfortable with because a lot of coaches would stay stubborn and “play their style”. Furthermore, it’s not like Tennessee didn’t have big plays in the passing game, Bru caught two long passes to get Tennessee into FG range and Dont’e Thornton housed a perfect pass from Nico for a 66-yard TD. Also, the drive right before halftime that featured exclusively runs culminating in a Dylan Samspon 1-yard TD was beautiful. Again Tennessee did just enough on offense and that’s fine with how the game unfolded on Saturday night.
Now it’s time to talk about Tennessee’s defense. They are truly elite. I don’t care how bad people think OU’s offense is this year, to go on the road and force them to bench their 5-star QB Jackson Arnold is impressive. Venables really had no choice in the matter either. Tennessee’s defense forced him into 3 turnovers and they couldn’t move the ball at all in the first half. In fact, the Sooners ended up having negative yardage on offense in the second quarter. They’re fast, aggressive, hit hard, and fly all over the field. This defense is what makes me believe Tennessee is a true national title contender and I don’t think that’s a stretch at all.
These are the games that elite teams win and Tennessee for the first time since 2006 went out and got it done in a game where they played far from their best. That’s what is scary for the rest of the SEC right now. This team still has room for improvement and yet they are undefeated with a tough conference road win under their belt. It feels good to be 4-0 heading into the bye week, and boy is it needed after the physical game the Vols just finished against the Sooners. Tennessee can now rest up and get healthy before going on the road to Fayetteville in 2 weeks.