Halloween weekend brought a spooky end to Tennessee football’s College Football Playoff hopes.
The No. 14 Vols tripped themselves up in front of a rocking Neyland Stadium atmosphere, falling 33-27 to pick up a third loss at the hands of No. 18 Oklahoma. A late touchdown and field goal proved to be just that as Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC) failed to rally a comeback effort in the waning moments against a Sooners’ (7-2, 3-2) defense that held just enough.
Joey Aguilar tallied 393 passing yards, tossing a trio of touchdowns while throwing a pair of picks.
Braylon Staley enjoyed a two-touchdown night, racking up 75 receiving yards on five receptions.
Xavier Robinson and John Mateer each found the Oklahoma endzone on the ground. R Mason Thomas returned a fumble for a defensive score of his own.
Quick starts continue
The home momentum from the raucous pregame festivities carried over to Tennessee’s offense.
After fumbling on the first play of the game, it looked like Aguilar and the SEC’s top scoring unit would be destined for a three-and-out with its position so far behind the sticks. On third down and long, an Oklahoma blitz play got in the cage of Tennessee’s signal caller, but the Sooners’ secondary got tabbed with a pass interference penalty as a would-be incompletion was erased.
The Vols jumped on their second chance, using a series of explosive plays to meander their way to the red zone. The conference’s top-ranked defense looked sluggish. Aguilar fired a touchdown strike to Staley to cap things off, and Tennessee found the score column on its opening drive for the seventh time this season.
Defense does plenty
For the first time in SEC play this season, defensive coordinator Tim Banks’ guys controlled things in the first half.
The Vols held Oklahoma to 99 yards, allowing only five first downs through the opening pair of frames. They held Sooners’ quarterback Mateer in check, the once-Heisman Trophy candidate completing seven passes for a mere 44 yards.
This kind of effort from Tennessee’s defense felt necessary to give the high-powered offense its best chance to create a cushion on the scoreboard. But tonight was different.
Aguilar errant
Although he started the game with his usual accuracy, surpassing 200 yards through the air in the first half, last season’s leader in interceptions fell back into old habits.
Aguilar surrendered a pair of poor turnovers, easily playable balls for the Oklahoma defensive backs that set head coach Brent Venables’ team up with great field position. The Sooners’ offense didn’t miss out on its chance to turn the giveaways into points, converting for 12 of them on the way to a 16-10 lead at the midpoint.
The Vols sat outgaining Oklahoma by 156 yards at the break and still couldn’t sustain a lead. Tennessee was giving the game away.
Necessary splash plays
Much like it began the evening, the Vols’ offense found the endzone on its first outing after halftime. This score carried much more weight, a sign of life that Tennessee needed to experience to bring its usual rhythm and confidence back into the equation.
Staley fought through a big hit from two Sooners’ defenders, then picked up a block from Chris Brazzell II near the sideline. The redshirt freshman did the rest, dancing his way 54 yards down the sideline to give his team the lead once again.
The vibes translated to the defensive side.
Oklahoma worked its way deep into Vols’ territory, looking to punch back. One of the standouts from Tennessee’s win over Kentucky stole the spotlight once again. Edrees Farooq landed a literal punch on the football, knocking it loose and pouncing on it.
Offense sputters
Like it has been prone to do at points throughout the campaign, the Vols’ scoring ways went quiet.
Following the forced fumble, a pair of consecutive three-and-outs halted momentum, while the Sooners regained the lead with a five-play touchdown drive. The visitors began to assert some control, adding a field goal to make it a two-score game. Kicker Tate Sandell’s contributions continued to come up big, nailing his second 55-yard boot of the night to bring about some insurance.
The woes culminated in a must-have fourth-down situation.
Head coach Josh Heupel allowed precious time to tick away before calling a timeout before the play in an awful display of time management. Tennessee emerged from the huddle in a heavy package, showing a run look with only a single yard to get. Aguilar delivered a pass instead, lofting an on-target pass to wide-open tight end Jack Van Dorselaer. The freshman failed to reel in an easy reception, and the Sooners’ path to victory became clear.
