R Mason Thomas roared down the sideline.
Tennessee football quarterback Joey Aguilar was stripped of the ball in the first quarter as the Vols were driving to take a two-score lead, potentially. And then it ended up on the ground, as Owen Heinecke leveled the quarterback to jar the ball free.
Thomas scooped it and fought tight end Miles Kitselman across midfield before stiff-arming him to the ground. He had nothing but green grass ahead, until he navigated toward the sideline — where it appeared on the video jumbotron that he might’ve stepped out of bounds before finding the end zone.
As Heupel pleaded for a review before the extra point was attempted, he was granted nothing. It was the first of three turnovers for the Vols — a season-high.
“The turnovers, uncharacteristic,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “And they turned them into points. And that’s a double whammy right there. Give credit to them.”
It served as Oklahoma’s only touchdown of the first half. The Sooners’ offense failed to put together productive drives and settled on a trio of field goals.
They were aided on two of those field goals by Aguilar’s two-second-quarter interception as halftime neared. The first was a floater near the end zone, as Aguilar looked for a deep touchdown pass to Chris Brazzell II. Instead, Peyton Bowen jumped the pass from his safety position and returned it 37 yards to the Oklahoma 41-yard line.
Oklahoma took advantage of the turnover, summoning Tate Sandell for a 51-yard field goal.
Tennessee’s following drive ended in the same fashion. On the fourth play, Aguilar took a shot — but there stood Oklahoma defender Robert Spears-Jennings. He placed the ball right in Spears-Jennings’ chest, who returned it 37 yards into Tennessee territory.
With only 16 seconds left until half, Oklahoma ran two plays and then set up for the field goal. Sandell trounced on and carried out the job for another three to take a 16-10 lead into the break.
Tennessee’s three first-half turnovers contributed to 13 Oklahoma points. The Sooners had forced just four total turnovers this season entering the game.
“One before halftime, just kind of forced it downfield. Trying to stay in the pocket and make a throw while getting hit. Kind of just sailed it.
“And then, the first one, they did a good job disguising the coverage right there. Rolled down, went into cover one, safety rolled over to the field. They got me on that one.”
Despite the turnover struggles, Tennessee still put forth a respectable 456 yards of offense on 80 plays. Aguilar was the commander of that, dishing out a 29-for-45 day with 393 yards and three touchdowns. He dished the ball out to eight different receivers, allowing five to eclipse 50-plus yards.
Braylon Staley led the way with five catches for 75 yards, reeling in a pair of scores. Tight end Ethan Davis was a surprise usage, providing a tight connection with Aguilar for 62 yards.
“They were trying to disguise coverage, and they did a good job on that, but, offensively, I felt like we did good,” Aguilar said. “But obviously not good enough. So got to go back to drawing board.”
It certainly was not good enough on the ground. The Vols mustered up 63 rushing yards on 35 attempts, breaking away a long run of 16 yards by DeSean Bishop. He led the backs with 38 yards on 12 carries.
Now, with destiny out of their control, the Vols will now have to take a seat. A bye week is next before returning to the playing field on Nov. 15 against New Mexico State.
