Tennessee football’s College Football Playoff hopes died on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium as Oklahoma knocked off the Vols’ 33-27.
The Vols failed to take advantage of countless opportunities in the first half while Oklahoma slowly took control of the game in the second half. Here’s five critical moments from the matchup.
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A Game Changing Scoop-And-Score
Tennessee led 7-0 and was facing first-and-10 at the Oklahoma 24-yard line midway through the first quarter. The Vols could have taken a firm grasp of the game with a second touchdown and even a field goal would have radically changed the flow of the game.
Instead, R Mason Thomas went right by David Sanders and knocked the ball away from Joey Aguilar as he was firing to a wide open Mike Matthews for what could have been a touchdown.
The damage was already massive when Thomas picked up the football but it became all the more significant when he drug Miles Kitselman 18 yards and threw him to the ground before rumbling 71 yards for a game-tying touchdown.
Max Gilbert Unable To Extend Tennessee’s Lead
Despite Oklahoma’s defensive touchdown, Tennessee continued to outplay the Sooners in the first half. The Vols went down the field and re-claimed the lead with a field goal attempt before forcing an Oklahoma punt on the ensuing drive.
Tennessee used a chunk pass play to Mike Matthews to get back to the Oklahoma 22-yard line. That’s where the Vols’ drive stalled as they settled for a short 37-yard field goal after a third down incompletion from Joey Aguilar to Chris Brazzell.
But Gilbert hooked the field goal wide left. The stalled drive and missed field goal killed some of Tennessee’s first half momentum but the three points proved all the more important in the second half.
Ill-Advised Interception
The second of three Aguilar first half turnovers led to an Oklahoma field goal drive to take a 13-10 lead. Tennessee got the ball back with 1:04 left in the first half and two timeouts, looking to get a field goal to tie the game at the intermission.
Tennessee picked up one first down on the drive and then Aguilar made a big mistake, sailing a throw over the middle directly to Rob Spears-Jennings. Much like the Thomas scoop-and-score, Tennessee missed a key tackle allowing for a 37-yard return to the Vols’ 28-yard line.
The ensuing play was the first that Oklahoma ran inside the Tennessee 30-yard line all game. A deep incompletion and short run was all the Sooners would try before knocking in a field goal to take a 16-10 halftime lead.
Tennessee Doesn’t Capitalize On Turnover
Oklahoma running back Xavier Robinson ran into the red zone on Oklahoma’s second drive of the second half. It was the Sooners first time in the red zone. It last a mere second as Edrees Farooq knocked the football out of Robinson’s hands and recovered it.
Tennessee led 17-16 and had a chance to take control of the game with a scoring drive. Instead, the Vols ran it three straight plays and punted the ball back to Oklahoma. Not only did Tennessee not score but they put the defense right back on the field. Doing it on three straight runs in a game where Tennessee ran for just 63 yards felt all the more foolish.
Oklahoma answered with a 55-yard touchdown drive and never trailed again.
Tate Sandell’s Third Bomb
Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.
General Neyland’s sixth game maxim played a massive part in the game. When Tate Sandell’s 55-yard field goal attempt barely cleared the cross bar to give Oklahoma a 26-17 lead early in the fourth quarter, Tennessee’s win probability plummeted.
The massive kick gave Oklahoma a two-score lead and made a comeback all the more difficult. It proved all the more massive combined with Gilbert’s missed field goal earlier in the game.
