5 things OU can build on after win over Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE — Oklahoma certainly didn’t play a perfect game on Saturday against Tennessee. At times, it was downright ugly, and a game filled with the same self-inflicted mistakes that typically cost the Sooners.

But against the Volunteers, the Sooners (7-2, 3-2 SEC) showed some resiliency. They battled through the tough moments, fighting their way to a 33-27 win against the Volunteers. It was the type of game the Sooners haven’t won over the last four years.

Most importantly, they found some real positives they can build on heading into a pivotal final three-game stretch. Here’s a few things the Sooners can put stock into moving forward:

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

The law of averages works in football, right? That seemed to apply to OU’s defense against the Vols.

The Sooners had created just four takeaways through the first eight games. That ranked 132nd nationally. All of those takeaways had come in garbage time, too. There was just no way that pace could continue, particularly considering the Sooners had forced 46 takeaways the last two seasons combined.

Against the Vols, the scales tipped dramatically. Owen Heinecke forced a strip sack on Joey Aguilar, which R Mason Thomas returned for a 71-yard touchdown. By the end of the first half, the Sooners had three takeaways after Robert Spears-Jennings and Peyton Bowen both added interceptions.

The Sooners scored 13 points off takeaways — huge in a game OU won by six.

“You go on the road, you want to win, here’s what it takes: You have to create the turnovers,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “You can’t just continue this trend and expect to win. It’s too hard.”

That’s the key point. The Sooners had to create takeaways if they hoped to win any of their last four games. They did that, and they proved they could do it in a hostile road environment. That’s a massive development ahead of OU’s clash at No. 4 Alabama in two weeks.

John Mateer’s second half

It was truly a tale of two halves for Mateer. The first half featured the version of Mateer that had struggled the prior three games. The second half featured a version that closely resembled the Mateer through the first four weeks.

Here’s a look at the numbers for Mateer:

First half: 7/13 passing, 44 yards, 6.3 yards per completion, 38 rushing yards

Second half: 12/16 passing, 115 yards, 9.6 yards per completion, 42 rushing yards, 1 TD

The numbers won’t blow anyone away regardless. But Mateer looked downright ineffective in the first half. The Sooners needed Mateer to find something, and he did. He was more aggressive throwing down the field and showed more juice in the running game.

The Sooners still need more from Mateer, but the second half gives confidence that he regain his form. And the bye week comes at a good time.

The running game

How did Oklahoma’s running game perform, you ask? 35 carries, 192 yards, two touchdowns, 5.5 yards per carry.

It’s almost hard to believe, given the Sooners’ apparent struggle to run the ball through the first seven games. But Xavier Robinson (16 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD) was fantastic again, outside of the third-quarter fumble. Mateer (16 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD) was effective for the first time since the Michigan game.

Blaylock likely still isn’t healthy, and barely played against Tennessee. But even when he returns, it’s hard to argue that Robinson shouldn’t see at least 15 carries a game the rest of the way.

Quietly, the Sooners have rushed for 328 yards and four touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry over the last two weeks. That isn’t just efficient. That’s downright elite, and critical going into the home stretch of the season.

The new-look offensive line

The Sooners found an offensive line combination they liked against Ole Miss, and they rode it the whole way against Tennessee — Michael Fasusi, Eddy Pierre-Louis, Jake Maikkula, Febechi Nwaiwu and Ryan Fodje.

That group held up pretty well against the Volunteers. It wasn’t just their ability to generate push in the running game. The Vols had just three sacks and three tackles for loss. They ranked in the top 10 nationally in both categories coming into the game.

Mateer was sacked a few times, but he also just looked antsy and uncomfortable on most of his drop backs. For the most part, the offensive line kept him clean. The Sooners allowed just six quarterback pressures on 35 drop backs, per Pro Football Focus.

It’s a group that includes two true freshmen and a redshirt freshman, and they weren’t afraid of the moment.

“In this day and age, we better take care of them,” Venables said. “Everybody in the planet going to be coming for them guys. But… we bragged about those three guys last week. What they’re doing is not normal… What Ryan and Mike and Eddy and the rest of the guys up front, what they’ve been able to do the last couple of weeks, what they were able to do tonight, nothing short of amazing.

“I don’t want to gas ’em, I’m not really into gassing, but they deserve the credit, man. They didn’t play like true freshmen.”

The Sooners kind of stumbled on that group out of necessity, given the injuries on the offensive line. But even if/when Derek Simmons returns, it’s hard to argue that the Sooners haven’t just found the group they should lean on the rest of the way.

The ability to win statement games on the road

There was so much on the line for the Sooners at Neyland Stadium. That includes their College Football Playoff hopes and the ability to finish the season on a high note.

But most importantly, it was an opportunity for a statement win under Brent Venables — something this program needed for the present and future. The Sooners walked out of Knoxville with their first ranked win under Venables and their first since 2019.

And they did it despite not playing a clean or perfect game. The Sooners trailed 7-0 early and were a miraculous scoop-and-score away from trailing by 14. Tennessee took a lead early in the third quarter. The Sooners committed two disastrous turnovers in the second half. They overcame that and still found a way to win.

That should give this team a boost moving forward.

“That was what the doctor ordered there,” Venables said. “I’m really proud of the fight and the belief of our football team. (This is a) team that is very, very determined. A team that is hard to kill, and a team that really came together. A team that wasn’t bothered by the noise. A team that we know when we put it all together, we have everything that we need to win every game here in the fourth quarter of our season.”