Report Card: Grading OU's win over Tennessee

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Oklahoma went into Neyland Stadium on Saturday needing a win.

The Sooners got it, beating No. 14-ranked Tennessee 33-27. With the win, the Sooners improve to 7-2 and 3-2 in SEC play.

Here are OUInsider’s grades for each position group in the win over Tennessee:

Quarterback: C

What a weird game for John Mateer.

Mateer was just bad in the first half. He went into halftime with 77 total yards (44 passing, 33 rushing) on 7/13 passing. He looked shaky in the pocket, and he never seemed comfortable on his drop backs.

But it was like a switch flipped in the second half. Ben Arbuckle dialed up easy completions and leaned on the quarterback-running game, and Mateer delivered. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 115 yards in the second half, which included a 25-yard strike to Isaiah Sategna that set up an Xavier Robinson touchdown. He also had 47 rushing yards in the second half.

In total? 159 passing yards, 19/29 passing, 80 rushing yards on 16 carries.

But even in the second half, Mateer had a potentially-costly interception as the Sooners were milking the clock. After the game, Brent Venables said there shouldn’t be a pass option on that play. Combine that with his struggles in the first half, and it was just a weird game — but an improvement on last week.

Running backs: B

Xavier Robinson drew the start and basically saw all of the backfield work. He was productive again, turning 16 carries into 115 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 40-yard gain late that set up Mateer’s late rushing touchdown, where he showed great awareness to go down at the one-yard line. He did have a fumble that likely cost the Sooners points in the third quarter.

Tory Blaylock saw a couple of snaps in the second quarter, but otherwise didn’t play.

Wide receivers/Tight ends: C+

It was a solid day for both Isaiah Sategna (6 receptions, 68 yards) and Deion Burks (6 receptions, 45 yards). Even Jer’Michael Carter had a couple of nice catches.

Jaren Kanak was again an afterthought, catching three passes for 16 yards. He hasn’t topped 30 yards since Week 3.

With Mateer throwing for just 159 yards, there wasn’t a ton of production.

Offensive Line: B

The offensive line answered the call, and then some. They largely held up against a really good Tennessee front that ranked inside the top 10 nationally in sacks and tackles for loss.

The Vols had just three tackles for loss. They had three sacks, though Mateer struggled in the pocket.

For the most part, the offensive line kept Mateer clean and generated nice running lanes. Considering the Sooners started true freshman Michael Fasusi, true freshman Ryan Fodje and redshirt freshman Eddy Pierre-Louis, it was a very encouraging day.

Defensive line: C+

The R Mason Thomas scoop and score in the first quarter — spurred by a strip sack from Owen Heinecke — was maybe the biggest play of the game.

Outside of that, it wasn’t a super productive day for the defensive line, which accounted for 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. But the Vols finished with just 63 rushing yards on 35 carries (1.8 yards per carry) and played well as the game went along.

Linebackers: A

Tate Sandell is the MVP. Heinecke was a close second. He led the team in tackles (13), adding 1.5 tackles for loss and the crucial strip sack. Kip Lewis chipped in 10 tackles.

Secondary: C

It certainly was another tough day for the secondary, especially early. Joey Aguilar had 153 passing yards in the first quarter, and he completed 10 passes of 15-plus yards. That included gains of 54, 40, 37, 27 and 24.

But the Sooners gradually slowed Aguilar down as the game went along. And the interceptions from Peyton Bowen and Robert Spears-Jennings contributed to six points — the exact margin of victory.

Special Teams: A+

What else is there to say about Sandell? The OU kicker made field goals of 55, 55, 51 and 40 yards, scoring 15 of the offense’s 27 points. His two 55-yard field goals tied the Neyland Stadium record.

He’s now made 19 consecutive kicks, tying Gabe Brkic’s record for the longest streak in program history.

Grayson Miller averaged 47.3 yards per punt on three attempts.