A disjointed offensive line and inconsistent quarterback play plagued the Sooners.
First-year OU quarterback Jackson Arnold was under constant pressure from Tennessee’s defense, sacked three times and hurrying many other throws. Despite flashes of promise, Arnold completed only seven of sixteen passes for 54 yards, with the longest completion of four yards. He was also intercepted once and fumbled twice, and those turnovers sealed Oklahoma’s fate against a well-coached and opportunistic Tennessee team.
In the third quarter, Oklahoma turned to another first-year signal caller, Michael Hawkins Jr., who played better than Arnold, completing 11 of 18 pass attempts for 132 yards and one TD. Still, Hawkins’s performance proved to be “too little, too late.”
UT capitalized on Oklahoma’s offensive mistakes early and then specialized in game management, knowing that the Sooners’ offense wasn’t a limited threat. The OU offense netted only 222 total yards on the day, which included a paltry 36 yards ground yards.
One of the game’s storylines was about Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, who led the Sooners to their last national championship as quarterback in 2000. Later, Heupel returned to Norman as an assistant coach but was let go in 2014 as OU’s OC after eight years on the Oklahoma sidelines.
Next up for the Sooners is the Auburn Tigers on the road this Saturday (3:30 PM., ESPN). Hugh Freeze’s Auburn team has been plagued by quarterback woes of its own, alternating between last year’s starter Payton Thorne and Hank Brown. AU is 2-2 to date, losing to Cal and Arkansas at home.
For the Sooners, Hawkins has since been named the QB starter. Oklahoma looks to move forward more consistently if the offensive line tightens up and the running game becomes more effective.
