Rocky BOTTOM Tennessee

  When all was said and done Saturday night, in Norman, Oklahoma put the pounding on Tennessee and all it’s SEC glory with a final score of 34-10. Trevor Knight was, once again, spectacular, with over 300 yards passing and only 1 interception. Knight averaged 9.3 yards per passing attempt, and the only struggle OU found themselves in throughout the night was on 3^rd down where the Sooners went 3 for 12. The Volunteers had no answer for the OU defense, either, who forced 3 turnovers and sacked Tennessee quarterback, Justin Worley, 5 times. For Worley, that was the best of inconsiderably terrible circumstances for the young man. Worley, who finished the evening with a QB rating of 12…yes, 12, even threw a pick-six that was returned 100 yards for a touchdown by OU safety, Julian Wilson, early in the 4^th quarter when Tennessee was in Sooner territory. With everything going in favor of the home team, do Oklahoma fans have anything to really take away from this game, or is Tennessee just that bad?

OU safety, Quinton Hayes (10), forces a fumble against
Tennesee, in Norman, last Saturday. 

   What many on Saturday night saw could be summed up in a few words: OU is just better than Tennessee. The Volunteers are coming off a season where they went 5-7, and they don’t look like a team that will pose much of a threat to any of their counterparts in their side of the SEC. To go along with an anemic offense, the defense for Tennessee looked more porous than Spongebob Squarepants. The Sooners did what they were supposed to do, and beat up on a lesser team. Sure, OU showed some signs that they weren’t completely invulnerable, but there was never much doubt who was going to come out the victor in this battle. If there was ever any moment where Oklahoma fans were thinking that they might have just gifted the Volunteers with a chance to get back into the game, it was after Tennessee running back, Jalen Hurd, burst for a 43-yard run to set the Vols in business only down 17 in the 3^rd quarter. With a chance to slim the lead to 10 points, Worley and company had plenty of time and opportunity to get back into the game, and possibly even derail the Sooners from possessing the lead. But instead, Mr. Worley decided to test OU cornerback, Zack Sanchez, who had recorded 4 interceptions in 5 games, and paid the price as Sanchez tacked on another pick to his resume’ that muffled any shot Tennessee had to get back into the ballgame.

    So what exactly did OU prove with this win? They proved that, once again, the SEC is a top-heavy conference who relies on their top-tier teams to bask in the limelight repeatedly every postseason, and make the SEC look like the ultimate conference in all of college football history even though it isn’t. To go along with that, Oklahoma proved its defense is legit, and whoever can rack up a ton of points on this defense, sure will have to possess some ridiculous offensive firepower. This Sooners team looks like one that could go the distance, but we have still yet to see Trevor Knight go against a formidable defense. Once the young man has aced that test, then we can all say that if the Big 12 is going to be represented in this year’s playoff pool, it might just be the Sooners who will be that team. Just something to think about as Oklahoma hits the road up to Morgantown, West Virginia to play the Mountaineers at 6:30 CT on FOX.