Tennessee wide receiver Josh Smith dashes for the end zone after catching a 40-yard touchdown pass from Justin Worley on Saturday in the Vols' 34-10 loss to No. 3-ranked Oklahoma.
NORMAN, Okla. – It wasn’t a blowout, but third-ranked Oklahoma unleashed a relentless defense that throttled Tennessee and battered quarterback Justin Worley all night as the Sooners notched a 34-7 non-conference football victory over the Vols before 85,622 fans at soldout Memorial Stadium.
“I thought our guys competed until the end,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “But when you go on the road against a quality opponent like Oklahoma, you can’t turn the football over.
That was obviously critical.”
It was the first regular-season meeting between the two teams, which met twice in the Orange Bowl in 1939 and 1968.
“I thought our defense was incredible,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “They got great pressure on the quarterback and eliminated the run game.”
The game attracted a turnout of 85,622, the fourth-largest crowd in OU history.
The Sooners (3-0), ranked third in the USA Today Coaches poll, dominated the first-half action and built a 20-7 lead at intermission.
Tennessee (2-1) held its own in the second half, but Julian Wilson’s 100-yard interception return of a tipped Worley pass early in the fourth quarter killed any chance the Vols had of making the game closer.
It appeared that Wilson may have dropped the ball before crossing the goal line and officials reviewed the play. They ruled Wilson had crossed into the end zone before dropping the football. The touchdown stood.
“Coach Stoops came and asked me, ‘Did you get over the goal line?’ and I said, ‘Yes, I was looking down and once I’d seen red, I dropped the ball. I guess (the officials) needed to review it, but I knew I was in the end zone.”
Worley was in on the Vols’ lone touchdown, a 40-yard strike to Josh Smith in the second quarter. Smith finished with a career-high catches for 58 yards. Marquez North caught six passes for 67 yards.
Aaron Medley kicked a 31-yard third quarter field goal for Tennessee’s only other points.
Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Keith Ford and scored on a 5-yard run in the third quarter to lead the Sooners’ vaunted offense. He completed 20-of-33 attempts for 308 yards and the one score.
Knight completed 20-of-33 passes for 306 yards with one interception. He put up 229 yards in the first half.
"I think coming out and starting quick was big for us,” Knight said. “We got three points on that first drive and that wasn’t necessarily what we wanted. But we came back and got a touchdown and jumped on them pretty quick.”
Sterling Shepard caught had five receptions for 109 yards, with a long catch of 45 yards.
Oklahoma finished with 454 yards of total offense after having averaged 508 yards in their first two games.
Worley, who was sacked five times by the Sooners’ aggressive defense, hit on 21-of-44 passes for 201 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble.
"My attitude is relentless and I'll never stop," said Sooners linebacker Erik Stricker. "That's my attitude every series I go out there. I will never give up. I will keep going until the clock says zero."
Senior safety Quentin Hayes had two sacks for minus-13 yards for the Sooners.
"I don't think any offense wants to be constantly pressured like that," Hayes said. "It causes them to hurry up and make mistakes."
Freshman running back Jalen Hurd flashed much more of his much-ballyhooed talents by gaining 97 yards on 14 carries. He had a career-long 44-yarder in the fourth quarter.
The teams will re-match in Knoxville on Sept. 12, 2015.
Tennessee trimmed Oklahoma’s lead to 13-7 in the second quarter when Worley hooked up with Smith. The Sooners responded two drives later with Ford’s 11-yard second-quarter run to extend the lead to 20-7.
Knight’s 5-yard scoring run gave the Sooners a 27-7 advantage and Medley’s field 31-yard field goal as the Vols pulled within 27-10.
With the Vols driving, Worley dropped back and fired a pass that was deflected by linebacker Jordan Evans inside the 5 and Wilson grabbed the ball, turned and raced 100 yards for the touchdown.
Earlier, Hurd broke loose on a 43-yard scamper to get the Vols’ offense on a roll, but Zack Sanchez picked off a Worley pass in the end zone to end that threat. It was Sanchez’s third interception this season and fifth in his last six games.
Worley threw for 114 first-half yards, but the Sooners’ tenacious defense held the Vols to minus-11 yards before intermission. With Hurd hitting breaking some nice runs in the second half. Tennessee finished with 112 rushing yards.
Game Statistics
Tennessee 0 7 3 0 – 10
Oklahoma 13 7 7 7 – 34
First Quarter
OU – FG Michael Hunnicutt 29, 9:48
OU – Keith Ford 23 pass from Trevor Knight (Hunnicutt kick), 5:52
OU – FG Hunnicutt 27, :04
Second Quarter
UT — Josh Smith 40 pass from Justin Worley (Aaron Medley kick), 9:46
OU – Ford 11 run (Hunnicutt kick), 1:33
Third Quarter
OU — Knight 5 run (Hunnicutt kick), 12:25
UT – FG Medley 31, 2:29
Fourth Quarter
OU – Julian Wilson 100 interception return (Hunnicutt kick), 10:57
Att – 85,622
YARDSTICK
UT OU
First Downs 18 21
Rushes-Yards 33-112 34-146
Passing Yards 201 308
Att-Com-Int 21-44-2 20-33-1
Total Yards 54-313 54-454
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1
Punts.-Avg. 8-34.8 5-38.0
Penalties-Yds. 1-10 5-41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Tennessee: Jalen Hurd 14-97, Marlin Lane 10-42, Neiko Creamer 1-1, Team 1-minus 2, Justin Worley 6-minus 23; Oklahoma: Samaje Perine 9-67, Keith Ford 15-56 Trevor Knight 5-17, Alex Ross 5-6.
PASSING — Tennessee: Worley 21-44-2 201; Oklahoma: Knight 20-33-1 308.
RECEIVING — Tennessee: Marquez North 6-67, Josh Smith 5-58, Hurd 2-24, Josh Malone 2-23, Alton Howard 4-22, Lane 2-7; Oklahoma: Sterling Shepard 5-109, Durron Neal 7-71, B. Bell 3-52, Ford 2-35, K.J. Young 2-28, Perine 1-13.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)