Nico Iamaleava had a beautiful touchdown pass, Tennessee Football forced three turnovers, and the Vols took all the momentum away from the Oklahoma Sooners late in the first half with a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. However, a safety was the key moment for UT in its dominating win at OU.
Clinging to a 10-3 lead in the second quarter, the Vols and Sooners had exchange turnovers at one point, and then UT was forced to punt on its next drive. Jackson Ross delivered a beauty that pinned OU inside its own 10-yard line. Then they had a false start.
This set up the key play to put Tennessee Football in control. On a simple handoff to Javontae Barnes, Jayson Jenkins burst through the line and came away with a tackle to force a safety, giving the Vols the ball with a two-score lead. In a defensive slugfest, that essentially iced it.
Yes, the two teams traded fumbles again later in that half, and the Vols really worked the clock in the second half. However, given how awful OU’s offense was playing all night, it was pretty clear that once Rocky Top came away with that safety, they weren’t going to lose.
The play was indicative of the season for both teams. OU has been severely injured on the offensive front, and the Vols look like they have one of their greatest defensive lines, if not their greatest given their depth, in school history.
That defensive line is why Rocky Top was able to extend its streak of quarters without allowing a defensive touchdown to 19 in this game before giving up one in the fourth. It’s the longest streak since they shut out 15 straight opponents under Robert Neyland from 1938 to 1939.
With that elite line, Tennessee Football is now able to enter a bye week, giving Iamaleava more time to develop and letting players get healthy. They are now 4-0 and in prime position for a College Football Playoff spot. An opportunistic defense like the one that could get that safety makes this team deadly.
