Tennessee had a couple of prayers answered in their smothering win over Oklahoma. When the Vols committed turnovers, Tennessee’s defense was right there to flip things back in the Vols’ favor. Maybe Tennessee’s defense had some help from above.

The No. 6 Vols beat No. 15 Oklahoma 25-15, in part, because of two key turnovers forced during Tennessee’s dominant defensive performance against the Sooners, in which they gave up just 222 total yards. Both turnovers came just after Tennessee had become a bit careless with the ball on offense. 

The first occurred in the second quarter when Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was sacked and striped of the ball, which Oklahoma recovered at the Vols’ 5-yard line. Fortunately for the Vols, Tennessee defensive lineman Joshua Josephs forced a fumble and recovered it on the next play. Disaster averted.

“I just want to thank Jesus Christ for having me in the situation,” the junior EDGE rusher said. “Having me in that play, having me on the edge, having me ready to make that play.”

Whomever was in charge above had Josephs in the right position. However, he certainly deserves some credit for the hard work he put in last week in preparing for Oklahoma.

“I watch film,” Josephs said. “I know they like to run the quarterbacks in the goal line (package). I played my keys. I saw the ball. They tried to block me. I got off the block and I just went for the ball. That’s pretty much all.”

The Vols didn’t seem to be affected by the supposedly hostile crowd that they faced in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Tennessee, especially on defense, looked like a veteran group that had been there and done that. On a hot, steamy night in Norman, the Vols looked cool and ready for whatever the Sooners’ offense could throw their way.

“We love road games,” Josephs said. “We love playing on the road. It’s going to be fun, like playing more SEC games on the road. Next, we got Arkansas. That should be a very fun game.”

Tennessee’s players and coaches were pretty tight-lipped about playing Oklahoma, but everyone knew the backdrop surrounding the contest. UT head coach Josh Heupel won a national championship as the Sooners’ quarterback in 2000 and coached at Oklahoma for more than a decade before being fired in 2014.

Josephs admitted that the Heupel-Oklahoma tie added some electricity to the game as Tennessee’s defense repeatedly struck the Sooners with lightning quick defensive pressure. The Vols were so dominant up front against the Sooners that Oklahoma’s starting quarterback, Jackson Arnold, was benched in the second quarter of the game for freshman Michael Hawkins, Jr.

The quarterback change didn’t help all that much, although Hawkins was able to lead Oklahoma to a touchdown, which was the first offensive touchdown scored against the Vols since the Vanderbilt game in November. The Vols went 19 consecutive quarters without allowing an offensive touchdown, which is the best such defensive streak since the 1930’s. 

It was the second-longest streak in program history, longest in the FBS in the last 20 years and longest for Tennessee since shutting out 15-straight opponents from Nov. 5, 1938 to Dec. 9, 1939 under former Tennessee head coach Gen. Robert Neyland.

“Man, we were mad,” Josephs said of giving up an offensive touchdown. “We did not want that to happen. But, that’s a good football team. They were ranked top 15 for a reason. I’m not going to say it was bound to happen, but…we really wanted to keep that streak up.”

Streak or not, Tennessee’s defensive front was incredibly dominant. The Vols allowed just 36 rushing yards, recorded three sacks, 11 tackles for a loss, forced two fumbles, recovered them both and racked up a safety. Not bad.

Josephs forced both of the fumbles and recovered one of them. He also logged a tackle for a loss among his three takedowns. However, Josephs seemed most pleased by the Vols’ play against the run as Tennessee allowed just 1.1 yards per carry.

“We pride ourselves on being like a run-stopper defense,” Josephs said. “Everybody loves sacks. We still feel like we’ve got the best pass rush unit in all of college football.”

Josephs may be right. The Vols, who are now 4-0, lead the nation in total defense, giving up just 176 yards per game. The Vols are second in the nation in rushing yards allowed with just over 50 yards given up per game. That’s certainly something to build on as the Vols cruise into a bye week. 

Amen.