1 week Ago
Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt does not like what he saw from a Top 25 college football team in Week 4. In the biggest matchup of the weekend, the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers made a trip to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the No.
15 Sooners in a conference opener. The game featured the return of former OU quarterback Josh Heupel, now in his fourth season at the helm of the Vols, and marked the first SEC game in Sooners program history. Tennessee controlled the contest from the opening kick, but it wasn't because of star quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
The redshirt freshman passed for 194 yards with one touchdown and lost two fumbles. It was the Vols defense that made the difference by allowing just 222 yards of total offense by the Sooners, leading to a 25-15 win by Tennessee. Oklahoma's offensive struggles led to the benching of starting quarterback Jackson Arnold in favor of Michael Hawkins Jr.
The game was already out of reach for the by the time the Sooners finally found the endzone in the fourth quarter. BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images "I did watch their offensive film on Sunday and it was gross," Klatt said . .
.."Again I'm watching this I'm just like, 'Man, this is as poor an offensive film as I've watched in a long time, certainly in the last four or five years (and) maybe in my entire career.
' So that's what's going on for the Oklahoma Sooners fans. Arnold lost two fumbles and threw an interception before he was pulled late in the second quarter. It seemed like head coach Brent Venables and the OU staff put the blame on the sophomore for the issues.
But Klatt doesn't agree that the Sooners' problems were limited to quarterback play. "Arnold was put into a position where he could not succeed because the scheme of Tennessee's defense was taking away everything that Oklahoma was trying to do when Jackson Arnold was in the game," Klatt said. Klatt is alluding to the fact that Oklahoma was forced to change the gameplan with Tennessee holding a 19-3 lead at the half.
Hawkins was given more opportunities in the passing game, which led to a notable difference on the stat sheet between the two signal-callers. Arnold completed 7-of-16 passes for 54 yards with an interception. Hawkins completed 11-of-18 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown with 12 carries for 22 yards on the ground.
The reality is that Oklahoma's front did not challenge the Tennessee defensive line to give the offense a chance to keep up. The Sooners allowed three sacks, 11 tackles for loss and averaged just 1.1 yards per carry.
"You might think it's just a quarterback problem," Klatt continued. "This will not be fixed with Michael Hawkins as your quarterback." Oklahoma dropped six spots to No.
21 in the AP Poll following the loss. The Vols now sit at No. 5 after moving to 4-0 on the season.
Related: Paul Finebaum Calls SEC Head Coach 'Disheveled And Confused' After Week 4 Loss Related: SEC Program Loses Starting Quarterback to Season Ending Injury in Week 4.
