The year was 2014. The Big 12’s Oklahoma Sooners were hosting the SEC’s Tennessee Volunteers in a primetime showdown in Norman, as OU looked to make an early season statement.
Head coach Bob Stoops led the Sooners to a surprising Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama the previous January, and now, in September, Oklahoma was undefeated and ranked in the top five. They had hopes of making the inaugural College Football Playoff behind emerging star quarterback Trevor Knight (a Heisman Trophy candidate heading into the season after his performance against the Crimson Tide) and a stout defense led by Mike Stoops. Fourth-year offensive coordinator Josh Heupel was at the controls of OU’s offense.
On the other side, Butch Jones seemed to be turning things around in Knoxville. The Vols were undefeated, and though they knew a long road back awaited them, they believed they had the right man for the job in Jones. He was recruiting well and adding talent to the Tennessee roster.
Fast forward ten years, and a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. The Sooners and Volunteers now reside in the SEC, but the game will still be in primetime on Owen Field, and Oklahoma would still love an early season statement.
The baton was passed from Stoops to Lincoln Riley in Norman. He carried it for a while before tossing it aside. Brent Venables was the man chosen to begin the climb back to the top. Venables was at Clemson ten years ago, but many of his recruits were on OU’s roster that night.
The Sooners are unbeaten through three games once again in Venables’ third season as the head coach. However, they aren’t ranked as high as they were when they faced the Vols ack in 2014. It’s Seth Littrell in control of the offense. His quarterback is Jackson Arnold.
The Volunteers went from Butch Jones to Jeremy Pruitt before finally hiring the right coach in Heupel. He was let go by Stoops after the 2014 season but has reemerged as a star on Rocky Top. Heupel is doing everything in Knoxville that Jones was thought to be doing a decade ago. The Vols are not the underdogs this week, and they are playing just like anyone in the country. Heupel has a star quarterback of his own in Nico Iamaleava.
On that night in 2014, the Sooners reigned supreme with a strong defensive effort. Oklahoma was constantly pressuring Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley and picked off two of his passes. They also forced a Worley fumble and sacked him five times. Oklahoma won by a score of 34-10, thanks to two Keith Ford touchdowns for the offense.
One of Worley’s interceptions came courtesy of Julian Wilson in the fourth quarter. Wilson returned the ball 100 yards to seal another OU victory. Other standouts included linebacker Eric Striker and defensive backs Zack Sanchez and Quentin Hayes.
𝐒𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟒 𝐯𝐬. 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐞@JWilson_2 looks back on the last time the Vols visited Norman and his record-breaking 100-yard pick six pic.twitter.com/sguV3LQdPq
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 18, 2024
Offensively, it was a solid outing for Knight and the Sooners, as they did more than enough to get the win, considering how well the defense played. Tennessee had just 313 total yards and only 112 on the ground.
Unfortunately, Oklahoma didn’t continue their strong play in the 2014 season. We may have Katy Perry to thank for that.
A team with playoff hopes coming into the season went just 8-5, getting exposed on both sides of the ball. Heupel was fired, Knight lost a quarterback battle the following summer to Baker Mayfield, and the Sooners bounced back with much better seasons in the final two years of the Stoops era before he retired in the summer of 2017.
Bringing things to the present day, Venables has brought defense back to Norman after it was missing in the Riley era. Tennessee is an extremely good football team, and Oklahoma will have to get more out of their offense this week if they want to pull the home upset.
However, if the Sooners are able to do just that, it’ll be the defense once again dominating the day as Oklahoma hosts Tennessee under the lights.
More: Sooners Wire staff predictions for Oklahoma vs. Tennessee
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Publish date : 2024-09-20 05:00:00
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