Oklahoma vs Tennessee: Post-Game Grades for Sooners, Volunteers

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As the momentum finally flipped for good with Oklahoma cornerback Zack Sanchez, stepping in front of Marquez North for a double-overtime, game-clinching interception, the Sooners celebrated.

Meanwhile, No. 23 Tennessee is left wondering what might have been as it squandered a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter to lose in extra sessions 31-24. It was eerily similar to the tight way UT played a season ago in a home loss to Florida.

The game-changers for OU were quarterback Baker Mayfield and receiver Sterling Shepard, who turned around a sputtering first half to dazzle after the break. They provided just enough plays to outlast UT, and the Vols made crucial mistakes in important moments.

"This one hurts for sure," Tennessee senior left tackle Kyler Kerbyson said after the game. "We're definitely still on the up-and-up, which is very enjoyable, and I can't say enough for the guys on this team. They don't give up…So, this is definitely a hard one to take, but we've got to bounce back."

This could really skyrocket the Sooners' season after such a monumental comeback. Emotions certainly ran high in both directions after the game. NewsOKSports' Jason Kersey shared head coach Butch Jones' firm advice for Oklahoma's Eric Striker, courtesy of Striker himself:

Let's take a look at how both teams turned out on the night.

	First Half	Second Half
Pass Offense	D	B+
Rush Offense	C-	C+
Pass Defense	B-	B+
Rush Defense	C	A
Special Teams	B-	B-
Coaching	D	A

Pass Offense: Mayfield looked rattled in the first half as Tennessee's defense was smothering receivers and pressuring him. Though he made several quality throws, he finished the first half just 7-of-20 for 77 yards and a touchdown. After the break, he was a new player.

The Texas Tech transfer connected with Sterling Shepard for two of his three touchdown passes and willed OU to the win. Multiple times, Tennessee would seem to have him down, and he'd wriggle free and extend the play.

"Tough player," UT linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said afterward. "Tough quarterback there."

Rush Offense: Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon never got on track, and no Oklahoma runner averaged more than 3.8 yards per carry against a stingy Tennessee front. But Perine got big yards when he needed them to extend drives. Every yard was tough, but he battled through a difficult night and wound up with 78 yards.

Pass Defense: Oklahoma stopped UT from being able to get anything going downfield in the passing game. The pass-rushers harassed Vols quarterback Joshua Dobbs and kept him searching for that elusive signature win. The Sooners held Dobbs to 13-of-31 passing for 125 yards and came away with the crucial interception to seal the win.

Rush Defense: The Vols and junior Jalen Hurd had their way at times in the first half, controlling the game with the run. Afterward, OU's young offensive front and star linebackers shut things down. They allowed just 29 second-half yards on the ground (aided by a few sacks of Dobbs). The Sooners came through when they needed to.

Special Teams: There were a couple of shanked punts, but all in all, Austin Siebert had a good night, making his only field-goal try from 35 yards and punting eight times for an average of 43.4. The Sooners didn't do much in the return game, but they didn't kill themselves on special teams, so it was just an OK night.

Coaching: You've got to hand it to Bob Stoops: the man stayed the course, kept grinding out his game plan and got key plays from Mayfield and Shepard with the game on the line. He got some help with bad Tennessee penalties to extend OU drives, but Stoops kept dialing up the plays that were working such as that short crossing pattern that killed Tennessee. It ultimately resulted in a huge win. OU Daily Sports provided a video of Coach Stoops speaking to his team following their comeback victory: 

	First Half	Second Half
Pass Offense	C	D
Rush Offense	A	C-
Pass Defense	A	D
Rush Defense	B+	B
Special Teams	A	B+
Coaching	B-	D-

Pass Offense: Dobbs' quest to win against a ranked opponent continues, and he struggled to carry the Vols down the stretch. It wasn't all his fault, as an offensive line that played great a week ago couldn't duplicate the feat against Oklahoma. The junior quarterback finished 13-of-31 passing with 125 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He couldn't generate anything downfield, and OU was able to stack the box because of it.

"It was just a lack of execution," Dobbs said of a second half that went scoreless until overtime. "We've just got to be able to adjust and execute."

Tennessee's inability to do that cost the Vols a win.

Rush Offense: Hurd proved he's a monster on one of the biggest stages, barreling through Oklahoma's line and around the end for 106 yards on 24 carries on a night when every yard was tough. He also scored a touchdown. But Alvin Kamara had just four yards on four carries, and UT could do nothing in the second half to sustain drives.

After the running game was a strength through the season's first six quarters, it failed the Vols when it mattered most. Hurd's pivotal fumble after a turnover gave UT field position at the Oklahoma 29-yard line but led to a scoreless drive that proved costly.

"Obviously, in a game like this, you have to take advantage of your field position," Jones said. "It's all about negative plays. You can't have pre-snap penalties, and you can't have negative plays. Too many times we were 2nd-and-15, 1st-and-15. That's really, really hard to overcome versus a talented defense with which they have."

Pass Defense: The Vols were better than they were a week ago when they were torched against Bowling Green, but there were still too many busts and beats.

Emmanuel Moseley was beaten a couple of times, including on a touchdown. 

Also, the Vols couldn't ever guard the short crossing routes or come up with a big play to get OU off the field. On the game-tying drive at the end of regulation, Malik Foreman bad pass-inteference call in the end zone extended the series.

"We gave them a lot of penalty yards," Reeves-Maybin said. "We had them stopped a couple of times and let them make a play."

Rush Defense: It's hard to fault a bunch that held Perine and Mixon in check. Even when defensive tackles were dropping left and right with injuries or suspensions, UT kept inserting players who made plays. Perine wound up getting some gritty yards, but the Vols more than held their own, even if Mayfield's slipperiness was a huge deterrent. 

Special Teams: The Vols have found their punter of the future in walk-on Trevor Daniel, who boomed punts all night and was arguably UT's top player for three quarters in a field-position battle. He wound up with nine punts for a 50-yard average. Evan Berry had a big 27-yard kick return called back for a hold, and though Aaron Medley hit a field goal, he also missed another one. That loomed large.

Coaching: The quizzical calls started on the first drive when Jones elected to run Kamara on 3rd-and-goal from the 1 rather than the 242-pound Hurd. When he didn't get in the end zone, the Vols kicked the field goal rather than go for it.

It was part of an ultra-conservative game plan that seemed like UT played not to lose once it built a 17-3 lead. Stephen Hargis of the Times Free Press shared his analysis regarding UT's game plan:

Tennessee shot itself in the foot various times with bad plays to stall drives, but there was no innovative play-calling, and with the offense struggling, neither Jones nor coordinator Mike DeBord could dial up anything to get their team out of a funk, just like last year's game against the Gators.

Both resulted in soul-crushing losses.

All stats gathered from UTSports.com unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information gathered from 247Sports unless otherwise noted. All quotes gathered firsthand, unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.