Tennessee vs. Oklahoma: Five Things We Learned About the Vols

The Tennessee football team revealed a lot after blowing a 17-0 lead to the Oklahoma Sooners. Here are five things we learned about the Volunteers.

We thought nothing could be more heartbreaking than the Tennessee-Florida game last year.

Well, it just took another Checker Neyland game, and once again, the Vols blew a two-score lead late in the game.

Only this time it was once a three-score lead and against a ranked team.

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Butch Jones’s Vols had complete control of this football game until about 10 minutes left in the game. Todd Kelly had intercepted his second pass from Baker Mayfield, the Vols were deep in Oklahoma territory, and they had a 17-3 lead.

Then everything fell apart. That drive collapsed with no points.

Oklahoma scored a touchdown every time they had the ball after that, including in the two overtimes, to win 31-24.

So what happened? How could the Vols collapse like that in what was the largest blown lead by them ever at Neyland Stadium?

Here are five things we learned about the Tennessee football team in this epic collapse against the Sooners.

1. The offensive line is still a problem.

Despite an elite recruiting class and everybody back from last year, Tennessee still has serious issues on the offensive line. To be fair, the Vols faced by far the best front seven they will likely face all year outside of Alabama.

But they had major issues in the process. When Jashon Robertson went down with an injury, the line was a huge issue, and twice in the second half when the Vols were in Oklahoma territory, they could not score because the line gave up huge losses and made huge mistakes. This has to get better if Tennessee wants to get back.

2. Joshua Dobbs is still erratic.

We cannot put all of his struggles squarely on his shoulders, but Dobbs as a whole was still an issue. You can’t go 13 of 31 for 125 yards in any game, much less when your team desperately needs you to step up as the leader.

The Tennessee defense did what it was supposed to do in this game. Although he was hurried a lot, Dobbs had help in the rushing game. He should have made more plays throughout the game, and his accuracy remains an issue because it just comes and goes.

3. The Vols have a great punter.

A little bit of good news for Tennessee, Trevor Daniel is an awesome punter. A walk-on who surprisingly stole the starting job this year, Daniel averaged 50 yards a punt and nailed three inside the 20-yard line.

Also, for the second straight week, he nailed a 60-plus yard punt. Daniel is the reason Tennessee had control of this game for so long because he kept reversing the field position. When he was taken out of the game in overtime, the Vols lost an advantage. But at least we know that Tennessee will be able to rely on him in the future.

4. Tennessee has a great defense that needs more mental toughness.

This is probably unfair, but the defense clearly showed that it is elite after dominating for three and a half quarters in this game, with or without Curt Maggitt. They also were dead tired at the end after the offense could not generate anything.

But being dead tired is nowhere near an excuse to give up a touchdown on four straight drives. Yes, it was assisted by some terrible penalties. But the minute Oklahoma made this game interesting, the Vols began to come apart on defense. That can’t happen again. This is a great unit. It needs more mental toughness. And that brings us to our final point.

5. Tennessee’s inability to win the big game is in the back of its head.

Every player, coach, and fan of the Vols still has no confidence in this football program to win the big game, and it showed once again on Saturday. The fans, to be fair, did their part by getting as loud as they can.

But the players and coaches came up short. We already documented the defense collapsing, and the offense became atrocious in the second half. But the coaching was just as bad, as Butch Jones and Co. coached not to lose, desperately hoping to hold onto the win. That was the mentality of the whole team, just like Florida last year. And it is why they lost again.

Other teams know they can win the big game. Tennessee just hopes it.

The Tennessee football team revealed a lot after blowing a 17-0 lead to the Oklahoma Sooners. Here are five things we learned about the Volunteers.

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