Vols' hard-fought road win begins new era for Tennessee football

Tennessee football overcomes one of the biggest hurdles it's faced in the past two decades—beating a top-15 team on the road. It's one of the hardest things to do, especially in the SEC, but Tennessee does just that in its SEC opener against Oklahoma. 

The Vols survived the Sooners' fourth-quarter comeback attempt and earned the 25-15 win in Norman. For the first time in a long time, Tennessee controlled a game that saw five turnovers, few touchdowns, and a focus on defense. 

The ABC broadcast spent a significant amount of time focusing on General Neyland's maxims, which the Tennessee football program continues to live by today. Tennessee lived by those maxims in Saturday night's games, and they helped carry the Vols to the road win. 

Tennessee had to play a bit conservative offensively because of struggles on the offensive line. Lance Heard was out for the game, and John Campbell left the game early, so Tennessee had to play most of the game with its second—and third-string tackles, but that didn't stop the offense from finding a way to put points on the board. 

While the offense has been the highlight throughout the first three games of the season, the defense is the reason why Tennessee was able to grind out the win. Oklahoma was held to only 222 total yards and 36 rushing yards. 

Tennessee also kept Oklahoma out of the endzone for the first three quarters but gave up two late touchdowns as the Sooners attempted to come back in front of a half-empty stadium. Those fourth-quarter touchdowns ended the Vols' streak of 19 straight quarters without allowing a touchdown, but they won't diminish the dominant defensive performance. 

It was likely an emotional night for Josh Heupel, who was returning to Norman for the first time since being fired a decade ago as the Sooners' offensive coordinator. Despite the emotions and memories he faced on his return, he and the Vols handled business on the road. 

This win also starts a new era in Tennessee football. We saw Tennessee reach No. 1 in the AP Poll in 2022, but they didn't win the marquee over a top team on the road. They did that this year in their first attempt, which marks the first time Tennessee beat a top-15 team on the road since 2006 when they beat No. 10 Georgia 51-33 in Athens. 

Tennessee teams of the past might not have won this game. Tennessee was in Norman nine years ago but got blown out. Despite the offensive struggles, the team kept responding. The defense showed up and won the game while the offense continues to figure itself out. 

The Vols have plenty to work on but have also made themselves known as potential National Championship contenders this season and for years to come with the improved defense and Nico Iamaleava running the offense.