No. 4 Sooners Dominate Tennessee

Trevor Knight passed for 308 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score to help No. 4 Oklahoma defeat Tennessee 34-10 on Saturday night.<br/><br/>

Sunday, September 14th 2014, 12:08 am

By: News 9


Trevor Knight passed for 308 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score to help No. 4 Oklahoma defeat Tennessee 34-10 on Saturday night.

Sterling Shepard caught five passes for 109 yards and Keith Ford caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score for Oklahoma (3-0), which won its seventh straight game dating to last season.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops got the best of the Southeastern Conference again. The Sooners beat SEC member Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

Justin Worley passed for 201 yards for Tennessee, but he completed just 21 of 44 passes, was sacked five times, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

Jalen Hurd ran for 97 yards on 14 carries and Josh Smith caught five passes for 58 yards and a touchdown for the Volunteers (2-1).

A game that looked like it might get out of hand got competitive at times in the second half.

In the early minutes of the third quarter, Knight found Durron Neal for 43 yards to move the Sooners into the red zone, then Knight kept it himself for a 5-yard touchdown run that pushed Oklahoma's lead to 27-7.

Tennessee got some hope after recovering a fumbled punt at the Oklahoma 30. A facemask penalty moved the ball to the Oklahoma 21, but the Volunteers got just a field goal out of it, a 31-yarder by Aaron Medley to trim Oklahoma's lead to 27-10 with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter.

Hurd busted loose for 43 yards to put Tennessee in business again, but Zack Sanchez intercepted Worley in the end zone to end the threat. It was Sanchez's third interception of the season and fifth in his past six games.

The Volunteers got the ball deep into Oklahoma territory early in the fourth quarter, but Julian Wilson intercepted a pass that was deflected by linebacker Jordan Evans and ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown to put the Sooners up 34-10 with 10:57 to play.

Oklahoma dominated early. After the Sooners took a 3-0 lead, Tennessee moved across midfield before Oklahoma safety Quentin Hayes hit Worley from behind, forced a fumble and then recovered it. Knight connected with Ford out of the backfield for a 23-yard touchdown that put the Sooners up 10-0. Michael Hunnicutt's second short field goal increased the Sooners' lead to 13-0.

Tennessee finally got on the board after catching a break. Worley was sacked on third down, but Oklahoma was called for an offside penalty, and Worley took advantage by connecting with Hurd for a 30-yard gain. Later in the drive, Worley found Smith for a 40-yard touchdown pass to cut Oklahoma's lead to 13-7 in the second quarter.

Tennessee had a chance to tighten the game further or take the lead on its next possession, but the Sooners held. Oklahoma turned the momentum on the ensuing drive when Ford broke loose for an 11-yard touchdown run to push the Sooners' lead to 20-7 late in the first half.

Knight passed for 229 yards in the first half and Shepard had 99 yards on four catches. Worley passed for 144 yards in the first half, but the Volunteers rushed for minus-11 yards before the break.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

September 14th, 2014

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024