Oklahoma
Tennessee football playoff hopes go dark in loss vs Oklahoma big-play defense | Adams
Tennessee football didn’t need as many points as its high-scoring offense often produces at Neyland Stadium. But the Vols needed more than they got against an aggressive, turnover-forcing Oklahoma defense Nov. 1.
The upset result was disastrous for a team seemingly on course for back-to-back berths in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The No. 14 Vols (6-3, 3-3 SEC) can forget the playoffs. And they might want to shelf those Dark Mode uniforms given the final score – 33-27 Oklahoma’s way.
The all-black look wasn’t even the oddest attire on this evening. Tate Sandell was wearing as tiny a pair of shorts as you will ever see on a football field when he helped kick Tennessee out of the playoffs with field goals of 55, 55, 51 and 40 yards.
Sandell kicked the longest. But Oklahoma’s elite defense kicked hard, too.
The No. 18 Sooners (7-2, 3-2), who lead the SEC in fewest points and yards allowed per game, intercepted two passes when usually reliable Joey Aguilar threw into double coverage. Those interceptions and returns set up two of Sandell’s field goals.
But Oklahoma’s first score was more memorable. Aguilar fumbled when struck by the Sooners’ fierce pass rush, and R. Mason Thomas returned the recovery 71 yards for a touchdown. The score was costly since Thomas apparently strained an hamstring and was unable to return.
That set the tone of a game in where the defenses frequently had the upper-hand even though both teams had to weather the loss of multiple defenders to injury.
Oklahoma needed every bit of its kicking and defense to keep its playoff hopes alive, because its offense little support for much of the game.
Never mind how many opponents rolled up so many points and so much yardage against UT’s usually vulnerable defense. That same defense wasn’t on its heels so much against the Sooners.
The Sooners’ pedestrian offense consisted mainly of Washington State transfer John Mateer scrambling, running and completing short passes.
That worked well in the first few weeks of the season before Mateer broke a bone in his throwing hand against Auburn. He rushed back to action just 17 days after surgery but hasn’t been nearly as effective since. But he managed to lead the Sooners on a touchdown drive in the third quarter.
That was enough the way Oklahoma defense was knocking the Vols around.
Coach Josh Heupel’s high-flying offense hasn’t run into a defense of this caliber all season. The Sooners repeatedly delivered jarring highlight hits even when they didn’t force a turnover. And they didn’t tire despite all the time they were on the field in the first half when Tennessee outgained Oklahoma 255 to 90 yards.
But yardage didn’t matter as much in this game as game-turning defensive plays. Finaly, Tennessee managed one of its own.
Linebacker Edwin Spillman intercepted an ill-advised Mateer pass with 4:18 to play, and Oklahoma threatening to run out the clock.
Aguilar ran and passed the Vols from their 45 to the Oklahoma 15 before throwing his third touchdown pass of the game – 15 yards to Mike Matthews. That left the Vols down by two points with 1:56 to play.
An onside kick took a tricky bounce, but Oklahoma recovered. One play later, Xavier Robinson ran 43 yards to the 1-yard-line, where he thought it would be a good idea to go down and run more clock. Mateer thought differently and ran over the goal line on the next play to clinch the victory.
The Vols left the field in their Dark Mode uniforms on the darkest regular-season night of the past two seasons. And, as what was left of the Tennessee crowd left, too, it probably was missing those traditional orange and white uniforms more than ever.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
Oklahoma
‘I cannot stay silent’ Oklahoma City moves to dismiss former attorneys claims seized cash
A legal fight is escalating between former Oklahoma City municipal attorney Orval Jones and the city over how the Oklahoma City Police Department handled cash seized during arrests.
The city has filed a motion asking a judge to strike Jones’ claims, arguing he has no legal standing and calling the criminal-case process a “restitution scheme.”
Jones says he spent eight years “cleaning up” the OKCPD property return process from 2017 to March 2025 until he resigned “due to duress” in September.
He filed an affidavit claiming OKCPD seized more than $400,000 in cash from arrests and deposited it into the city’s bank account.
In his audit, Jones made lists of seized cash amounts, including amounts under $250, from $250 up to $500, and more than $500.
In its motion, the city argues Jones is no longer an attorney for the city or the district attorney’s office, is not an owner of any of the property “properly disposed of,” and has not suffered an injury.
The city also alleges Jones filed his motion with “half-truths” and without support or proof.
Jones responded in a rebuttal affidavit that the issue involves injury to the state, the county, other counties, crime victims, and property owners who received no notice. Jones said, “I had a professional duty to tell the court that these filings were legally defective and potentially fraudulent. I cannot stay silent.”
In an email in April 2025, OKCPD Chief Ron Bacy said the department had 288,000 overdue property and currency claims needing a disposition update, and that many investigators assigned to those cases are no longer employed with the department. Bacy said the department developed programs to assist the Property Management Unit.
Court documents show more than 350,000 pieces of property held in the Property Management Unit, more than $2.5 million in the unit’s bank account, and that 80% of the property and money are due for disposition.
If a judge agrees with Jones, the funds may be returned to the owners.
If the judge agrees with the city, the case will be dropped.
The city and OKCPD had not responded to open records requests submitted Feb. 10.
When asked whether the city conducted or requested an internal review into the allegations, the city said it does not comment on pending litigation.
A hearing has been set later this month.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma AG Drummond backs Trump EPA bid to rescind 2009 greenhouse gas finding
OKLA. — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is seeking to join a federal court fight over the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to roll back a key climate change finding that has underpinned vehicle emissions regulations for more than a decade.
Drummond filed a motion to intervene with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on March 9, 2026, backing the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate what his office called “radical regulations of carbon emissions.”
The dispute centers on the EPA’s decision to rescind the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding.
In a Final Rule issued earlier this year, the EPA concluded it lacked statutory authority to establish the Endangerment Finding, which had been used to justify vehicle emission restrictions under the Clean Air Act.
Drummond joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general seeking to support the EPA after “a gaggle of special-interest groups” petitioned the D.C. Circuit to review the Final Rule.
“Thankfully, the Trump Administration is correcting the outrageous overreach that was the hallmark of the Obama-Biden Administration,” Drummond said. “Oklahoma’s energy industry, and that of our nation, should not be hobbled by unnecessary regulations born from a radical climate agenda. A panoply of would-be vehicle emission standards would be disastrous for a robust oil and gas industry, adversely impact our economy, hurt the reliability of our electrical grids and undermine national security.”
Drummond’s office said that since taking office he has filed more than 25 legal actions opposing environmental regulations, including tailpipe emission standards and efforts aimed at eliminating gas-powered vehicles.
In addition to Oklahoma, the states joining the motion to intervene are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma adds explosive 4-star commit on offense
Oklahoma adds explosive 4-star commit on offense appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The 2026 college football season is still months away from kicking off, but coaches are already hitting the College football Recruiting trail for players in the class of 2027. Oklahoma has already landed some talented players.
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Now, they have added another solid player, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.
Athlete Greydon Howell, rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals, has committed to Oklahoma. Howell is from Broken Bow, Oklahoma, and chose to go to the Sooners over Oklahoma State, Miami, Penn State, Stanford, and Arkansas. He visited Oklahoma over the weekend, attending a recruiting event.
The 4-star recruit has been a dominant force at his high school in the sports landscape. He plays football, basketball, baseball, and track. This past season, he played quarterback for his team, passing for 2,817 yards with 27 scores, while adding 1,514 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground. He is expected to play wide receiver for the Sooners.
Rivals ranks him as the 13th best athlete in the nation, and 425th overall. Still, other ranking services have him lower. 247Sports has Howell ranked as a three-star player and the 25th best athlete in the nation.
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Regardless, it is another major signing for Brent Venables and the Sooners. They have 19 commitments so far, and have the number one-ranked class for 2027 according to 247Sports. They have been great at keeping in-state guys at Oklahoma. Kaeden Penny is the top player in the state for the class of 2027, and he is going to Oklahoma. Cooper Hackett is ranked third in the state and is also a future Sooner.
The Sooners open their 2026 campaign on September 5 against Utep.
Oklahoma Sooners land 4-star safety over Florida, Georgia
Oklahoma lands top tight end over Kentucky, Notre Dame
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