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.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were shocked by the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night in Paycom Center, losing 124-97. This is OKC’s second loss in as many days, losing last night in Phoenix to the Suns 108-105.
The Thunder’s record is now 30-7 and they are 6-6 in their last 12 games. The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference is playing its worst stretch of basketball in over two years.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points on 7-of-21 shooting to keep his 20-point streak alive. OKC shot a rough 28.2% from three-point range and 66.7% from the charity stripe.
Here are three takeaways from the Thunder’s 27-point home loss.
1. Inability to Make Shots
The glaring struggle for the Thunder tonight was on offense, with the team shooting 36.6% from the floor and 28.2% from three-point range. It’s difficult for any team to win shooting that poorly in a game.
The Thunder found open look after open look across the perimeter, but were unable to convert at a high rate. The Hornets were able to consistently help off of perimeter shooters to bring more defensive attention around Gilgeous-Alexander and inside the paint.
Poor shooting creates poor spacing and poor spacing creates ugly offensive execution. Poor spacing and shooting defined OKC’s woes against Charlotte.
2. Young and Hungry Hornets
Charlotte was by far the more energetic team in its win, amped up on both ends from start to finish, flying in for every loose ball. The young team came in looking to send Loud City home unhappy and they succeeded.
The Thunder were on the back end of an away/home back-to-back, having to quickly fly in from Phoenix to prepare for the game. The Hornets smelt blood in the water early, taking the game from their very first run.
After the game was tied at 33 at the end of the first quarter, Charlotte blazed into a 23-7 run throughout a large part of the second quarter to grasp a firm control of the flow of the game. The Thunder’s struggling offense could not find any momentum to claw back into the hole they fell into.
Charlotte’s shooting performance was remarkable from distance. With a plethora of shots taken with great difficulty, the Hornets managed to shoot 51.4% from three-point range.
The Hornets came in hungry and caught the reigning champions by surprise.
3. Gilgeous-Alexander Keeps Streak Alive Amid Struggles
Gilgeous-Alexander scoring above 20 points, with 21, to keep his historic 20-point streak alive, is the lone positive from a rough loss. Despite struggling through constant full-court pressure and double teams from the Hornets, the reigning MVP was able to muster just enough to keep his hunt for the record alive.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 7-of-21 from the floor and 1-of-6 from three in the loss, adding six assists to his totals. He was OKC’s only 20-point scorer on the night.
The Canadian’s streak of scoring 20-or-more points now sits at 108 games, 18 behind Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 126.
The Sooners have added reinforcement to their backfield for the 2026 season in the form of Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant.
The rising junior has committed to Oklahoma, and will join the program with two years of eligibility remaining. He’ll add explosiveness and versatility to an OU running back corps headlined by returning workhorses Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock.
It’s a return to the Sooner State for Avant, who spent his freshman season at Tulsa in 2024. He signed with the Golden Hurricane out of high school as a three-star recruit. At the time, TU’s head coach was Kevin Wilson, who’s now on staff with Oklahoma as an offensive analyst.
Avant made an immediate impact at Tulsa as a true freshman, rushing for 259 yards and a TD and adding a kick return touchdown. But after Wilson’s dismissal, the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder elected to enter the transfer portal and eventually landed at CSU. There, he became a weapon in several facets for the program during his lone season with the Rams. He totaled over 900 all-purpose yards, 417 of which came on the ground and 261 of which came via pass reception. He scored six total TD’s and averaged nearly six yards per touch.
Upon Avant’s second portal entry, the Sooners quickly emerged as the team to watch in his recruitment. He visited campus Sunday and didn’t take long to lock in his decision.
A native of Humble, Texas, Avant gives Oklahoma six scholarship running backs heading into the new season. He joins Robinson, Blaylock, Andy Bass, and a pair of incoming freshmen in Jonathan Hatton and DeZephen Walker. It’ll also be of some intrigue to see whether OU offers him the chance to return kicks. As a team, the Sooners attempted just two kickoff returns in 2025, opting almost exclusively for fair catches. That philosophy could change with a proven special teams weapon like Avant in the stable.
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Charlotte Hornets (12-23, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-6, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Monday, 8 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -15.5; over/under is 232.5
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City hosts Charlotte looking to continue its three-game home winning streak.
The Thunder have gone 17-2 at home. Oklahoma City scores 121.9 points while outscoring opponents by 14.7 points per game.
The Hornets have gone 5-13 away from home. Charlotte ranks fourth in the league averaging 15.1 made 3-pointers per game while shooting 36.7% from downtown. Kon Knueppel leads the team averaging 3.6 makes while shooting 42.8% from 3-point range.
The Thunder’s 13.6 made 3-pointers per game this season are the same per game average that the Hornets allow. The Hornets are shooting 45.6% from the field, 2.5% higher than the 43.1% the Thunder’s opponents have shot this season.
The teams square off for the second time this season. The Thunder won 109-96 in the last meeting on Nov. 16. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points, and Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 15 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Chet Holmgren is averaging 18.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks for the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 25.0 points over the last 10 games.
Bridges is averaging 20.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Hornets. Brandon Miller is averaging 4.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 6-4, averaging 118.9 points, 42.5 rebounds, 24.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.3 points per game.
Hornets: 5-5, averaging 118.7 points, 45.6 rebounds, 28.8 assists, 7.6 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.8 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Nikola Topic: out (groin), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee), Ousmane Dieng: out (calf), Jaylin Williams: out (heel), Isaiah Hartenstein: out (calf).
Hornets: Mason Plumlee: out (groin), Grant Williams: out (acl), Ryan Kalkbrenner: day to day (elbow), Tidjane Salaun: day to day (ankle), Moussa Diabate: day to day (wrist).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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