It has been said when an NBA team heads into a hostile road environment during the playoffs, that they need to overcome the first wave of momentum that the home team enters the game with. Usually, the home team will get out to a quick 10 point lead and the crowd will be completely enthralled with what they see on the court. But as is the case with most sports that are timed, the emotional ebbs and flows make it to where the emotions at the outset of the game rarely translate to the emotions at the end of the game.
For the first 50 minutes of their match-up with the University of Tennessee, the Oklahoma Sooners could not sustain a drive of any sort, as they not only battled the Volunteer defense, but also a crowd of over 100,000 fans. Stadiums with that much capacity are, up to this point, a rarity in the Big 12. After the Vols jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the beginning of the 2nd quarter, a decibel reader in Neyland Stadium recorded a decibel level of 114, which is said to be on par with that of a sand blaster or a live rock band. The Sooners battled through that momentous wave for 50 minutes, before finally waking up and beating the Volunteers 31-24 in double overtime.
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs had the Volunteer offense humming in the first 15 minutes of action, mixing in a running and passing attack that kept the Sooner defense off-balance. In addition, running back Jalen Hurd took advantage of the extra attention that was being paid to Dobbs by the Sooners defense. Mike Stoops-led defenses have a penchant for giving up big games to mobile quarterbacks, and this game was setting up to be no different. When Austin Seibert finally got the Sooners on the board with a field goal with 4:56 left in the first half, the dynamic of the game began to change a bit. The Volunteers were no longer able to sustain long drives, as the Sooners defense started clamping down on the edges and started bringing more pressure up the middle. Davonte Bond finished the game with 2 sacks and Eric Striker was all over the field applying pressure on the quarterback. With the running option no longer working for Dobbs and Hurd, the Vols had to resort to the weaker part of their offense: passing.
While the Sooners’ defense was putting on a clinic showing how to stop an offense in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the Sooners’ offense was still struggling to put together sustained drives. That is, until the 4th quarter. Up to that point, Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield was 8 of 25 for 84 yards with 2 interceptions. He went 11 of 14 the rest of the way for 103 yards and 3 touchdowns. The recipient of two of those touchdown tosses was Sterling Shepard, who finished with 7 catches for 74 yards. The running game came alive in the 2nd half as Semaje Perine, Joe Mixon, and Mayfield finished with 162 yards on 47 carries.
With 8 minutes left in the game, the Sooners finally put together a 14 play, 80 yard drive that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown grab from Perine. After another 3 and out by the Vols, the Sooners marched down the field for a 13 play, 60 yard drive that resulted in a Shepard TD grab in the back corner of the end zone. After being down the entirety of the game, the Sooners finally tied the game up and brought the game to overtime.
In the first overtime, each team exchanged touchdowns to take it to the 2nd overtime. The Sooners had the first possession of the 2nd overtime, and got it into the end zone in 3 snaps, culminating with a tightrope walking jaunt down the sideline by Shepard into the end zone. Tennessee’s 2nd overtime possession also lasted only 3 plays, but ended with an interception by Zach Sanchez to end the game. For a team that is not known for being a come from behind team, this win gives the Sooners momentum heading into the easier part of their schedule.