Any doubts over Tennessee Football’s game plan in the second half at Oklahoma Saturday night were quieted by video that went viral on Monday. It showed Josh Heupel talking to Nico Iamaleava on the field after the 25-15 win, confirming he dialed back his offense to adapt to how the game had played out. 

“I pulled back a tad just because the way our defense was playing,” Heupel said in the video. “Hell of a job.”

Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) led 22-3 entering the fourth quarter and had held Oklahoma (3-1, 0-1) under 100 total yards over the first three quarters. The Vols finished with three sacks, 11 tackles for loss, three turnovers forced and recorded a safety for a second straight week. 

Vols suffocated Oklahoma on defense, forcing three turnovers with three sacks, 11 TFLs

The defense was so overwhelming that the Sooners benched starting quarterback Jackson Arnold in the second quarter, after he committed his third turnover of the half. 

Tennessee took a 12-3 lead when Jayson Jenkins recorded a tackle for loss in the end zone for the safety with 9:12 left in the second quarter. A little less than eight minutes later, Dylan Sampson plunged in on a 1-yard touchdown run, capping an eight-play, 46-yard scoring drive that consisted of nothing but run plays. 

The Vols attempted 10 passes in the second half, including just two in the fourth quarter.

According to SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic, Heupel slowing down his offense was “smart as hell.”

“You didn’t put it in Nico (Iamaleava’s) hands,” Cubelic said on ‘The Cube Show’. “To go on the road for the first time in a tough environment, against a tough opponent, against a tough defense that was going to move and going to pressure, going to blitz, had talent, you didn’t put it in his hands. Which was smart as hell.”

‘Tennessee stayed committed to the run. And it worked.’

Iamaleava did plenty to help Tennessee take control and win the game. The redshirt freshman, making his first true road start, completed 13 of 21 passes for 194 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to put the Vols up 10-3 in the first quarter. He also had completions of 38 and 42 yards to Bru McCoy. 

Tennessee rushed 52 times as a team for 151 yards and a touchdown. Sampson carried 24 times for 92 yards and DeSean Bishop had 16 attempts for another 65 yards. Iamaleava ran eight times for 15 yards.

“What did they do?” Cubelic asked. “They said, ‘I know this run game is not going, but we’re not giving up on it.’ And they didn’t. They kept hammering the run, they kept grinding it out. And they showed you, like all these folks that lose their minds, (saying) ‘they don’t stay with the run, they bail on the run, they don’t commit to it,’ Tennessee stayed committed to the run. And it worked. 

“And Sampson busted a couple late. His longest run was 16 yards. Who cares? It worked. It got the job done. And yes, you got a couple big plays down the field and yes your quarterback left the pocket a few times. But they kept staying with it.”

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