No. 15 Oklahoma’s offense struggles mightily in SEC-opening loss to No. 6 Tennessee

It was a rough night for Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold in Oklahoma’s loss to Tennessee. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Oklahoma has some serious questions to figure out on offense.

The No. 15 Sooners were embarrassed 25-15 at home by No. 6 Tennessee in OU’s first SEC game. The Volunteers controlled the game from the start as Oklahoma’s offense was so bad that Jackson Arnold got benched for true freshman Michael Hawkins.

Tennessee took a 10-3 lead with seconds to go in the first quarter on a 66-yard TD pass from Nico Iamaleava to Dont’e Thornton. From there, the game was a formality in a contest that was more lopsided than the final score indicated.

Oklahoma simply couldn’t move the ball. The Sooners had fewer than 100 yards of total offense with less than 12 minutes to go in the game as Tennessee’s defensive front dominated Oklahoma’s offensive line. There was no bright spot on offense for Oklahoma, which entered the SEC in 2024 with high hopes of being a contender.

Saturday night showed the Sooners have a long way to go. Arnold took over as the starter for last season’s Alamo Bowl when current Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel entered the transfer portal. After a rocky first start, Arnold entered the season as the clear-cut starter and didn’t show much through the first three games of the season.

Arnold averaged just 5.6 yards a pass over the first three weeks against Temple, Houston and Tulane. He had also taken nine sacks over those three games.

Saturday night, he was benched after three turnovers. Arnold threw an interception, fumbled and also had an ugly backwards pass that was recovered by the Volunteers. Before leaving the game he was 7-of-16 passing for just 54 yards and had been sacked multiple times.

Hawkins showed enough in his time on the field to make it plausible that he starts in Week 5 at Auburn…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/no-15-oklahomas-offense-struggles-mightily-in-sec-opening-loss-to-no-6-tennessee-033210885.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-22 03:32:10

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