Overall
Daniel: All-in-all, it was about what was expected. The Vols are growing and shouldn’t feel ashamed by their performance, but they still have a ways to go. Some of the missed opportunities will certainly linger and sting a little bit. You can play the “what if” game all day, but remember a few plays could’ve gone the other way too – such as Young’s fumble on the kickoff return that UT recovered Oklahoma was the better football team. We knew that going in, and though Tennessee battled, the Vols didn’t make enough plays to overcome that talent and experience difference. They’re right where they should be – 2-1 and have shown progress and development. With a bye week coming up and a wide-open SEC East in front of them, I think Saturday night’s game will serve UT well going forward. I didn’t feel that way after they left Oregon last year. Grade: B-
Houston: Strangely enough, this game went about like I thought it would until the pick six. This team showed the type of fight and grit that hasn’t been seen in Knoxville in quite some time and had opportunities to really scare the Sooners at times. But simple mistakes ended up costing them scoring opportunities and, ultimately, a chance at the upset in Norman. They’ll learn a lot from this game in the next two weeks, and they’ll be better for it later in the season, but it was tough to watch a team make so many simple mistakes last night. Grade: C
Reed: The effort was unquestionably there for Tennessee. They talked all week about believing they could win in Norman and backed it up for four quarters with their play. But they lost this one due to poor execution at several big moments. Though I think the young Vols grew up a ton Saturday, a loss is a loss and Tennessee didn’t play close to their best football. Grade: C+
