Tennessee football’s SEC opening matchup at Oklahoma had all the storylines. The Sooners first conference game since officially joining the SEC, Nico Iamaleava’s first start on the road coming against a stout defense in primetime and, of course, Josh Heupel’s return to Norman.
But while the game on the field was mostly underwhelming, the viewers still came and watched for the storylines. With an average of 6.27 million viewers, Tennessee’s matchup at Oklahoma was the second most watched game in the fourth week of the college football season. It peaked at 7.5 million viewers.
Michigan’s home win against Southern Cal narrowly edged out Tennessee-Oklahoma with 6.32 million viewers on CBS was the most watched game of the week.
The showdown in Norman was the most watched game on ESPN/ABC in week four and was the most watched game in the primetime night slot, beating out Colorado’s wild overtime win over Baylor on Fox.
More From RTI: Josh Heupel’s Viral, Vulnerable Moment Relatable For All
A defensive game, Tennessee used a late first half touchdown to take a 19-3 lead over Oklahoma and essentially leaned on the Sooners for most of the second half. Two fourth quarter Sooners touchdowns cut into Tennessee’s lead and made the final score a more respectable 25-15.
Neither team’s offense performed particularly well against a strong opposing defense. Nico Iamaleava was strip sacked twice in the first half while Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold turned it over three times in the first half.
Once Tennessee jumped out to a sizable lead, it played the game very conservatively on offense in part due to a pair of starters being out on the offensive line. That led to a less exciting game though it potentially kept the final score closer than it might have been.
Oklahoma returns to the field this week when they face a struggling Auburn team on the road. Tennessee has an open date this week before heading back on the road to face Arkansas the first week of October.
