Embarrassing offensive play brings Hawkins to the helm in 25-15 loss to Tennessee
After QB Jackson Arnold committed two turnovers midway through the second quarter, the story of No. 15 Oklahoma’s 25-15 loss to No.7 Tennessee might have been about when the pitch fork carrying fans would storm Brent Venables’ office demanding a change in quarterback.
But before that could happen, the Sooner coaches replaced the five-star QB with backup freshman Michael Hawkins, who added a second-half spark to an Oklahoma offense that had withered in the blistering heat brought by the Vols’ defense.
When Arnold was pulled late in the second quarter he had completed only seven of 16 passes for 54 yards and thrown one interception.
Hawkins came in and played with heart. His emergence in this game may be the silver lining for the loss.
He finished 11 of 18 for 132 yards and one touchdown passing, and ran for 22 yards — having played a little more than one half of football.
This should be an interesting week of practice. The coaches will discover what Hawkins can do when spending more practice time with the first team offense.
Venables said he would “evaluate” the situation between Arnold and Hawkins.
“Gonna find out who the best guy is to get us to (win) number four,” he said.
This was Oklahoma’s first double digit loss since Ohio State commanded Owen Field in a 45-24 win over the Sooners in 2016.
“It’s very frustrating. There’s just some bad football. Guys getting whooped and beat and not winning their matchups. Don’t like that at all,” Venables said.
Oklahoma managed only 36 yards rushing for the whole game. On the 30 first down plays, the Sooner gained only 18 total yards, with most starting downs ending in losses.
The Sooners converted only three of 15 third downs.
The worst part of OU’s offense was twice turning the ball over to Tennessee after the Sooner defense had recovered fumbles — twice.
Meanwhile, the OU defense played more than good enough to win this game. They held the Vols offense to 23 points (nearly 40 points below their nation-leading season average) and forced two turnovers, including one inside the five yard line (which the Oklahoma offense squandered when Arnold fumbled on the goal line).
Meanwhile, the crowd was electric, bringing a noise level which ABC sideline reporter Holly Rowe said reached 117 decibels — the loudest the broadcast team had seen since a game at LSU last year reached 115.
The atmosphere had percolated all day, beginning with ESPN Gameday on the South Oval and continuing onto Campus Corner, which had a lively crowd of the well-traveling Tennessee fans experiencing their first trip to to the new western frontier of SEC country.
Sooners defense showed it was SEC ready
The Oklahoma defense held Tennessee to only six points in the second half.
“I think we kind of did everything we could,” linebacker Danny Stutsman said. “I mean, obviously, defense didn’t play perfectly. We made a ton of mistakes, myself included. Really, they shouldn’t score any points and we’ll win every game.”
A bright star on defense was Robert Spears-Jennings, who had 13 total tackles and a big time strip sack of Tennessee QB Nico Lamaleava.
The Oklahoma defense showed it was of SEC caliber. The offense might not be Mid-Atlantic Conference caliber.
And while Knoxville-area post-game commentators lauded the Tennessee defense as being spectacular (and it was), that praise overlooks the lackluster offense that Oklahoma has put on the field for the three games coming into Saturday. The Tennessee success on defense had much more to say about OU’s problems than Tennessee’s successes.
What is the solution? First, Venables may be wise to stick with Hawkins at quarterback, in light of the glaring deficiencies in the Sooner offensive line, decimated by injuries and fraught with error-laden play.
Hawkins showed that his mobility can over come some of that — although if the O-line fails to improve it may still be fatal to a successful season.
Venables said Hawkins handled the situation well, coming off the bench to replace starter Arnold.
“Mike is — he’s confident,” Venables said. “He’s loose in the right way. The moment’s not going to overwhelm him, even though he’s a young guy.”
A glimpse of what the future OU offense may look like was provided by Hawkins throwing to WR Jaquaize Pettaway, who caught three passes for 79 yards and was key in the Sooners’ narrowing of the Vols lead late in the game.
Pettaway will be especially important as the wide receiver corps continues to fight injuries, most notably to Nic Anderson, who returned from a quadraceps injury to play one series before checking himself out of the game. He did not return.
Ultimately, however, the Sooners’ success will hinge on an offense that improves at fundamental football. Blocking, principally.
Like the foundation to a building, without blocking in the trenches, the whole structure collapses. No matter who is at quarterback.
NEXT: Oklahoma at Auburn, Saturday, September 28, 2:30 pm ABC
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