Five Questions Following Tennessee's Win Over Oklahoma

Here are five questions following Tennessee's 25-15 win over the Oklahoma Sooners' in Norman, Oklahoma.

Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr. (1) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee defeated the Oklahoma Sooners on the road Saturday night by a score of 25-15. This was a great win but there are always questions that Vols fans are left with following a contest!

Here are five questions following the game.

Will This Second Half Tempo Be A Recurring Thing?

The Vols slowed the tempo down in the second half as they entered the second half of play up 19-3. The Vols were using as much time on the clock as possible. Nico Iamaleva took snaps under five seconds multiple times. This also led to a more conservative scheme which didn’t have the Vols taking many shots deep or even throwing the ball much. Tennessee would only score 6 points as Max Gilbert put two field goals up on the short due to this conservative look. Heupel’s plan seemed to work as the defense held up well and the turnovers on the offensive side stalled out. Many fans on (X) have spoken out about this as this is the second week the Vols have taken their foot off the gas. Will this be a recurring thing in similar situations if the Vols are up on teams like Alabama or Arkansas? This will be something to watch moving forward.

Is It Time To Give Dont’e Thornton Jr. A Bigger Role?

Tennessee has had some early success from their wide receivers but not from some of the wideouts you’d expect. Squirrel White hasn’t had the start of the season that many fans would be expecting as the alleged No. 1 receiver has the fourth-highest receiving yards in total. White has 121 yards through four games which is very uncharacteristic. One player that has stood out compared to others is Dont’e Thornton Jr. Thornton is the leading receiver for the Vols as he has 242 yards and 3 touchdowns which leads the team. He isn’t a typical starter and usually comes off the bench. He also seems to get less playing time than Chris Brazzell, White, and Bru McCoy. Is it time for the talented wideout to get more of a role?

Can James Pearce Jr. Get Back To His Dominant Ways?

One of the most notable things from the defense has been the lack of production from star edge rusher James Pearce Jr. This situation seems to be a similar issue that Alabama had in the past. When the Crimson Tide had Will Anderson dominating offensive tackles the year before his final season we saw him take a step back his final year. This was because he was often getting double-teamed and planned against which led to the opening of Dallas Turner who was the opposite-side edge rusher. Tennessee has had two players off the edge start to become more of a factor since Pearce has been experiencing these issues. That would be Tyre West and Joshua Josephs who have likely been the two MVPs up front for many Tennessee fans. Vols fans on X have hoped for the talented edge rusher to catch his rhythm and to get back to his ways but will he? 

How Can The Vols Get Cameron Seldon Involved Following His Return From Injury?

Tennessee has been one of the best rushing teams in the nation. Dylan Sampson has been getting the majority of the reps while the rest is given to DeSean Bishop who took the second-string spot while Seldon was hurt. Bishop has been nothing short of very successful as a backup and hasn’t slowed down a single bit this season. With Seldon just now returning and being active for the game, he still had limited playing time including not getting a single rushing rep. Will this be something that continues or will Seldon start to get more reps as the Vols progress through the season despite the early success from Bishop and Sampson?

Does Tennessee Have Worse Depth At Offensive Line Than We Thought?

Tennessee was without star offensive dive tackle Lance Heard in Saturday’s game as Dayne Davis got the blindside start. With John Campbell going down early and not returning until the second half the Vols were down to some of their depth at the tackle positions. Tennessee had their worst offensive line performance allowing three sacks and nine tackles for losses including two fumbles out of the hands of Iamaleava. Tennessee is hopeful for this offensive line group to be healthy against Arkansas in two weeks but will the lack of depth be an issue moving forward? Is this depth good enough to hold up?

Other Tennessee News:

• Tennessee Moves Into Top Five of AP Poll After Oklahoma Win
• Offensive Grade Report: Tennessee Vs Oklahoma
• Tennessee Defeats Oklahoma 25-15 On The Road
  

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