College football’s biggest disappointments of Week 4: Oklahoma’s SEC debut, North Carolina State
Oklahoma waited 38 months between announcing its departure from the Big 12 Conference and its debut in the SEC. After more than three years of anxious waiting, it suffered a 25-15 loss at home that was even worse than the final score would suggest.
The Sooners began their SEC membership under ideal circumstances: facing a top 10 ranked opponent at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, the return of a prodigal son as the visiting head coach, and a prime-time televised kickoff.
However, Oklahoma only managed 222 total yards – just 36 yards on the ground – and went the first 51:45 minutes of the game without a touchdown. Meanwhile, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, who quarterbacked Oklahoma to the last national championship, saw his Vols jump out to a 19-3 lead at halftime.
Tennessee is known for its explosive offense under Heupel, and they showed flashes of that in Norman, most notably a 66-yard touchdown pass from Niko Iamalewa to Deonte Thornton Jr. that led to 19 points.
But Tennessee’s superb, physical defense stole the headlines. It was perhaps a fitting welcome to the SEC, as the conference has a reputation for defensive toughness.
Settings and Heupel on the sidelineTennessee brought back memories of Oklahoma’s 2000 Bowl Championship Series title team. It was the Sooners’ inability to move the ball against a team coached by a former OU assistant who was fired from his offensive coordinator position in 2014 that added to the disappointment of a disappointing SEC debut.
Tennessee’s stunning win wasn’t a letdown for everyone in the state of Oklahoma. Heupel’s mother, Cindy, who would drive from Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Norman for Sooners games during the Vols coach’s playing days, died in May.
“She was looking forward to this game. She has a lot of friends all over the state who knew she was looking forward to this game,” Heupel said in the post-match press conference“It was a road game for me, but for my family it was a home game, so that was a unique thing for me.”
Carolina Blues
If Hubert Davis’ North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team faces 2024 NCAA Tournament qualifier James Madison, it’s likely the UNC hoopers will limit JMU to fewer than the 70 points Mack Brown’s Gridiron Tar Heels gave up on Saturday.
“Disgraceful day. Shocking day,” Brown said in a postgame press conference. “You shouldn’t be in North Carolina and losing to a Group of Five team, absolutely not.”
It wasn’t just that the Tar Heels lost, especially to a program that was fresh off a Top 25 season. North Carolina allowed 611 yards, effectively launching the Heisman Trophy campaign for JMU quarterback Alonza Barnett III.
Barnett passed for 388 yards and five touchdowns, while rushing for 99 yards and two more scores. Not since Dalton Knecht dropped 37 points in the Dean Dome last basketball season had a visitor made such an offensive impact on Chapel Hill.
North Carolina became the center of college football disappointment in Week 4 due to North Carolina’s weak defensive performance and NC State’s disappointing performance at Clemson.
Although the Wolfpack’s loss in Death Valley was not surprising—NC State had entered the game down by 17 points—the final score of 59–35 was a touchdown and an extra point more than that margin.
NC State’s season got off to a disappointing start on Saturday. The Pack began the year ranked in the top 25, looking poised to rise to the top of the ACC after several solid seasons under Dave Doeren.
Instead, NC State has fallen behind. A 41-point loss to Tennessee in Week 2 paled in comparison to Saturday’s debacle. If Dabo Swinney hadn’t called in the dogs when Clemson led 52-7 in the third quarter, the final score could have been even worse.
Things deteriorated to the point that ESPN color commentator Greg McElroy lamented that the Pack’s “terrible” tackling was “unrecognizable” compared to previous Doeren-coached teams.