Oklahoma waited 38 months between its announced departure from the Big 12 Conference and its SEC debut, and the culmination of more than three years of eager anticipation ended with a sluggish 25-15 home loss that was worse than the final score suggests.

For the Sooners, they began their SEC membership under ideal conditions: A top-10 opponent came to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, a prodigal son returned as head coach of the visiting team, and the game kicked off in prime time television.

However, Oklahoma managed just 222 total yards — just 36 of them on the ground — and went without a touchdown in the game’s first 51:45 minutes. Meanwhile, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, who quarterbacked Oklahoma to its last national championship, watched his Vols build to a 19-3 halftime lead.

Under Heupel, Tennessee was known for its explosive offense, and they showed flashes of that in Norman, particularly with Nico Iamaleava’s 66-yard touchdown pass to Dont’e Thornton Jr. that started a streak of 19 unanswered points.

But it was Tennessee’s stout, physical defense that stole the spotlight. Given the conference’s reputation for strong defense, perhaps that was a fitting welcome in the SEC.

With that backdrop and Heupel on the sidelines, Tennessee evoked memories of Oklahoma’s 2000 Bowl Championship Series-winning team. That 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 post in 2014 only adds to the disappointment of a disappointing SEC debut.

Tennessee’s decisive victory, however, was not a disappointment for everyone in the state of Oklahoma. Heupel’s mother, Cindy, who drove from Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Norman for Sooners games during the Vols’ time as coach, died in May.

“She was looking forward to this game. She has a lot of friends across the state who knew she was looking forward to it,” Heupel said in his post-game press conference. “It was unique that this was an away game for me, but a home game for a large part of my family.”

Carolina Blues

If Hubert Davis’ North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team were to face James Madison, who also qualified for the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the UNC basketball team would likely limit JMU to fewer points than the 70 points Mack Brown’s Tar Heels team allowed on Saturday.

“Embarrassing day. Shocking day,” Brown said in his postgame press conference. “You don’t want to be in North Carolina and lose to a Group of Five team, period.”

It wasn’t just that the Tar Heels lost, especially to a team that was coming off a top-25 season. North Carolina allowed 611 yards, effectively launching a Heisman Trophy campaign for JMU quarterback Alonza Barnett III.

Barnett threw for 388 yards and five touchdowns, while running for another 99 yards and two more scores. Not since Dalton Knecht scored 37 points in the Dean Dome last basketball season has a visitor made such an offensive impression in Chapel Hill.

North Carolina’s poor defensive performance and NC State’s dismal performance at Clemson made North Carolina college football the epicenter of disappointment in Week 4.

While the Wolf Pack’s loss in Death Valley was not surprising – NC State entered the game as a 17-point underdog – the final score of 59-35 was one touchdown and one extra point more than that difference.

Saturday marked the low point in NC State’s overall disappointing start to the season. The team began the year ranked in the top 25 and seemed poised to move up to the top tier 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 pales in comparison to Saturday’s debacle. Had Dabo Swinney not held his nerve in the third quarter when Clemson led 52-7, the final score could have been even worse.

The situation worsened to the point where ESPN co-commentator Greg McElroy complained that the Pack’s “terrible” tackling was “unrecognizable” compared to previous teams coached by Doeren.