Tag: tennesee volunteers

Jayda Coleman’s walkoff home run give OU the 9-8 win over Tennessee

In their toughest matchup of the season, Jayda Coleman helped the Oklahoma Sooners stay perfect on the season with her walk off home run.

In a game that was filled with drama throughout, the Oklahoma Sooners fought through adversity to get the win in 10 innings over the Tennessee Volunteers.

Trailing in the bottom of the 10th with one on and two out, Jayda Coleman stepped up with the heroics, launching a ball over the left field fence for the two-run walk-off home run.

In a game where the Sooners pitching staff met their toughest challenge of the season, the Sooners offense continued to keep Oklahoma in it.

The Sooners jumped out to a 3-0 nothing lead in the top of the first, looking like every other game this season. After adding one more in the third, the Sooners looked to be in control as freshman Jordy Bahl was dealing.

Tennessee got on the board in the fourth and then did some real damage in the top of the fifth, plating three runs to tie the game. Oklahoma would retake the lead in the bottom half of the fifth inning.

After a scoreless sixth inning, Tennessee would get their first lead of the day in the top of the seventh and OU would tie sending it to extra innings.

In the extra frames, Tennessee took the lead in the top of the ninth and tenth. OU would tie the game in the ninth before winning it on Coleman’s blast in the bottom of the tenth.

Coleman was 3 for 5 on the afternoon with the home run and two RBIs. Grace Lyons was 2 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs and Jana Johns was 2 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs.

After a run-rule win in their matchup with No. 8/10 Arizona in the first game of their Saturday double-header, the afternoon affair was much more dramatic. The Sooners are now 14-0 and will close out the Mary Nutter Classic with an 11 a.m. matchup with Utah.

[lawrence-related id=58816]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Former Oklahoma assistants share Steve Spurrier Award for best first year head coach

Former Oklahoma Assistants Josh Heupel and Shane Beamer were named co-winners of the Steve Spurrier award given to first-year head coaches.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Two former Oklahoma Sooners assistants shared the spotlight on Monday evening as Josh Heupel and Shane Beamer won the Steve Spurrier Award for first-year head coaches.

Heupel, the former national championship-winning quarterback and offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners, took over a Tennessee team in disarray after the Jeremy Pruitt era ended with some scandal. The Volunteers rebounded from a 3-7 season to go 7-6 in Heupel’s first year at the helm in Knoxville.

The Volunteers dropped a classic game to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Music City Bowl, but that doesn’t take anything away from a fantastic season for Heupel and Tennessee.

Shane Beamer was on staff with the Oklahoma Sooners from 2018 to 2021 and left to take over the South Carolina Gamecocks job. In his first year, Beamer helped lead the Gamecocks to a 7-6 record (their first winning season since 2018) and a win in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Because of the success of Heupel and Beamer, each coach was connected to the Oklahoma Sooners head coaching job, even if it was only a brief moment.

The Sooners’ new head coach Brent Venables will be in contention for the first-year head coach award as he takes over at Oklahoma. Though he takes over a team that hasn’t had a losing record since 1998, he’ll have his work cut out for him to try and get the Sooners back into the Big 12 title picture and national championship contention.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

[listicle id=53235]

Florida competing with SEC East rival for this 3-star safety

Florida is close to landing another safety and there’s only Tennessee to beat.

It’s now down to Florida and Tennessee for three-star safety Miguel Mitchell.

The Oxford, Alabama prospect announced the final two schools remaining in his recruitment on social media Thursday with national signing day quickly approaching. Mitchell was originally committed to the Vanderbilt Commodores until he backed off that pledge in November.

Billy Napier had previously recruited Mitchell while at Lousiana and he quickly extended an offer to the defensive back after taking over at Florida. At the time, Mitchell said that Florida was at the top of his board and that continues to be the case. The Volunteers have done enough to stay competitive with Florida and Tennessee satisfies Mitchell’s ultimate goal of playing in the SEC.

Both teams will get a chance to host Mitchell before he makes a decision. He’ll be in Florida over the weekend before visiting Tennessee the weekend of January 28. Mitchell also took a trip to see the Volunteers play South Alabama on November 20 following his decommittment from Vanderbilt.

Napier has brought over several members of his former staff from Lousiana and that familiarity has helped Florida in Mitchell’s recruitment. Florida’s reputation for developing defensive backs has also interested Mitchell, according to 247Sports.

“They’ve brought a lot of DBs out of there,” he said. “They have a good, rich football legacy. I know they put a lot of effort into their football program, definitely, so that definitely helps.”

247Sports ranks Mitchell as the No. 65 athlete in the country. Florida’s 2022 recruiting class already has two elite safeties, Kamari Wilson and Devin Moore, but Mitchell is a versatile enough defensive back to fit in. He’ll decide between his top two schools on national signing day.

[lawrence-related id=67253,67247,67243,67239,67237]

[listicle id=67183]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

WATCH: Gators score on trick play to open half against Tennessee

The Gators got the second half started with some trickery.

The Florida Gators started the second half off with a touchdown pass from receiver Trent Whittemore to tight end Kemore Gamble. Emory Jones passed the ball to Whittemore across the backfield, and Tennessee was caught completely off guard.

The 13-yard double pass capped off a great drive for the Gators. Starting on the 22, Jones and Malik Davis rushed to get the initial first down. Then, Jones hit Justin Shorter, Kemore Gamble and Jacob Copeland for respective gains of 33, 13 and 4 yards. That’s when the trickery came and Florida went up by 10.

Whittemore attempted 150 passes in high school, according to Maxpreps, so this isn’t a new thing for him. It is new for Gators fans though, especially the ones asking when Anthony Richardson might get to throw a ball.

[lawrence-related id=55760,55743,55732,55690,55702]

[listicle id=55741]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Five takeaways: Florida and Tennessee closer than expected at half

Florida and Tennessee reignite rivalry in a close one at halftime

Florida is up 17-14 on Tennessee at halftime thanks to two blown defensive plays by the Gators.

The Volunteers are putting up a good fight and holding the Gators offense enough to force a competitive second half. There’s been no sight of Florida backup quarterback Anthony Richardson, whereas Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker got the call over Joe Milton and is showing up. It helps Hooker that Florida’s secondary is a bit banged up.

There’s still an entire second-half for Florida to cover the spread, though. Here’s what we got from the first half of Florida vs. Tennessee.

CBS Sports likes Florida this week against Tennessee

The CBS Sports team picked Florida to win unanimously against Tennessee, but do all the analysts believe it will be a total blowout?

No one at CBS Sports picked Tennesse to upset Florida this week, but two analysts think it’ll be closer than some expect.

Barrett Sallee liked the way the Volunteers defense looked last week against Tennessee Tech, and he thinks both teams will struggle to move the ball consistently. Florida’s running game is better than anything Josh Heupel’s squad has seen so far, so this will be a major test for a top-five run defense.

Ultimately, Sallee conceded that Florida will “control the game and its defense will shine,” but he’s not ready to call the game by three scores just yet.

The return of Anthony Richardson could be the catalyst for a blowout, though. Richardson leads the team in rushing yards and connected twice with Jacob Copeland against USF in the endzone. If the Volunteers can stop Florida on the ground, Richardson could help get the passing game going and cover the spread.

Tennessee’s best shot to get at Florida is getting its fast-paced offense going. Unfortunately, both Volunteers quarterbacks are still getting comfortable in the system and Florida’s defense will punish mistakes in the Swamp. The Vols have a few 100-yard rushers on the team that should test the Gators’ front seven.

Sallee and company can see the writing on the wall here, but a rivalry game always has the potential to go haywire in an instant.

[lawrence-related id=55702,55687,55669,55654,55645]

[listicle id=55642]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Tennessee basketball routs Gators 78-66 in SEC quarterfinals

Florida now waits for its NCAA Tournament seeding that wasn’t helped much by a win Thursday over Vanderbilt.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by the Associated Press and has been republished in its entirety below. 

Santiago Vescovi scored 14 points to lead five Volunteers in double figures, and Tennessee beat Florida 78-66 Friday to advance to the Southeastern Conference semifinals for a third straight tournament.

The Volunteers (18-7) won their second straight over Florida in the span of six days. The first gave the Vols a bye to the SEC quarterfinals, and they never trailed Friday to advance to Saturday’s semifinal against sixth-ranked Alabama, the SEC regular-season champ and an 85-48 winner over Mississippi State.

Yves Pons nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, eight rebounds and nine blocked shots that tied the SEC tournament single-game record set by Kentucky’s Andre Riddick in the 1993 title game. Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer each had 13 points for the Vols, and Josiah-Jordan James added 10 with nine rebounds.

Florida (14-8) lost for the second time in three games.

Tre Mann, who was 1 of 8 for two points in the first half, finished with a career-high 30 points for the Gators. Tyree Appleby added 14.

Tennessee beat Florida 65-54 last Sunday to split the season series and earn the bye over the Gators. The Vols seemingly picked up where they left off, taking the lead off a John Fulkerson dunk 16 seconds into the game. A 12-2 run capped by a Uros Plavsic putback gave Tennessee its biggest lead at 28-12 with 6:21 left.

Then the Vols went cold, hitting one of their final 11 shots. The Gators pulled within 31-22 at halftime with Appleby hitting a 3 with 1:14 remaining.

Play got heated with 17:10 left when Fulkerson had to be helped to the locker room after a pair of elbows to his head from Florida forward Omar Payne. Replays showed Payne caught Fulkerson’ with a left, forearm shiver to the face, then put his right elbow into Fulkerson’s head. Officials ejected Payne after review.

The Vols, who led 35-26 at the time, scored eight of the next 11 and pushed the lead to as much as 17. Fulkerson didn’t return and finished with eight points.

BIG PICTURE

Florida: The SEC’s best shooting team couldn’t outshoot the Vols as they shot only 34.5 % (20 of 58) compared to 46.% (28 of 60). The Gators also struggled with their composure a bit too. Not only was Payne ejected for the flagrant foul, they picked up another technical with 11:49 to go during a media timeout.

Tennessee: Pons, the SEC defensive player of the year as a junior last season, had a career-high in blocked shots while also tying the school’s single-game record by halftime with six. The Vols had an 11-5 edge in blocked shots.

UP NEXT

Tennessee hasn’t won this event since 1979. But the Vols now are a win away from reaching the championship game for a third straight tournament, not counting last year with the cancellation. First, they must beat Alabama, which handed the Vols their first loss this season 71-63 on Jan. 2 in Knoxville.

Florida now waits for its NCAA Tournament seeding that wasn’t helped much by a win Thursday over Vanderbilt.