The numbers 3 and 13 were huge factors in Oklahoma's road win over Tennessee

The game environment couldn't have been more adverse for Oklahoma going into its showdown against No. 14 Tennessee in primetime on Saturday night and in front of a sold-out Volunteer home crowd of close to 102,000.

It was a black-out Saturday night at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville with the Volunteers dressed in their "Dark Mode" all-black uniforms in a game everyone was billing as a de facto College Football Playoff elimination game with both teams sporting two losses. And to add to all that, Sooner head coach Brent Venables was 0-5 against ranked teams away from home and 0-6 in those circumstances overall. The odds couldn't have been more stacked against Oklahoma.

The Sooners weren't buying any of it, however, and weren't intimidated by the Volunteers' amped-up crowd cheering on one of the country's most powerful offenses. Although Oklahoma didn't play its best game of the season on offense and also gave up too many explosive plays on defense, it made the plays it needed to on both sides of the ball and held off a good Tennessee team to finish the game with a 33-27 win.

As a result, Oklahoma's quest for a spot in this season's College Football Playoff took an important step toward becoming more realistic.

Despite having given up just 15 total first-quarter points in eight games, Oklahoma allowed a Tennessee touchdown on the Vols' first possession to fall behind 7-0. The Sooners recovered, however, and took a 16-10 lead into halftime.

Tennessee scored a touchdown on its first possession of the second half to go up 17-16, but later in the third quarter, Sooner quarterback John Mateer engineered a five-play, 52-yard touchdown drive to regain the lead, 23-16, with just two minutes left in the quarter. Oklahoma never trailed after that.

The No. 3 was a major factor in the Sooners' success against Tennessee on Saturday, giving OU a 4-2 record in the overall series and their second straight victory over the Vols in Knoxville (Baker Mayfield led a dramatic comeback from a 17-point first-half deficit to win 31-24 in 2015).

The Sooners nearly doubled their season takeaway total, forcing three Tennessee turnovers on two interceptions and a 29-yard scoop-and-score of a fumble recovery by defensive end R Mason Thomas, who unfortunately injured his hamstring on the play and did not return to the game after that.

The three takeaways resulted in 13 points.

Additionally, one of the interceptions was by OU safety Robert Spears-Jennings, who coincidentally wears No. 3 on defense. He intercepted the pass at the Oklahoma 35-yard line and returned it 37 yards to the Tennessee 28, setting up a 40-yard field goal by Tate Sandell to close out the half and give the Sooners their six-point halftime advantage.

Sandell accounted for nearly half (15) of Oklahoma's 33 points with four field goals and three extra points. Three of his field goals were over 50 yards, including two of 55 yards. The 55-yard kicks set a new Neyland Stadium record. Six of his 18 successful field goal attempts this season are of 50 or more yards.

The win gave Oklahoma a 7-2 record, one more win than last year's Sooner team, and improved their conference mark to 3-2. The Sooners have a bye this week before traveling to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama on Nov. 15.

Notable numbers from Oklahoma's win over Tennessee

4 -- Sacks by the Oklahoma defense, along with eight tackles for loss. Tennessee had allowed just nine sacks all season. The Sooners rank No. 3 nationally with 33 sacks in nine games.

11-2 -- Tennessee's record in home night games under Josh Heupel coming into the Oklahoma game.

11/12 -- Oklahoma's ranking in the Asociated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll, respectively, after the win over Tennessee.

18 - OU kicker Tate Sandell missed his first field-goal attempt of the season, but has made 18 straight since then, including six of over 50 yards.

18 -- Oklahoma held Tennessee to 27 points, 18 below the Vols' SEC-leading season average of 45.6.

28 -- Oklahoma converted both of its red-zone opportunities against Tennessee. The Sooners are 28-for-28 in trips inside the red zone this season, one of only three teams nationally that has produced points in all of their red-zone opportunities.

63 -- Net yards rushing by Tennessee, 126 below the Volunteers' season average. It marked the fifth time this season Oklahoma has held its opponent to fewer than 70 rushing yards.

115 -- OU running back Xavier Robinson had a career-high 115 rushing yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry. It was his second straight 100-yard rushing game. He gained 109 yards a week ago against Ole Miss.

252 -- The amount of total offense generated by Oklahoma in the second half after being held to just 99 yards of offense in the first half.

456 -- Yards of total offense by Tennessee, the most given up by the Oklahoma defense this season. The previous high was 431 a week ago to Ole Miss.

2019 -- The last time Oklahoma defeated a top-25 team on the road.

101,915 -- The announced attendance at Tennessee's Neyland Stadium on Saturday night, the third-largest in Oklahoma program history.