Why Oklahoma’s kicker wore ‘Daisy Dukes’ vs Tennessee

If it seemed like Oklahoma kicker Tate Sandell’s pants kept getting shorter and shorter every time he trotted out to nail another field goal against Tennessee on Saturday, that’s because they were.

Sandell went viral during his historical performance in the Sooners’ 33-27 road win over Tennessee because his extremely short pants caught the eye of college football fans, including ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, who referenced them as “Daisy Dukes.” Herbstreit and others even questioned if it should be a penalty, with Colorado coach Deion Sanders later berating Sandell and OU’s coaching staff for letting it happen. However, it wasn’t an altercation made to help with performance, or even to make a fashion statement.

Tate Sandell explains why his pants were so short

“I did not know they were that short,” Sandell said postgame.

Sandell admitted he didn’t even know how short his pants were until he saw on TV. His pants actually ripped during pregame warmups and he didn’t change them. Because of the rip, Sandell said his pants kept falling down throughout the game, and he kept pulling them up higher and higher to get them to stay on.

The wardrobe malfunction ended up not getting in the way, though. Between four field goals and three PATs, Sandell was responsible for nearly half of the Sooners' 33 points.

Sandell had makes of 55, 51, 40 and 55 yards, respectively. He hit a 55-yarder for his first make that not only tied his career-long, but also broke the Neyland Stadium record for longest field goal. He set a school record with three made field goals of more than 50 yards in a single game. He also established new single-season school records with six field goals of 50-plus yards and 12 from 40 or more.

He was later named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week and Lou Groza Award Star of the Week.

“I’m not gonna say I’m gonna change it, because it’s working,” Sandell said. “… I’m not changing it, though. We’re gonna make it work.”