Oklahoma running back Alex Ross (28) can’t get to a pass thrown by Trevor Knight in their game in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014. Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (34) defends at left.NORMAN, Okla. – Jim Mallicote and his three friends were part of the thousands of Tennessee fans who trekked west to Oklahoma to see the Volunteers play the fourth-ranked team in the country.
And like many of his fellow fans, the Johnson City native and his friends came with high hopes and realistic expectations.
“A win,” Mallicote said with a laugh when asked late Saturday morning what he wanted to see when the Vols played the Sooners that night.
“We’re not expecting to win. Nobody’s expecting us to win, but you never know.”
Tennessee and Oklahoma are two of just eight programs with more than 800 wins, but the eighth- and sixth-winningest programs in college football never met in the regular season before Saturday night.