Game Preview: Tennessee

On September 13th, 2014, the #4 Oklahoma Sooners hosted the Tennessee Volunteers as an out-of-conference opponent for the second game of the season. The Sooners put up a dominant performance with offensive coordinator Josh Heupel, beating the Volunteers 34-10. Flash forward ten years, and Oklahoma is facing the volunteers again in Norman, but this time, as conference foes. Josh Heupel's team leads one of the most explosive offenses in college football and is looking to start conference play with a big win over Oklahoma in Norman. Let's dive into the matchup.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma enters week four after a convincing 34-19 victory over the Tulane Green Wave. Both sides of the ball significantly improved from the game against Houston. See the graphic above for a list of the statistical leaders for OU so far this season.

The offense was unrecognizable in the first half. Not because they were playing badly but because they played so well. Oklahoma converted on third down only five times in their first two games of the season but converted three times on third down on the opening drive. The offensive line opened gaping holes for the run game, and Jackson Arnold threw lightning strikes. After the opening drive, the offense continued to dominate the first half, with Jackson Arnold showing off his dual-threat ability. Despite this, they began to sputter in the second half. After converting six of their first eight third downs, they only converted two of their next eight. To make matters worse, the offensive line forgot how to play in the second half. Jackson Arnold was sacked three times, all in the second half. If we want to beat Tennessee, these issues must be resolved. We are getting some much-needed backup with Branson Hickman, Jake Taylor, and Nic Anderson returning this Saturday. I anticipate a hefty dose of quick passes from Jackson Arnold. The offensive line will give him time to throw, and he has an extra target to whom he can throw. With double the available wide receivers, this should open up lanes in the run game where Taylor Tatum, Jovantae Barnes, and Gavin Sawchuk can thrive. Tennessee's elite defensive line will do their best to shut our offense down, but if we can get the ball out quickly and accurately, our offense can stay in this as long as they want.

The Oklahoma defense last week looked a lot like the defense from 2023. They played a dominant first quarter, gave up a couple of bad possessions towards the end of the first half/beginning of the second half, and returned to dominant fashion to end the game. Don't get me started on how dominant of a performance R Mason Thomas had at the end. Despite how well they played, there were some glaring issues that Tennessee can and will take advantage of. Our secondary looked lost for about 15-18 game minutes and allowed Tulane wide receivers to get wide-open. Tennessee has a much better roster and will do whatever they can to exploit this. Because of this, I anticipate a simpler assignment for our secondary. Venables will load our defensive line with our fastest and most powerful pass rushers, so the basic zone defense covers up receivers long enough for R Mason Thomas, Gracen Halton, and Ethan Downs to get home. I would not anticipate seeing the Sooners call too many blitzes. The way our defense can beat Tennessee is by playing fundamentally sound. By having our secondary play the same zones they've played since peewee football and having big and fast guys on the line, they're given every opportunity to play and stay fundamentally sound.

Tennessee

The Volunteers are coming off yet another dominant victory in week three, beating Kent State 71-0. Nico Iamaleava showed yet again that he has the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and the defense gave the Golden Flashes no hope. See the graphic above for a list of their statistical leaders this season.

There aren't words to describe how good this offense is. Like Jackson Arnold, Nico Iamaleava was also a five-star QB in the 2023 class. He has a cannon for an arm, is deadly accurate, can run as fast as anyone on the field, and gets through his reads quickly. And he's just one of the best playmakers on their team. Tennessee also boasts one of the best offensive lines in college football, allowing their running back Dylan Sampson to average almost eight yards per carry and score nine touchdowns in three games. On top of their playmaking ability, their scheme is challenging to defend (we should know; we ran something similar last year). They have a spread-out offense running an RPO-heavy scheme in a hurry-up tempo. They move down the field faster than almost anyone in the country and use every inch of the field. I anticipate they will come out quickly with the air attack, try to get Oklahoma to sell out against the pass, and let their elite RB duo start eating up the defensive line. This team has the players and scheme to score five touchdowns in 20 plays. They waste no time at all. Given Oklahoma's run defense, I predict we will see more passes than runs from the Volunteers. Tennessee will want to score as much as they can as quickly as possible, and the air attack is their best chance.

The Tennessee defense has allowed 13 points so far this season. The only challenging team they've faced was North Carolina State, and they held them to 10 points. Their defense doesn't force many turnovers, but it also doesn't allow many yards. They allow fewer than 200 yards/game and make you fight for every inch of it. Their run defense is their most lethal unit defensively. Because of this, we will see blitzes from Tennessee—a lot of them. Despite Oklahoma getting much-needed help on the offensive line, they still have yet to build a consistent chemistry. Brent Venables believes Tennessee has one of the best edge rushers in the country, and you can bet they will use all their resources to shut down the Oklahoma offense. If you can shut down the OU offensive line, you can shut down the offense. I will be shocked if Tennessee blitzes on less than half of their defensive snaps. We will likely have significantly more zone than man defense from the secondary. If you're looking for a specific defensive scheme, we'll see most of the game: five to six players rushing the offensive line, three to four players playing zones in the short-range throw area, and two defenders playing deep zones. This puts pressure on Jackson Arnold and forces him to throw into coverage.

Prediction

I want to be wrong about my prediction. I want nothing more than to be wrong. But unless an entirely different Oklahoma offense shows up this weekend against Tennessee, I don't see a way for us to win this game. Too many issues have persisted through three weeks, and we're going up against a team that has a chance to go deep into the playoffs. Our defense will keep us in the game for a while, but I think the Tennessee offense will be too much.

Tennessee 37, Oklahoma 24.

Oklahoma Yardage:

• Passing Yards: 190-220

• Rushing Yards: 100-140

• Total Yards: 290-360

Tennessee Yardage:

• Passing Yards: 250-300

• Rushing Yards: 100-140

• Total Yards: 250-440

I want to reiterate. Nothing would delight me more than posting that I was wrong on Sunday morning. I felt the same way against Alabama in 2014 and was delighted to be wrong then. However, teams like this are the reality of playing in the SEC. We need to adapt quickly, and we will succeed. Let's get this win. Boomer!