Joe Duvall (@Joe_DuVall):
First off, can we all just take a second and appreciate college football and all of its splendor?
Ok, that’s enough harmony.
Let’s get to the animosity, which seems to be building between these two teams and their fan bases and you know what? I like that. The best football games are the ones with some edge to them. I think that acrimony comes from both Oklahoma and Tennessee knowing what’s at stake; together, these programs seem to be sitting on a powder keg of young talent and this game could be the spark that ignites the winner into contender status.
To the football.
I’ve been saying it all week, but look for Tennessee to pull its interior lineman, especially center Coleman Thomas, attempting to gain a numbers advantage on the outside for their explosive running back tandem of Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara. However, Tennessee will struggle if forced to lineup and knock Oklahoma off the ball in the trenches. Dominique Alexander and Jordan Evans will be counted to pursue sideline-to-sideline all night. It will be key to contain Joshua Dobbs at quarterback. I can easily envision the Sooners starting to pull away only to have Dobbs escape a sack, extend a play, and find an open receiver for a long touchdown to swing momentum back in Tennessee’s favor.
On offense, look for Dede Westbrook and Jeffery Mead to test whichever corner is lining up opposite Cam Sutton with a few deep routes early. Baker Mayfield has showed he’s willing to take a few chances and it’s something Bowling Green capitalized on over and over again last Saturday. If Lincoln Riley’s offense struggles to push it down field, that could be a bad omen for the Sooners. The good news for Sooner fans? I fully expect Tennessee defensive coordinator, John Jancek, to have his linebackers flying around the line of scrimmage in an attempt to stop Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon - so there should be plenty of one-on-one opportunities on the outside. The question will be, can Oklahoma’s offensive line give Baker Mayfield enough time to hold on to the ball in order to take those shots.
Don’t be surprised if this game is tense from start to finish. Both teams are capable of huge momentum-swinging plays at any given moment and count me in as someone who believes Lincoln Riley has barely exhausted his bag of tricks. In the end, I think Oklahoma’s firepower on offense and front seven will be the story of the game and what ultimately makes the difference in a very close top-25 contest.
Oklahoma 37
Tennessee 31
Eddie Radosevich (@Eddie_Rado):
Baker Mayfield's debut was- statistically speaking- the cat's meow. Stellar play, after a shaky start, produced a school record 388 passing yards and three touchdowns. For me the most important aspect of Mayfield's debut came down to his ability to move the offense, while also taking care of the ball.
Every big win on the road during the Bob Stoops era has come down to a handful of big plays. Who makes that big play today?
We think the front seven is good. Can they be great? This and a number of other questions will begin to be answered later this afternoon.
Something tells me Oklahoma returns to Norman still undefeated.
Oklahoma 31
Tennessee 26
Austin Seibert late FG extends the lead & gives Sooners fans a chance to exhale before an Ahmad Thomas interception late seals the win.
In a game OU fans remember as Joe Mixon's coming out party.
Josh McCuisiton:
Alright so I'm the guy who has been bringing the rain clouds about this game for a while so I know people are reading this half-heartedly because it's stuff that people just don't want to read.
And I should note if anything reads too crazy, bear in mind I'm running on about four hours of sleep following a 3 a.m. home arrival following last night's Midland Lee - Southlake Carroll game.
Beyond all that, I came out of last week's Akron game feeling there was cause for optimism as the Sooners had put together a strong effort, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
However after Joe and I went over some tape and pointed out some things that caught both of our eyes, there were some more blown coverages than some had noticed. Oklahoma is going to have to keep good discipline down the field because Josh Dobbs can extend plays and if players who shouldn't come up and try to slow him - danger could quickly follow with a talented group of Tennessee receivers.
On the flip side when I watched the Volunteers against Bowling Green I saw a team that looked just horrid in the back half - though they were facing a seasoned quarterback with some talent on the perimeter of of his offense.
So the questions are, was Tennessee's defense that bad or was Oklahoma's as questionable as it looked at times, or were both just chocked up to looking forward to this weekend's game?
I'm leaning toward both are better than they showed at times (both teams got better as the game went on in both areas).
I wish the weather picture was a little more clear because if it's a wet one it weighs heavily in Tennessee's favor. If it's not, I'd lean toward Oklahoma.
As it is, I just have too many concerns about Oklahoma's offensive line in this environment (no matter how much some want to marginalize it, it's a factor) and as poor as they were run blocking last week I don't imagine them getting better against bigger, faster, and more talented foes.
I'm still leaning toward a late mistake hurting Oklahoma.
Oklahoma 27
Tennessee 35
First off, can we all just take a second and appreciate college football and all of its splendor?
Ok, that’s enough harmony.
Let’s get to the animosity, which seems to be building between these two teams and their fan bases and you know what? I like that. The best football games are the ones with some edge to them. I think that acrimony comes from both Oklahoma and Tennessee knowing what’s at stake; together, these programs seem to be sitting on a powder keg of young talent and this game could be the spark that ignites the winner into contender status.
To the football.
I’ve been saying it all week, but look for Tennessee to pull its interior lineman, especially center Coleman Thomas, attempting to gain a numbers advantage on the outside for their explosive running back tandem of Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara. However, Tennessee will struggle if forced to lineup and knock Oklahoma off the ball in the trenches. Dominique Alexander and Jordan Evans will be counted to pursue sideline-to-sideline all night. It will be key to contain Joshua Dobbs at quarterback. I can easily envision the Sooners starting to pull away only to have Dobbs escape a sack, extend a play, and find an open receiver for a long touchdown to swing momentum back in Tennessee’s favor.
On offense, look for Dede Westbrook and Jeffery Mead to test whichever corner is lining up opposite Cam Sutton with a few deep routes early. Baker Mayfield has showed he’s willing to take a few chances and it’s something Bowling Green capitalized on over and over again last Saturday. If Lincoln Riley’s offense struggles to push it down field, that could be a bad omen for the Sooners. The good news for Sooner fans? I fully expect Tennessee defensive coordinator, John Jancek, to have his linebackers flying around the line of scrimmage in an attempt to stop Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon - so there should be plenty of one-on-one opportunities on the outside. The question will be, can Oklahoma’s offensive line give Baker Mayfield enough time to hold on to the ball in order to take those shots.
Don’t be surprised if this game is tense from start to finish. Both teams are capable of huge momentum-swinging plays at any given moment and count me in as someone who believes Lincoln Riley has barely exhausted his bag of tricks. In the end, I think Oklahoma’s firepower on offense and front seven will be the story of the game and what ultimately makes the difference in a very close top-25 contest.
Oklahoma 37
Tennessee 31
Eddie Radosevich (@Eddie_Rado):
Baker Mayfield's debut was- statistically speaking- the cat's meow. Stellar play, after a shaky start, produced a school record 388 passing yards and three touchdowns. For me the most important aspect of Mayfield's debut came down to his ability to move the offense, while also taking care of the ball.
Every big win on the road during the Bob Stoops era has come down to a handful of big plays. Who makes that big play today?
We think the front seven is good. Can they be great? This and a number of other questions will begin to be answered later this afternoon.
Something tells me Oklahoma returns to Norman still undefeated.
Oklahoma 31
Tennessee 26
Austin Seibert late FG extends the lead & gives Sooners fans a chance to exhale before an Ahmad Thomas interception late seals the win.
In a game OU fans remember as Joe Mixon's coming out party.
Josh McCuisiton:
Alright so I'm the guy who has been bringing the rain clouds about this game for a while so I know people are reading this half-heartedly because it's stuff that people just don't want to read.
And I should note if anything reads too crazy, bear in mind I'm running on about four hours of sleep following a 3 a.m. home arrival following last night's Midland Lee - Southlake Carroll game.
Beyond all that, I came out of last week's Akron game feeling there was cause for optimism as the Sooners had put together a strong effort, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
However after Joe and I went over some tape and pointed out some things that caught both of our eyes, there were some more blown coverages than some had noticed. Oklahoma is going to have to keep good discipline down the field because Josh Dobbs can extend plays and if players who shouldn't come up and try to slow him - danger could quickly follow with a talented group of Tennessee receivers.
On the flip side when I watched the Volunteers against Bowling Green I saw a team that looked just horrid in the back half - though they were facing a seasoned quarterback with some talent on the perimeter of of his offense.
So the questions are, was Tennessee's defense that bad or was Oklahoma's as questionable as it looked at times, or were both just chocked up to looking forward to this weekend's game?
I'm leaning toward both are better than they showed at times (both teams got better as the game went on in both areas).
I wish the weather picture was a little more clear because if it's a wet one it weighs heavily in Tennessee's favor. If it's not, I'd lean toward Oklahoma.
As it is, I just have too many concerns about Oklahoma's offensive line in this environment (no matter how much some want to marginalize it, it's a factor) and as poor as they were run blocking last week I don't imagine them getting better against bigger, faster, and more talented foes.
I'm still leaning toward a late mistake hurting Oklahoma.
Oklahoma 27
Tennessee 35
