After SEC gets 10 teams ranked, SEC haters can rally around Stoops, Striker, OU against Vols
In this Sept. 5, 2015, photo, Oklahoma wide receiver Jarvis Baxter (1) is tackled by Akron linebacker Dylan Evans (54) during an NCAA college football game against Akron in Norman, Okla. To say Baxter’s life has been somewhat of a whirlwind in recent weeks is an understatement, and that doesn’t figure to change this Saturday, when the Sooners visit No. 23 Tennessee in a showdown of long-time traditional powers looking to climb back into college football’s elite. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Associated Press Sept. 9, 2015 | 4:46 p.m. EDT + More
In this Sept. 5, 2015, photo, Oklahoma wide receiver Jarvis Baxter (1) is tackled by Akron linebacker Dylan Evans (54) during an NCAA college football game against Akron in Norman, Okla. To say Baxter’s life has been somewhat of a whirlwind in recent weeks is an understatement, and that doesn’t figure to change this Saturday, when the Sooners visit No. 23 Tennessee in a showdown of long-time traditional powers looking to climb back into college football’s elite. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Associated Press Sept. 9, 2015 | 4:46 p.m. EDT + More
- By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP College Football Writer
Bob Stoops, a weary nation of SEC haters is placing its hopes in your hands.
Stoops and his No. 19 Oklahoma Sooners are at No. 23 Tennessee on Saturday. After the Southeastern Conference set another record by packing 10 teams into the latest AP Top 25, Oklahoma's trip to Knoxville represents the best chance for the league to be fed at least a small portion of humble pie this week.
Getting worked up about early season college football rankings is up there with analyzing exhibition NFL games on the list of things sports fans do but should not. But the SEC making up 40 percent of the best teams in the country, according to the 61 members of the media who vote in college football's oldest rankings, was a bit startling.
Count Oklahoma linebacker Eric Striker among those with SEC fatigue. Striker gave a colorful quote Tuesday to reporters in Norman about all the praise the SEC gets and added: "I don't understand why."
Striker and the Sooners beat Tennessee at home last season and took down Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to end the previous season.
As for the rankings, history suggests that early in the season teams with a recent history of success tend to get the benefit of the doubt from voters. The SEC has a lot of those teams right now.
One game won't change any minds on either side of the current SEC debate — Overrated or Overpowering? But safe to say there will be a lot more Sooners fans on Saturday around the country than normal.
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Reaching into the Twitter bag for questions.
Q: Please inform us who doesn't belong? — @jake_hawg34 asked about the 10 ranked SEC teams.
A: While there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about Tennessee's future under Butch Jones, the Vols are getting a lot of traction out of beating Iowa. Big Ten team's should be so lucky. Last week in a victory against Bowling Green, the Volunteers allowed 11 plays of at least 20 yards.
