Oklahoma (No. 19) vs. Tennessee (No. 23): Pivotal game for both top-25 programs
This is the first big game of the season for both programs, as both are coming off blowout wins over lesser competition from the MAC in Week 1.
The Volunteers ran all over Bowling Green last week to the tune of 399 rushing yards and six touchdowns. It was a team effort, as Tennessee featured a three-headed monster in Alvin Kamara, Jalen Hurd and Joshua Dobbs—each of whom rushed for at least 89 yards.
“That is what we envisioned,” Jones said, via VolQuest.com. “They feed off each other. The great thing about them is that they’re selfless. When one scores we all score and you could see the excitement in them, in their body language whether it was Jalen or Alvin.”
No doubt Tennessee head coach Butch Jones is going to want to impose his will on Oklahoma in similar fashion, but the going might not be so easy this time around.
Akron found rushing against the Sooners to be tough going in Week 1, gaining just 3.1 yards per carry.
On the other side, Oklahoma features an outstanding aerial assault, led by junior Baker Mayfield. The team’s Air Raid scheme gobbled up yardage with ease over Akron. This is troubling for Tennessee, which allowed Bowling Green to dominate through the air in Week 1 to the tune of 433 yards and two touchdowns.
The Sooners have the advantage on paper, but they’ll need to overcome the raucous crowd at Neyland Stadium in order to walk away victorious.
This game begins at 6 p.m. ET and is being televised on ESPN.