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Tennessee faces its toughest challenge of the young season this Saturday as the Vols travel to Norman, Oklahoma to face the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners in a prime time 8:00 p.m matchup on ABC. According to Butch Jones, 47% of the team will play their first road game in a Tennessee uniform.
I put together a few questions about this week’s matchup and Matt Hofeld was kind enough to answer them for us. Matt is the founder and editor of Crimson And Cream Machine, a member of the Football Writer’s Association of America and a lifelong Oklahoma Sooners fan. If you enjoy his input, you can reach out to him at one of the links above and thank him for his time.
Let’s get to it.
For those who don’t know much about Oklahoma, how would you describe this year’s team?
The two best words I would use to describe Oklahoma this season are “fast” and “powerful.” They are big and strong upfront, on both sides of the ball, and have speed at every skill position.
Offensively they will use a lot of misdirection and zone-read to try and get the defense focused on multiple possible threats. This won’t be the pass happy offense of Sam Bradford and Landry Jones but they can still score in multiple ways.
Defensively Oklahoma has the best front seven in the conference and one of the best in the nation. They are specialists at third and long and have done a stellar job at controlling the line of scrimmage on first and second downs through the first two games of the season.
Trevor Knight and Sterling Shepard appear to be a dangerous combination on offense. What other weapons should we expect to see who will likely impact the game on Saturday?
I think Oklahoma’s running backs will have more of an impact on this game than Knight and Shepard. Don’t get me wrong though, both of those two guys can make plays in multiple ways but I feel like Oklahoma will game plan to run the ball first and then use it to set up the pass…if they’re able to find success on the ground.
Alex Ross (7.9 YPC), Keith Ford (7.3 YPC), and Samaje Perine (4.8 YPC) have combined for eight rushing touchdowns in the first two games and will be the guys to keep an eye on Saturday night. If they’re having a lot of success then things are going very well for Oklahoma’s offense.
The Sooners are ranked No. 3/No. 4 in the polls and, by all accounts, were dominant in their first two games. Does Oklahoma have any weaknesses?
Sure they do. I would start in the defensive secondary where the Sooners are breaking in a new corner and a new free safety. For the most part they’ve done well in both run support and pass coverage. Senior Julian Wilson slid over from the safety spot corner (a position he played in high school) and gives OU a corner who hits like a safety lined up on the opposite side of All-American Zack Sanchez. Sophomore Ahmad Thomas is a first year starter but has held his own through eight quarters of football this season.
Offensively if you can take away the underneath routes and force Trevor Knight to throw long then you can most likely limit his success. As I mentioned previously, Knight doesn’t have the arm of Landry Jones and Sam Bradford and therefore struggles sometimes with putting touch on the deep ball.
Oklahoma’s defense has played lights out this year so far. What makes that unit so effective?
It goes back to the front seven. Oklahoma is just nasty up front with nose tackle Jordan Phillips clogging the middle with ends Chuka Ndulue and Charles Tapper crashing on the outside. They are all big and fast and have long arms to swat down passes when they can’t get to the quarterback. Everything on Oklahoma’s defense starts with the Sooners dominating the line of scrimmage. Through two games (granted it has been against lesser opponents) that has been the catalysts to Oklahoma’s defensive success.
The Sooners have a dominant home record under Bob Stoops. What do you recall about the losses and do those opponents have anything in common?
What I recall most about those losses (I was in the stadium for four of them) is the frustration of Oklahoma’s mistakes. Yes, I am a homer but I’m also of the opinion that the Notre Dame loss in 2012 was the only time the Sooners have lost at home to a team that was better than them. The common denominator of all the teams to have beaten Oklahoma at home is that they were all able to capitalize on Oklahoma’s mistakes. That’s where the frustration comes from because I believe that, with the exception of Notre Dame, they were all avoidable losses.
Vegas has Oklahoma as a 21-point favorite. Do Sooner fans really see this as a statement game against the SEC, even though the Vols haven’t been in the upper echelon of the league in recent years?
Most Oklahoma fans see the Sugar Bowl win over Alabama back in January as the statement game against the SEC. No offense to the Vols but ‘Bama has been the flagship of the conference and to go into SEC territory and get the win in front a national television audience is what OU fans will mention when the SEC conversation comes up.
Oklahoma wins if? Tennessee wins if?
Oklahoma wins if…
1) They run the football
2) Don’t make mistakes that result in cheap penalties
3) Don’t turn the ball over
Tennessee wins if…
1) They run the football…
2) Force turnovers
3) Capitalize on Oklahoma’s mistakes
What do Oklahoma fans think of Tennessee?
I can’t speak for all Oklahoma fans but I think in general the OU fanbase respects football programs that are steeped in tradition. I’m stoked about seeing Tennessee in person as they have always been one of the programs that I’ve followed. I may even sing along with “Rocky Top” once or twice during the game. I’m also hoping to scratch attending a game at Neyland Stadium off my bucket list next season when the Sooners make the return trip.
Forum discussion – Oklahoma: Inside Enemy Camp[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]