Tennessee Game May Make or Break 2015 Sooner Football Season
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma will play a number of so-called big football games in 2015, but the biggest of the big games will come very early in the Sooner football schedule.
The game on Sept. 12 at Tennessee will have a major impact in setting the course for OU football for the remainder of the 2015, just two games into the new season. How the Sooners come out of this huge nonconference contest will provide a significant read on what to expect from the eight-time Big 12 champion, who are coming off of arguably the most disappointing of 16 seasons under head coach Bob Stoops.
Both teams likely will be nationally ranked – although at the back end of the top-25 national polls – when the Sooners roll into a 102,000-plus-capacity Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, one of the largest and most iconic venues in college football, on the second weekend of the season.
Sep 13, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners safety Quentin Hayes (10) strips the ball from Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Justin Worley (14) during the game at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
OU vs. Tennessee will be the best matchup in college football in Week 2. In addition to what is expected to be a capacity crowd on site, the game will be broadcast by ESPN to a national TV audience.
The Sooners are listed as three-point underdogs in the early Las Vegas betting line, even though OU will probably come into the game as the higher ranked team in the national polls. Oklahoma handled Tennessee fairly easily when the two teams met last season in Norman. The Sooners came out on top 34-10 a year ago, but the Volunteers are expected to be a much better team this season, and playing in front of the large and loud Rocky Top crowd will definitely play to their advantage.
The OU defense, which couldn’t seem to get stops when it needed them last season, will have its hands full with Tennessee junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who replaced Justin Worley, who quarterbacked the Vols last season against Oklahoma. Tennessee won four of its final five game last season with Dobbs at the QB position, including a convincing 45-28 win bowl win over Iowa.
Running back Jalen Hurd gained almost 100 yards against the Sooners last season, and he is back again in 2015. The Volunteers’ leading receiver in 2014, Pig Howard, didn’t even play in the OU game last fall, and Tennessee still put 201 passing yards on the board against the Sooners’ defense.
Oklahoma should give a different look to the Volunteers as well, with a revamped offensive plan installed by new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley and, most likely, someone new calling signals at quarterback in Baker Mayfield.
Will the OU defense be able to hold down a rejuvenated Tennessee offense playing at home? The outcome of that matchup may hold the key to this game, if not the course the Sooners take through the difficult Big 12 schedule.
Bob Stoops is 46-7 in nonconference games during his tenure at OU. He is 8-5 in true road games outside of the conference in the regular season. That includes victories at Alabama, Notre Dame, Florida State and Washington.
There is no question that a victory at Tennessee would provide a huge momentum and confidence boost, and coming this early in the season it could well be the defining game and the hurdle that the Sooners need to get over if they expect to get back into the championship flight to which they and their fans have grown accustomed.