Oklahoma is a 22-point favorite Saturday night. The Tennessee Vols, though, are no pushover.
The Oklahoma Sooners have slept on teams in the past and they’ve paid. However, this year’s team feels different.
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Trevor Knight is making better decisions. OU has running backs ahead of their years. And the defense—oh, man—that Oklahoma defense.
However, Tennessee has the tools to win. But let’s take a further look with this week’s capsule.
Why the Sooners will win: Oklahoma has the experience, home crowd, and confidence to lay down their third rout of the year. Trevor Knight’s been as sharp as ever, and he’s benefitted from a plethora of talent on the offensive side of the ball. The defensive front is going to pressure Vols senior quarterback Justin Worley, and if they do it enough, it’ll be a long night for Tennessee. This shouldn’t be a tough sell, but so early in the season, Oklahoma’s flaws have yet to be exposed and maybe Tennessee is the team to do that.
Why the Vols will win: The Tennessee defense will need to force Knight and Oklahoma to beat themselves. Call me biased, but this is a game OU should run away with in the fourth quarter. However, if the Vols can make Knight regress back to his pre-Alabama ways, then there’s a chance for Butch Jones’ squad. The Vols will need a complete game from its extremely young offensive line. Plus, they’ll need their five-star tailback Jalen Hurd to prove his high school rating and help Worley establish a more balanced attack.
Score Prediction: Oklahoma 38, Tennessee 17. I think Tennessee barely covers the spread. Cliché, I know, but a team is only as good as its weakest link. And the offensive line for Tennessee doesn’t have 60 minutes of football in them to hold back the Oklahoma defense. The Sooners roll to 3-0 and 2-0 in their last two games against SEC opponents.
Oklahoma and Tennessee kick off at 7 p.m., and they’ll be nationally televised on ABC. Remember to Stripe the Stadium and to show the recruits in attendance what Oklahoma football is all about.
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