The showdown in Rocky Top country on Saturday night between Oklahoma and Tennessee should be one of those games that college football fans relish: one with plenty of offense. Yet it will be the defense – in particular the Sooner defense – that will have the biggest say in the outcome of the game.
Both offenses pack a lot of octane, which is a prime reason the Las Vegas oddsmakers have the over/under on the OU-Tennessee game at 62 1/2.
Oklahoma unveiled its new Air Raid offense last weekend against Akron and rolled up 539 yards of total offense in the process. All but 100 of those yard were achieved through passing plays, 42 of them, to be precise, out of 75 total offensive plays.
Sep 13, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive end Charles Tapper (91) during the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
There are several plausible reasons why the Sooners only managed 100 yards out of their highly regarded run game in last weekend’s season-opening victory, but regardless of the reasons, OU is going to have to ramp up that part of its game if it is going to move the ball and the chains with any consistency against Tennessee.
The Tennessee defense is not as good as Oklahoma’s, but the Volunteer offensive firepower may be better than the punch the Sooners’ pack on that side of the ball. Which is why I believe the key matchup in the game will be the performance of the Oklahoma defense vs. the Tennessee offense and vice versa.
Both teams began their 2015 seasons against opponents from the Mid-American Conference. Bowling Green, Tennessee’s opponent last Saturday, is projected by some experts to win the MAC East Division this season, with Akron as a chief contender. It is difficult to draw any statistically relevant comparisons for the OU-Tennessee game, except perhaps when you look at the passing yardage Bowling Green produced against the Volunteer defense.
Tennessee gave up 557 yards of offense to Bowling Green, and 433 of those yards came via the pass. That can’t be very comforting to the Volunteer coaching staff, knowing that Oklahoma is coming to town with an offense that thrives on big pass plays and getting speedy receivers in space.
Conversely, though, the Tennessee offense pounded out 399 rushing yards against Bowling Green, with their two best running backs – Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara – both going over the century mark, and quarterback Joshua Dobbs adding 95 yards of his own running with the ball. That is a three-headed monster that Oklahoma did not have to contend with a year ago in the game in Norman.
Sep 13, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Dominique Alexander (1) tackles Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Pig Howard (2) during the first quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Neither Dobbs nor Kamara played in the game last year at OU, and their presence this year poses a major challenge for the Oklahoma front seven. Tennessee was held in check on the ground in last year’s game, although Hurd did run for close to 100 of the Volunteers’ 112 net rushing yards.
The Sooners had five sacks against the Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley last year, but that will not be as easy with Dobbs, a much more mobile quarterback, at the controls this season. It is important to note that Oklahoma historically has had problems defending against mobile quarterbacks. The Sooner “D” has to be a little more conservative its pass rush and respectful of the QB’s ability to pull down the ball and take off on the run.
Senior Sooner defensive end Charles Tapper told sports writer Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World in an interview this week that “the media is saying that we can’t handle them (the Tennessee offense), that we’re too light and we can’t stop the running backs. The (OU) coaches talk to us about it and bag on us all week, It makes us so hungry.”
Tennessee is going to come into the game and try to attack the Sooner defense first on the ground. If the Volunteers have success running the football, it will open up passing opportunities as well, which would feed right into to Tennessee’s offensive game plan. The Volunteers have a stable of talented receivers, and the more they are able to get them involved in the offense, the more dangerous the Vols become.
Tennessee is mindful that OU had great difficulty defending passing teams a year ago, particularly on pass plays that went for 20 or more yards. So you can expect the Volunteers to test the Sooner secondary early and perhaps often to see if OU is up to the challenge.
The reverse tug of war that will go on between the Tennessee offense and the Oklahoma defense should be the defining matchup and the ultimate determining factor in the game’s outcome. The unit that prevails in this classic offense vs. defense challenge will secure the victory for its side and a 2-0 record to start the season.