OU opens SEC conference schedule with stern test from visiting top-10 Tennessee

Oklahoma faces its toughest test so far of the 2024 season when it hosts No. 6 Tennessee in a top-15 matchup on Saturday in the SEC conference opener for both teams.

Both teams come into the game with identical 3-0 records, but the way they got there has been dramatically different.

The Sooners three wins came over Temple, Houston and Tulane, ranked 132nd, 80th, and 59th, respectively in the most recent CBS Sports 1-134 rankings. The average score in those three contests to open the 2024 season was 33.7 to 11.3. In collecting its three wins, however, Tennessee beat up on powerhouses Chattanooga, North Carolina State and Kent State by the combined score of 191-13.

That plus-178 point differential by Tennessee, by the way, is the largest in SEC history through the first three games of the season. The scores of those three games -- 69-3, 51-10 and 71-0 -- certainly gets your attention. But let's use the CBS Sports rankings to take a closer look at the three opponents: Chattanooga is an FCS school, a tier below FBS, NC State is the highest-ranked of the three at 36 and Kent State is dead last in the 1-134 ranking.

This is not to suggest that Tennessee is not an outstanding offensive team, but rather that the Volunteers have not played a team of Oklahoma's caliber yet this season, and the 15th-ranked Sooners will be hosting Tennessee in front of a capacity home crowd. To be fair, though, the same can be said of the Sooners in terms of the quality of the previous three opponents.

One of the biggest story lines in this game is the return to Norman by Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, who played at Oklahoma and was the quarterback of the 2000 Sooner national championship team. He also served on Bob Stoops' OU coaching staff from 2006 to 2014 and was co-offensive coordinator from 2011-14. Heupel was replaced by Lincoln Riley prior to the 2015 season.

This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Oklahoma and Tennessee and the first since 2015. Oklahoma owns a 3-1 record in the series, winning a home-and-home series in 2014-15. OU won 34-10 in Norman in 2014 and 31-24 in a thrilling double-overtime game at Tennessee the following season. The two teams split a pair of Orange Bowl postseason matchups in 1938 (17-0 Tennessee) and 1967 (26-24 Oklahoma).

The Volunteers are OU's first AP top-10 opponent in Norman since No. 5 Oklahoma beat No. 8 TCU 38-20 in 2017.

The Saturday night game is Oklahoma's third primetime night contest of the season and is the featured game site this week by the ESPN "College GameDay" broadcast team. It will be the ninth time "College GameDay" has originated from Norman and the 41st time the popular college football kickoff show has appeared at an Oklahoma game. That's the fourth most for one team behind Ohio State (59), Alabama (58) and Florida (42). The Sooners are 27-13 when they have been featured on "College GameDay."

Spoiler alert: Country music star Blake Shelton is the guest picker on the "College GameDay" show this Saturday morning on ESPN.

The Oklahoma-Tennessee game will be televised on ABC beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. Chris Fowler will do the play-by-play with Kirk Herbstreit providing analysis and Holly Rowe reporting on the sidelines.

What to know about Tennessee

• In his weekly press conference on Tuesday, OU head coach Brent Venables called Tennessee one of the most physical teams the Sooners will face all season, especially on the offensive and defensive fronts. Edge rusher James Pierce Jr. is one of the best at his position in the country and leads a Volunteer defensive line that is a major disruptive force and puts constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

• Tennessee ranks 1st in the country in scoring offense, 2nd in scoring offense, 3rd in total defense and ranks in the top-five nationally in eight other offensive and defensive statistical categories. Need we say more about how dangerous this Volunteer team is. Additionally, the Volunteers' offense uses tempo as well as any team in the country, which is one of the ways they put stress on opposing defenses.

• Junior Dylan Sampson leads the Volunteer run game, averaging 119 yards and nearly 8.0 yards per carry, and ranks second in the SEC through three games. Like OU's Jackson Arnold, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava was a five-star recruit. He is completing 70 percent of his passes for 698 yards, an average of 233 yards per contest, and six touchdowns with two interceptions. On the receiving end, 17 different receivers have caught a pass this season, led by redshirt-sophomore Chris Brazzell Jr., who has caught 10 passes for 140 yards, and senior wide receiver Dont'e Thornton Jr., a deep threat with five catches for 169 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

• Defensively, Tennessee has not given up a touchdown in the last 16 quarters dating back to last season.

• Besides the head coach, their are several Oklahoma connections on Josh Heupel's Tennessee coaching staff: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle was a backup QB for Sam Bradford at OU (2006-08); secondary coach Willie Martinez was defensive backs coach at OU (2010-11) and Tennessee football chief of staff Billy Ray Johnson spent 15 years in Oklahoma athletic administration.

What to watch for from Oklahoma

• The Sooners are expecting several key players to return to action from injuries in the Tennessee game. Wide receiver Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony were two of OU's leading receivers a year ago and have been out of action to past three games. This should definitely help Jackson Arnold in the passing game. And offensive linemen Troy Everett and Branson Hickman are listed as probable for Saturday's game, which will bolster the offensive line.

• Oklahoma is averaging just 166 passing yards per game. This definitely has to change if the Sooners are going to have a chance to win against an aggressive and physical Tennessee defense. Having Anderson and Anthony back will take pressure off of Purdue transfer Deion Burks, who has been OU's main target in the first three games. Burks has 22 catches for 169 yards and three touchdowns. His 22 catches are the most by an Oklahoma receiver in the first three games of his Sooner career in program history.

• The Sooners are also are going to need to step up their running game with production from more than Jackson Arnold. Jovantae Barnes looked good in spurts against Tulane, and look for true freshman Taylor Tatum to get more touches.

• Quarterback Jackson Arnold holds the key to what could be a huge upset -- if you buy in to what the oddsmakers and media analysts are saying about this game -- not to mention the confidence lift it would give the Sooners as they begin their SEC conference schedule, OU can't avoid to throw away offensive possessions against a team as good as Tennessee. Arnold needs to avoid mistakes and lead an OU offense that plays with greater consistency, especially on third down. He can't do it alone, but it clearly starts with him.

• Oklahoma needs to play a full four quarters of productive football if they are going to beat Tennessee. Of the Sooners 101 total points this season, only 32 have come in the second half and just six in the third quarter.

Key matchups

• Oklahoma's passing attack against a Tennessee secondary that may be the weak link in the Volunteer defense. Despite this, the Vols are allowing an average of just 105 passing yards per game.

• Oklahoma's defensive line against the Tennessee offensive line that Brent Venables calls one of the best he has seen at the college level. The Volunteers have allowed just one quarterback sack this season.

Scary stat

In Josh Heupel's three-plus seasons at Tennessee, the Volunteers are 29-1 when leading entering the fourth quarter.

Prediction

Oklahoma has lost just 13 times at home in 26 seasons, and is rarely an underdog when playing before the home crowd. Tennessee is a touchdown favorite over the Sooners and has been dominate in its first three games. Despite three consecutive wins to start the season, OU has yet to play its best or really anywhere near it. The Sooners are going to have to be near perfect in all phases to pull off the upset. I think the game will be closer than some think, but the Volunteers will prevail with a strong fourth quarter. Tennessee 37, Oklahoma 27