This weekend in Knoxville, two of the best units in the SEC will clash in primetime.
The No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners, boasting the best defense in the conference, will travel to play No. 14 Tennessee, with the best offense in the SEC, at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday on ABC. With both teams at 6-2, the winner will keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive, while the loser will likely see those dreams vanish in 2025.
Score prediction for Oklahoma vs Tennessee
Entering Week 10 of the 2025 college football season, the Sooners are fifth in the country in both total defense and scoring defense while giving up only 240.3 yards and 12.5 points a game, respectively. Both numbers also lead the SEC.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the ball, the Volunteers also top the SEC in both of those stats. Tennessee is putting up 510.1 yards and 45.6 points a game. That puts the Vols at third in total offense and second in scoring offense in the nation.
Saturday, though, the immovable object will meet the unstoppable force.
However, although it’s eight games into the season, the jury is still out on just how elite this Tennessee offense is. The Vols have had a lackluster schedule compared to the Sooners, and they lost both games against the only two SEC teams they played with defenses that ranked in the top half of the conference. That includes Alabama holding Tennessee to just 20 points in a 37-20 beating.
The Sooners, though, have to hit the road and play at a blacked out Neyland Stadium. However, defense travels, and OU is also expected to be at full-strength on that side of the ball. The Vols aren’t playing a Syracuse or Kentucky this time.
Ultimately, defense wins championships, as well as this game.
Prediction: Oklahoma 27, Tennessee 24