Tennessee Will Showcase Dominance Against Oklahoma

Tennessee vs. Sooners, 6:30 ET

We are back with more college football and this week has a surprising amount of great games for us to choose from. There are a ton of ranked matchups, and even some of the unranked matchups are pretty tasty. Unfortunately, there isn't a ton of time or space to go over every game, so I've only chosen a few to write about this week, but none better than this one between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Oklahoma Sooners. 

Tennessee comes into the game with a #6 next to their name signifying their strength within the rankings. They've started the year hot and look like they have one of the best offenses in all of football. In their first three games, they have covered the spread by more than any team in college football - or so I've been led to believe by various reports (I only mention this because I'm not quite sure how to verify this with all of the different teams out there). It wouldn't be surprising considering in three games they've scored 191 points and allowed just 13 total. That also should be a bit of an indication of the level of their competition. I don't really care who you play though, if you beat teams in that dominating of fashion, you're probably doing something very correctly. Their team is led by Nico Iamaleava, the quarterback with a cannon for an arm. He is 48-for-67 so far throwing for six touchdowns and two interceptions. Both interceptions came against North Carolina State University who was ranked 24 at the time. You're not going to win many games against ranked opponents by throwing interceptions, but he got away with it by being great on virtually every other drive. In this one, the team will need him to be sharp against a tough Oklahoma defense. There are some holes, but they will rush the quarterback relentlessly, and I am not expecting the ground game to get much going, but there can be an opportunity if Iamaleava opens the field up with a couple of deep throws. 

Sep 7, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) is lifted by a teammate after touchdown against the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the second half at the Dukes Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma Sooners can't boast the same offense, but they are the #15 school in the nation and I think have a legitimate shot at making this a competitive game. The Sooners have faced Temple, Houston, and Tulane over the past three weeks, and two of the three games were won with ease. The game against Houston was a bit of a head-scratcher as they snuck past the Cougars 16-12. The offense didn't look very good in that game, scoring just 14 points and nothing in the final two quarters. They were intercepted once, missed a field goal, and then punted on their other three drives in the half. They can't have that level of production against this Tennessee defense. It is hard to say what the Volunteers defense has a weakness right now because everyone they've played has been blown out. I would expect the Sooners to rely on their running backs at the start of this game to try and keep the Tennessee offense out of a rhythm and on the sideline. Additionally, I think the Sooners slowing the game down would increase their chances of winning simply because they don't want to get into a shoot out with Tennessee. Deion Burks, their wide receiver will be a tough matchup, but the Volunteers have enough strong cornerbacks to throw at him and their safeties should help over the top.

This game will be one of the more entertaining ones to watch. With Oklahoma now in the SEC, they have a very tough "Welcome to the Conference" game ahead of them. Personally, I think the Sooners are capable of hanging with Tennessee for at least half of the game, but I don't think they can do it for the full game. The Volunteers get a true test, and one on the road. It is never fun laying points with a team on the road, especially in college. I'm going to do it here though as I think Tennesse is likely to be one of the final four teams this season. Back Tennessee -7.