No. 6 Tennessee travels to No. 15 Oklahoma on Saturday evening in one of Week 4’s marquee matchups. Obviously, it’s an important matchup as the SEC opener for both teams, but there are some deeper storylines that add more meaning to this primetime clash.
For starters, it’s Oklahoma’s first conference game as an SEC program. The Sooners will be hungry to send a message to their new conference mates, in front of what’s sure to be a fiery crowd in their fourth straight home game to open the season. This also feels like an important spot to get a win, since Oklahoma has to play three teams ranked inside the top-10 of the latest AP poll outside of the comfort of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium down the road.
For the Vols, this is a huge game — outside of the obvious Josh Heupel connections. Tennessee is hoping to finally break into the SEC’s upper echelon and plant its flag as a legitimate College Football Playoff competitor after a hot start to the year. Tennessee has won its first three games by an average of 59.3 points — including a 51-10 route of former top-25 NC State — and the Vols haven’t allowed a single offensive touchdown in four straight games dating back to last season’s win against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
Tennessee vs. Oklahoma: Need to know
Josh Heupel returns: This will be the first time Heupel has made his way back to Norman in a professional capacity since he was let go as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator in 2014. Heupel’s journey with the Sooners began in 1999, when he signed on to play quarterback out of Utah’s Snow College. In 2000, he led Oklahoma to an undefeated season and a national championship with a 13-2 win against Florida State in the Orange Bowl. He was also the Heisman Trophy runner-up, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and an All-American.
After a brief stint in the NFL, Heupel returned to Oklahoma in 2004 as a graduate assistant on Bob Stoops’ staff. In 2006, Stoops hired Heupel as quarterbacks coach. He added co-offensive coordinator to his list of responsibilities in 2011.
Heupel and Venables go way back: It will be former Stoops assistant vs. former Stoops assistant as the Vols and Sooners take the field Saturday. But the relationship between Heupel and Venables goes back a little further than that. Venables was already working on Oklahoma’s staff as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 1999-2000, when Heupel was tearing up opposing defenses as a quarterback. From 2004-11, Venables was the associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. With Venables and Heupel on staff, Oklahoma posted five 10-win seasons and four Big 12 titles from 2006-11.
Blue-chip quarterback battle: Nico Iamaleava and Jackson Arnold were two of the top prospects in the 2023 recruiting class. They ranked as the No. 2 and No. 10 prospects nationally and the No. 2 and No. 4 quarterbacks, respectively. Their college careers have followed a similar arc thus far, as well. Iamaleava got his first career start with the Vols in their Citrus Bowl win against Iowa, while Arnold led Oklahoma’s offense in the Alamo Bowl against Arizona. Now both are firmly entrenched as starting quarterbacks in two of the most prolific programs in America. Saturday will be the first time that two gunslingers from the highly touted 2023 class face off on a college football field, bringing the entire story full circle.
How to watch Tennessee vs. Oklahoma live
Date: Saturday, Sept. 21 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium — Norman, Oklahoma
TV: ABC | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
Tennessee vs. Oklahoma prediction, picks
There are some concerns with this being an away game for Tennessee. The Vols haven’t particularly been great in big games on the road under Josh Heupel, and this will be quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s first start in a truly hostile environment. But this seems like a perfect matchup for Tennessee. Oklahoma’s offensive line hasn’t been great. The Vols have one of the best defensive lines in the country. Oklahoma has struggled to consistently put points on the board. Tennessee has punted just twice. Both defenses are really good, so this one might be a slugfest early, but Tennessee’s offense will hit on enough plays to walk out of Norman with the win. Pick: Tennessee -7 (-107)
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