When Tennessee traveled to Oklahoma a decade ago, the Volunteers had a patchwork offensive line that was repeatedly mauled.
The Sooners sacked Vols quarterback Justin Worley five times and forced him into throwing two interceptions. Tennessee was held to 112 rushing yards, and the result was a 34-10 Oklahoma romp.
Could Tennessee return the favor Saturday (7:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC) inside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium with its five multiyear seniors on the defensive front and with the offensive line of the Sooners containing five new starters?
“We’re older guys, and we want to be the leaders on this defense and the leaders on this team,” Vols fifth-year senior defensive tackle Omari Thomas said this week. “We want to go out and be the best we can be and show everybody all the work that we’ve put in. We always want to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage.”
Through Tennessee’s 3-0 start that has transpired by the combined score of 191-13, the Vols have completely suffocated the offenses of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, North Carolina State and Kent State. They are heading to Norman ranked second nationally in total defense, allowing 160.7 yards per game, and third nationally in scoring defense, yielding 4.3 points a contest.
The scoring total is actually misleading given that seven of the 13 points allowed by the Vols so far came on a Nico Iamaleava interception against N.C. State that was returned for a touchdown.
Tennessee’s defensive dominance has started up front, as the Vols allow just 55.7 rushing yards per game to rank fourth in the country. Countering that front will be fresh faces for the Sooners on an offense that ranks 108th nationally and was forced to punt eight times during a 16-12 escape of Houston on Sept. 7.
“They have a lot of transfers, but they work well together,” Vols junior defensive tackle Jaxson Moi said. “Their guards and center are pretty stout and pretty aggressive players.”
The Vols are not only hoping their experience prevails in the matchup of their defensive front against Oklahoma’s offensive line but with their depth as well.
“With our rotation being so deep, you know you can go out there and go hard on every play, because you’ve got somebody behind you who’s going to give the same effort and get the same production as you,” fifth-year senior defensive end Dominic Bailey said. “There is no falloff from the ones, twos and threes, which is actually great for us.
“You can throw so many people at them that by the fourth quarter they’re tired, but right now it’s all about our preparation and staying ready for the game.”
Oklahoma’s offensive struggles have been most reflected by lost-yardage plays. The Sooners have allowed 17 tackles for loss to rank 92nd nationally, and they’ve given up nine sacks to rank 117th.
The Vols have compiled 20 tackles for loss, though only four of those have been sacks.
“Teams are playing on the perimeter more and playing more quick-game things,” Thomas said. “There are ways they can take us out of the game, but if we keep playing hard and running to the ball — it’s hard to play a team that’s flying to the ball and having fun.”
Said Oklahoma coach Brent Venables: “They’re just playing outstanding on defense, and it’s led by their front.”
Tennessee is having plenty of defensive fun not allowing touchdowns, extending that streak to 16 straight quarters with last Saturday’s 71-0 humiliation of Kent State. The Vols know the competition will stiffen significantly Saturday night in their most hostile atmosphere since last October’s loss at longtime rival Alabama, but they also believe there is room for improvement.
Which is a scary thought given their current play.
“There are definitely things we have to clean up,” Thomas said. “There are games that look good, but then we’ll come back and watch it and be like, ‘If we had just done this, we would have been more productive.’ We just want to continue to grow as a defense and as a defensive line.
“I will say that we play hard and that we come out every weekend locked in and ready to play.”
“I’m certainly glad”
During his weekly appearance Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference’s Zoom call, Tennessee coach and former Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel was asked whether he would have liked the in-helmet communication that is being allowed this season during his days with the Sooners. Heupel’s two offensive coordinators at Oklahoma were Mike Leach in 1999 and Mark Mangino in 2000.
“I’m certainly glad that we didn’t have helmet communication back then, really for both of them,” Heupel said. “With Mike, you would have no idea what he would be talking about if he was in your ear. With Mangino, when it wasn’t going well or you did something he didn’t like, I was glad he didn’t have direct communication with me.
“Looking over and seeing him on the sidelines was enough for everybody, and I say that out of love and respect.”
Nice first touches
Tennessee five-star freshman receiver Mike Matthews made his debut against Kent State.
His first career touch was a 32-yard return off a free kick that followed a safety less than five minutes into the contest, and the 6-foot-1, 197-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn added two receptions for 35 yards.
His longer catch was an acrobatic 18-yard touchdown on a pass from backup quarterback Gaston Moore 19 seconds before halftime that made it 65-0.
“Mike is a guy who we’ve had great trust in through spring ball and the early part of training camp,” Heupel said. “He got nicked up, but we are able to use our four-wide package now with him being healthy. He made plays out there, and he handled himself within the flow of the game extremely well.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.