It's Time For SEC Football In Norman

​As Oklahoma fans gear up for this weekend's matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers, there is an undeniable sense of unease in the air. Tennessee comes to Norman looking to prove to the Nation they are not frauds and they are a legit contender this year. Oklahoma looking to find their footing on this season and make a statement in their first SEC matchup.

As much as people put on a brave face on social media and refuse to admit it, every Oklahoma fan has some level of worry heading into this weekend. Though Tennessee hasn't put a complete beatdown on a P4 team, they have looked dang-near perfect, scoring 69, 51, and 71 points on Chattanooga, NC State, and Kent State while allowing just 13 points.

Redshirt Nico Iamaleava could be a future Heisman Candidate, but he still has some green in him that the Sooner defense can take advantage of. Nico has thrown for 698 yards with a 71.6% completion percentage, six touchdowns, and two interceptions, both of which came against NC State.

Though Nico is a threat at the quarterback position, Tennessee's rushing attack might be even more threatening. Dylan Sampson, a Junior Running back, already has nine touchdowns this season and leads the NCAA in rushing touchdowns, tied with Ashton Jeanty at Boise State. Say what you will about Tennessee's first three opponents, but nine touchdowns is still a lot.

Sampson's contributions make Tennessee the #3 leader in rushing yards per game behind Army and UCF. Tennesse also lands in the Top-5 in offensive total yards (#2), points allowed (#3), and yards allowed (#2). Again, say what you will about their opponents, there is no denying that Tennessee is a good football team.

As Oklahoma heads into the SEC portion of the schedule, I have two primary concerns that I think all Oklahoma fans will agree with me on. First is Jackson Arnold. I know on this blog I have beat the crap out of this topic, but he does not go through his progression and make a decision on who he is going to pass to in enough time. By the time he makes a decision, the defensive coverage has come together, giving him no options to throw to, or the defense has gotten to him, and he is sacked.

This leads me to Oklahoma fans' biggest concern this season: the offensive line. They have allowed nine sacks this season, and our top two running backs have a total of 228 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Jackson Arnold has 159 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and more carries than our go-to running back, Jovantae Barnes. Against Temple and Houston, who should have been a good warm-up game, there were times the O-Line was manhandled by their defensive line. These are not SEC opponents who pride themselves on physical defensive lines. Jackson Arnold's slow decision-making does not help, so the combination of a weak offensive line and a slow quarterback is the most significant area of concern for the Sooners this year.

Tennessee is a seven-point favorite, and ESPN gives Tennessee a 71.3% chance of winning this game. This is not a 100% sign of things to come—Lord knows none of us saw Florida State starting the season 0-3—but if you're a betting person, when the spread is that wide, and the percentage of winning is also that high, that is what we call a safe bet if you bet on the money line.

All right, this is an Oklahoma-centric blog page, so I apologize to my Oklahoma fans for feeding you a bunch of reasons why Oklahoma could lose this game, but there are reasons for optimism.

First, Oklahoma has seen better opponents than Tennessee. According to the ESPN Football Power Index, Kent State is the worst team behind Temple in the FBS. According to the ESPN FPI, Tulane and Houston are rated above NC State, Tennessee's only other FBS opponent this season.

Against NC State, Nico threw for 211 yards at 69.6% completion with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He had a worse performance against Kent State, going 10/16 with 173 yards and throwing for just one touchdown. Oklahoma's defense is full of some studs. Danny Stutsman, Billy Bowman, Ethan Downs, Jayden Jackson, and last week's National Defensive Player of the Week, Mason Thomas.

Tennessee has yet to see a defense quite like Oklahoma's, and though Tennessee has a great offense that will cause some problems this year, they're in for a bit of a shock coming to Oklahoma. They say offense sells tickets and defense wins championships, and while I'm not claiming Oklahoma's defense is the best in the Nation, they're certainly up there. At least this is one of the best defensive units Oklahoma has seen in recent memory. The boys have racked in eleven sacks (sixth nationally) and four interceptions (sixteenth in the Nation).

Tennessee has one interception and four sacks. So, despite only allowing 13 points, they aren't getting many takeaways. On a positive note, even though Oklahoma hasn't played great their first three games, the difference between how they played against Houston and Tulane looked significantly different. Jackson Arnold looked more comfortable in the pocket. I'd also like to believe that they haven't opened up their playbook 100% and will have a few tricks up their sleeves to use against Tennessee this weekend that Tennessee hasn't seen on film yet.

My honest prediction for this game is that Tennessee will win, but I don't think it will be by much. I think the spread is correct, and they will win by one touchdown. But if you asked me if Tennessee would win by more or less than seven points and you had to choose, I'd say they win by less than seven points, and the game will be a lot closer than people think it will be.

This game is a defining moment for both programs. On the one hand, Tennessee needs to prove they are that good and not frauds. On the other hand, you have Oklahoma, which is looking to make a statement before getting into the Steak and Potatoes section of their SEC schedule. There is a reason College Gameday is in Norman this weekend. This will be the most exciting game of the weekend.