NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
No. 15 Oklahoma hosts No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday in a matchup crawling with storylines. The game marks the first ever SEC conference game for the Sooners, and it’s the kind of marquee game OU fans hoped for when they joined the conference.
On the other sideline, though, former Sooners national champion quarterback Josh Heupel leads Tennessee. Heupel was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma for years until he was fired by Bob Stoops in 2014 and went through his own transformation. Now, he brings Tennessee into his old stomping grounds as a touchdown favorite.
The last two times these programs played was in 2015 when Baker Mayfield led a come-from-behind victory at Neyland Stadium to kick off the Sooners’ first trip to the College Football Playoff. The win helped usher in a period of six straight 11-win seasons, pandemic year aside, and elevate the Sooners back to the top tier of college football.
Oklahoma’s matchup against Tennessee marks one of the highest-profile home games in program history — but is it a must-win for third-year coach Brent Venables? Oklahoma needed late surges to survive Houston and Tulane in nonconference play behind a battered offensive line. The longtime defensive coordinator is 19-10 in two seasons, but only 10-8 against conference opponents as a Big 12 member. Here’s the case for whether this is a pivotal game in the Venables tenure.
Why Tennessee is a must-win game for Oklahoma
This single game isn’t going to make or break Venables’ tenure either way, but that doesn’t diminish the mistakes. Let’s start with the obvious fact that this is Oklahoma’s first conference game as an SEC school, and it comes at home, in primetime, against a Tennessee team that hasn’t been that great on the road under Josh…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/victory-over-tennessee-crucial-for-brent-venables-why-oklahoma-coach-is-and-isnt-facing-must-win-scenario/
Author : Shehan Jeyarajah
Publish date : 2024-09-17 16:20:21
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
