OU-Tennessee overview with RockyTopInsider's Ryan Sylvia
Oklahoma faces yet another tough matchup this weekend.
The No. 18 Sooners (6-2, 2-2 SEC) travels to No. 14 Tennessee (6-2, 2-2 SEC) to take on the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. The Volunteers got a bounce-back win over Kentucky over the weekend, while the Sooners dropped a tough home game to Ole Miss.
The Volunteers, led by former UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar, have been one of the most explosive offenses in the country, while the defense has taken a step back from a season ago.
To learn more about Tennessee, OUInsider reached out to RockyTopInsider’s Ryan Sylvia for a few questions on the Vols.
Ryan Sylvia
1. From afar, it seems like Joey Aguilar has largely worked out for Tennessee at quarterback after all the chaos in the spring. How would you assess the way he’s played this season, and how has he fared in the SEC?
Joey Aguilar has exceeded all expectations. Given his lack of experience at this level and the short timeframe for him to get settled in this offseason, he’s been unbelievable. Are there some issues? Sure. But he’s the SEC leader in passing yards and has gone over 200 yards through the air in every single game this year. This past week against Kentucky, which, sure, is the worst team in the conference, he was just a couple yards short of hitting the 400 mark and continued to hit on passes all over the field. I think that’s been the biggest breath of fresh air for Tennessee fans, too. The deep ball is fully back within the offense, and Aguilar is consistently dropping passes in perfect spots. Some of that is the renovation of the formations and playcalling on offense, but you have to give the quarterback some credit, as well. He still has turnover issues at times and can put the ball in harm’s way more than you’d like, but I think it’s fair to say he’s been the best signal caller for UT since Hendon Hooker’s 2022 campaign.
2. It numbers suggest the defense has taken a step back after losing so many guys from a year ago. Where is this defense at right now? What’s the biggest strength and what’s the biggest weakness?
The defense has certainly taken a step back. A year ago, you could really argue it was the best all-around group in the country. This year, it’s been completely unreliable. A lot of that to me is just personnel. Defensive coordinator Tim Banks has shouldered a lot of the blame from the public, which is valid to some degree, but the Vols have struggled to replace some departures. On the interior of the defensive line, Tennessee lost three pieces and are extremely thin as a result this year. At safety, Jakobe Thomas left in the spring, and UT has had inconsistent play from Edrees Farooq and Andre Turrentine there. At cornerback, it’s not departures, but both starters being out with long-term injuries have obviously been a tough ask to replace, at least at one spot. There’s still a lot of talent there, and the pass rush is electric, but it has struggled against the run and given up frustrating third-down conversions. The saving grace has been forced turnovers in all their big wins, but it’s tough to rely on that every week.
3. How is the fanbase feeling about this team? Is there confidence they can stay in the playoff picture?
The defensive woes give most people some pause about it being a true playoff team and contender. The potential is there with Oklahoma and Vanderbilt at home and a now coachless Florida on the road, but there is no longer a margin for error with two losses. Overall, I think most fans are excited about the offense looking miles better to give hope for success down the road. They’re not necessarily punting on this season, and it should be a great atmosphere on Saturday, but the fanbase seems to be a bit more fired up about what next year may hold.
4. Who are a couple of the key playmakers on offense OU fans should know about? Defense?
Chris Brazzell has been unbelievable this year. He’s a huge target at wide receiver for Aguilar, who has consistently been coming up with jump balls down the field. He’s an extremely tough player to defend in one-on-ones, leading to a lot of safety help and bracketing in recent weeks. The response has been getting Braylon Staley, the slot receiver, going over the middle. When the safeties clear out to make sure Brazzell doesn’t win big, Staley has benefited for big gains, just not necessarily touchdowns. Mike Matthews is also certainly a threat at receiver, as well.
At running back, it’s mostly been the DeSean Bishop show. He backed up Dylan Sampson last year and has emerged as a strong option as the feature guy. He’s battled some injury, but when healthy, he doesn’t necessarily have breakaway speed, but can hit on some chunk plays and rarely seems to get bottled up for a loss. Peyton Lewis and Star Thomas are options behind him that will play, as well.
On defense, Joshua Josephs has had a great year in the LEO spot. That’s the role James Pearce Jr. and Byron Young both caused havoc in under Josh Heupel. In pass rush situations, he lives in the backfield, and he’s also a threat to step up in the run game. The other star of the defense is Colton Hood. He transferred in this spring with the writing on the wall about Jermod McCoy’s offseason injury holding him out and has been sensational. The issue is the other side is manned by a true freshman, Ty Redmond, who hasn’t been bad, but teams have been much more confident in targeting.
5. What’s Tennessee path to victory in this game? Conversely, if they lose, what will be the biggest reason?
Tennessee’s offense is going to have to put up points. With how inconsistent the defense has been, it’s tough to imagine this one looking like last year, where UT got an early lead and sat on the ball to make the game as short as possible. Instead, particularly if John Mateer gets things rolling again, Tennessee will need to match production. I don’t want to say it needs to be a shootout, but I’d think the Vols will need to eclipse 30 to win.
If they lose, it’s tough to imagine it won’t fall on the defense’s shoulders. There’s a pretty strong confidence that Aguilar and the offense will be able to put up what should be enough points to win, but it’s tough to have any certainty about what the defense will do on any given drive.