Scouting Report: Tennessee
Oklahoma will be fighting for its playoff lives this weekend in Knoxville.
So will Tennessee.
Both the Sooners and the Volunteers sit at 6-2 on the season, and both teams are 2-2 in SEC play. The No. 18 Sooners are coming off a really disappointing home loss to Ole Miss, while the Volunteers snagged a bounceback win over Kentucky, 56-34.
Both teams need a win to stay viable in the race for the College Football Playoff. The Sooners need a win to prove they’re capable of winning big games on the road. Winning at Neyland Stadium won’t be easy, and it’ll be the first time they’ve played there since 2015 and the second time in program history.
Here’s an early look at Tennessee:
GAME INFO
When: 6:30 p.m. CT, Saturday
Where: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
TV: ABC
TENNESSEE BASIC INFO
Scoring offense: 45.6 points per game (2nd nationally)
Scoring defense: 30.9 points per game (112th nationally)
Total offense: 510.1 yards per game (3rd nationally)
Total defense: 401.5 yards per game (101st nationally)
Rushing offense: 188.75 yards per game (36th nationally)
Rushing defense: 135.25 yards per game (54th nationally)
Passing offense: 321.4 yards per game (3rd nationally)
Passing defense: 266.3 yards per game (124th nationally)
Key Players
Joey Aguilar, QB
2,344 passing yards, 65.9% completion, 18 TD, 6 INT, 91 rushing yards, 2 TD
Braylon Staley, WR
47 receptions, 628 yards, 3 TD
Chris Brazzell II, WR
43 receptions, 740 yards, 8 TD
DeSean Bishop, RB
91 carries, 652 yards, 9 TD
Arion Carter, LB
61 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
Joshua Josephs, DL
29 tackles, 6 TFL, 4 sacks
Dominic Bailey, DL
17 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 4 sacks
Early Scouting Report
1. Aguilar has been fantastic for the Vols
After the portal saga last spring that saw Nico lamaleava leave the program, Aguilar has been fine as the Vols’ new quarterback. He’s arguably been even more productive and more explosive.
The basic stats have been great for Aguilar. He’s inside the top 15 nationally in passing yards, touchdowns and quarterback rating. He’s also been one of the more explosive quarterbacks in football. He’s 14th nationally in passing plays of 20-plus yards (31), tied for sixth in plays of 30-plus yards (17) and tied for eight in plays of 40-plus yards (9).
There really hasn’t been a dropoff in conference play, either. He’s also flanked by good playmakers, particularly Staley and Brazzell. It’s going to be another test for the Sooners, which gave up 315 passing yards and seven passing plays of 20-plus yards to Ole Miss last Saturday.
2. Another vulnerable defense for the OU offense
Ole Miss’ defensive profile was not overly impressive. The Sooners had their moments, but the offense still finished with a mostly underwhelming performance outside of a couple of explosive plays from Isaiah Sategna and Xavier Robinson.
But this should be another opportunity for the Sooners to be aggressive. The Volunteers’ defense is not what it was a season ago. They’ve given up at least 377 total yards in all but one game this season. They just surrendered 476 yards and 6.5 yards per play in last Saturday’s win over Kentucky. The Volunteers have also really, really struggled against the pass.
John Mateer did not play well last week against Ole Miss. But this should be an opportunity to bounceback.
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