NORMAN, Okla. – No. 6/7 Tennessee will face its first true road test this season as it heads to Norman, Oklahoma for a primetime battle against the 15th-ranked Sooners on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
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GAMEDAY & BROADCAST INFO
- Opponent: Oklahoma Sooners
- Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 21 | 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Norman, Okla.
- Venue: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (80,126)
- TV/Stream: ABC
- Local Radio: Vol Network (FM 107.7 in Knoxville)
- Satellite Radio: SiriusXM (Ch. 82)
- Live Stats: UTSports.com
#6/7 TENNESSEE (3-0 | 0-0 SEC)
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#15/13 OKLAHOMA (3-0 | 0-0 SEC)
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The top 15 showdown will also be the SEC opener for both teams as they look to start conference play off on the right foot after identical 3-0 starts to begin the year.
BROADCAST INFO
For the second time this season, the ABC primetime crew of Chris Fowler (PxP), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) will have the call for Saturday’s game. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.
UT fans can listen to Tennessee’s official radio broadcast on the Vol Network (Local: WIVK-FM 107.7/WNML-FM 99.1) over 65 stations across the state of Tennessee and the southeast, SiriusXM (Ch. 82) and the SiriusXM app (Ch. 82), as well as the Varsity App. A live audio stream of the broadcast will also be available on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics App.
Bob Kesling (PxP), VFL Pat Ryan (analyst) and Brent Hubbs (analyst) will call the action, with VFL Jayson Swain handling sideline duties for the Vol Network radio broadcast. The Big Orange Countdown pregame show begins two hours prior to kickoff at 5:30 p.m. The pregame show is hosted by John Wilkerson, Brent Hubbs, VFL Jayson Swain and a rotating VFL special guest each week. The Vol Network celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024.
The Spanish broadcast is available locally on WNML-AM 990 with Carlos Lopez (play-by-play) and VFL Fuad Reveiz on the call. That version is also available on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics app.
NEED TO KNOW
Record-Setting Start
Tennessee has outscored its opponents 191-13 through the first three games of the 2024 campaign. The plus-178 point differential through three games is the largest in SEC history and second-most by any FBS team in the AP Poll era (since 1936). Baylor’s 2013 team was first at plus-186.
The Vols have scored 50-plus points in the first three games of a season for just the second time in school history and first since 1913. That year, UT beat Carson-Newman 58-0, Athens 95-0 and Maryville 75-0. UT joined 2018 Alabama as the only SEC programs to accomplish the 50-point feat in the AP Poll era.
Dominant Defense Continues
The Vols have gone 16 consecutive quarters – four full games – without allowing an offensive touchdown, which is tied with Georgia for the longest current streak in the nation. The 16-quarter run without allowing an offensive touchdown is tied for the third-longest streak in school history and longest overall for UT since keeping its opponent out the end zone in 18 consecutive quarters across five games from 1965-66.
The four-game streak without allowing an offensive touchdown is the longest for UT since shutting out 15-straight opponents from Nov. 5, 1938 to Dec. 9, 1939, under Gen. Robert Neyland. The current streak began with the first quarter of the 2024 Citrus Bowl vs. Iowa.
This season, opponents have scored only via an interception return (NC State) and two field goals. In the FBS this season, the Vols are second in the nation in both total defense (160.7 ypg) and third in scoring defense (4.3 ppg). UT is one of only three FBS programs to not allow an offensive touchdown this season, joining Georgia and Ohio State.
Oklahoma Connections
Tennessee’s staff has no shortage of connections to the University of Oklahoma with four on-field coaches having either played and/or coached for the Sooners in the past. Head coach Josh Heupel returns to his alma mater, as the 2001 OU graduate quarterbacked the Sooners to their last national championship in 2000 and was the Heisman Trophy runner-up. From 1999-2000, Heupel posted a 20-5 record, passing for 7,456 yards and 53 touchdowns. Overall, in program history, he still ranks fifth in passing yards and fifth in touchdown passes. The 2000 consensus first-team All-American guided the Sooners to a perfect season, capped with a 13-2 win over Florida State in the 2001 Orange Bowl.
Heupel spent 11 years as an assistant at Oklahoma. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant from 2003-04, in which the Sooners reached the national title game both seasons. He then served as quarterbacks coach from 2006-14. He also served as co-offensive coordinator for OU from 2011-14 and coached Heisman Trophy winners Jason White (2003) and Sam Bradford (2008). In total as an assistant and as a player, Heupel owned a 137-36 (.792) record at Oklahoma with 10 10-win seasons and seven Big 12 championships.
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle is a two-time graduate of OU and played quarterback for the Sooners from 2006-08 under Heupel. Halzle got his coaching start at Oklahoma as a graduate assistant and offensive quality control assistant from 2009-14 and was part of five Big 12 championship teams.
Special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach Mike Ekeler was a defensive graduate assistant at OU with Heupel from 2003-04 and secondary coach Willie Martinez coached defensive backs for the Sooners from 2010-11.
Must-See Vols, ESPN College GameDay
ESPN College GameDay will be on hand in Norman for this Saturday’s ranked showdown between the Vols and Sooners. It will be Tennessee’s 25th appearance all-time on the show and its fourth during the Heupel era. The Big Orange are 2-1 in their previous three games under Heupel when College GameDay is on-site.
SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma leads series, 3-1
The Vols and Sooners are set to meet for the fifth time on Saturday, which will mark the second contest between the two programs in Norman (2014).
Tennessee will be looking to end a three-game skid against Oklahoma and earn its first victory in the series since shutting out the Sooners, 17-0, in the 1939 Orange Bowl.
OU was victorious in the 1968 Orange Bowl and won back-to-back games in 2014 and 2015, including a double-overtime thriller at Neyland Stadium in the most recent meeting between the two historic programs. Saturday will mark the first contest between the Vols and Sooners as conference foes.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA
Head coach Brent Venables is in his third season leading the Sooners and has them ranked inside the top 15 after a 3-0 start to the year. Defense has been the calling card early in the season, as they have held their opponents to 11.3 points per game and 264.7 yards per game entering Saturday’s contest. Oklahoma also leads the SEC and ranks second nationally in turnover margin, having already racked up 10 takeaways (six fumble recoveries & four interceptions) through three games.
Offensively, OU has been led by dynamic quarterback Jackson Arnold, who leads the team in passing and rushing so far this season. The sophomore signal caller has completed nearly 63 percent of his passes for 484 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions while adding 159 yards and two scores on the ground. Redshirt junior wide receiver Deion Burks has been Arnold’s top target in the passing game with 22 receptions for 169 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior linebacker Danny Stutsman leads a stout defense for the Sooners. The 2023 All-American ranks second in the SEC and 10th nationally in tackles with 33, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. Junior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas has also filled up the stat sheet with a team-leading four TLFs and three sacks to go along with two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Redshirt junior cornerback Kani Walker is one of four Sooners with an interception on the year and also leads the team with three pass breakups to pace the secondary.
