College Gameday heads to Norman, Oklahoma for a clash between two ranked opponents, the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers and the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners are making their SEC debut.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel led Oklahoma to the 2000 National Championship as the Sooners' signal-caller, while Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was an assistant there at the time.
Heupel's Volunteers have been an offensive machine this season with 191 points scored, outscoring opponents by 178 points, and have scored 23 points more than any other FBS team.
Meanwhile, the Sooners defense under Venables leads the FBS in turnovers forced (10) and points off turnovers (41).
Catch all of the action at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC and ESPN+.
Odds current as of publish time, courtesy of ESPN BET
Spread: Tennessee (-6.5)
Moneyline: Tennessee (-250), Oklahoma (+210)
Over/Under: 56.5
First-half spread: Tennessee -3.5, Oklahoma +3.5
First-half moneyline: Tennessee (-190), Oklahoma (+150)
Pamela Maldonado's pick of the game: Oklahoma (+6.5)
Tennessee has faced one of the softest schedules to start the season, playing teams with a combined 2-7 record through three weeks. Now, in their first road game, freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava faces a real test. With this being Oklahoma's SEC conference debut, expect an electric home atmosphere. While Iamaleava has impressed, leading the Vols' offense, his experience remains limited. He'll now confront a more sophisticated defense and heightened pressure situations. Iamaleava has a 71.6% completion rate, but this plummets to 37.5% under pressure, with one interception thrown.
Oklahoma's pass rush is formidable, ranking 20th by Pro Football Focus and third in sacks nationally. This unit will challenge Tennessee's pass protection. R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma's premier pass rusher, showcased his skills against Tulane with three sacks, a QB hit, and a hurry on just 23 pass-rushing snaps. His impact extends beyond sacks to tackles for loss, forced fumbles, and pass breakups. Moreover, Venables' defense excels in creating turnovers, tied for the most in the nation.
Expect Tennessee to lean on their ground game, ranked third in yards per carry and spearheaded by Dylan Sampson. This sets up a classic strength-vs-strength matchup. Oklahoma has PFF's second-best run defense, having allowed zero rushing touchdowns so far. If the Sooners can stifle Tennessee's run game, forcing them to become one-dimensional, it could ramp up the pressure on Iamaleava. Back the home underdog in what promises to be a closely contested SEC showdown. The +210 moneyline is worth a sprinkle.
Betting trends
Tennessee has never been more than a seven-point road favorite over a ranked team since the 1978 FBS/FCS split.
Oklahoma is a home underdog of at least a touchdown for the first time since 1998. If the line grows to +8.5, it will be their largest home underdog role since 1997.
Oklahoma will be in their largest underdog role as a ranked team since the FBS/FCS split.
Oklahoma is 25-13-2 ATS against ranked teams over the last 10 seasons, second-best among Power conference teams.
Courtesy ESPN Stats & Info.
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