New Vols thrown into fire with first road game at Oklahoma
By Jason Hall
Published:
Tennessee has a young team.
In Week 1, the Vols played 21 different freshmen and several JUCO transfers. With a top-5 ranking, it comes as no surprise that Butch Jones and his staff are relying heavily on talented, yet inexperienced players from the 2014 recruiting class. Thus far, the first-year Vols have impressed in two blowout wins over Utah State and Arkansas State. However, Tennessee is about to face a huge challenge entering its first road game of the season.
The Vols will face No. 4 Oklahoma at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium this weekend. The Sooners are 88-5 under Coach Bob Stoops in home games since his hiring in 1999.
“We will take the individuals who are going to help us win a football game and help us compete at a very high level,” head coach Butch Jones said. “So right now the travel squad could be 70, could be 72. I do know this for a fact, over half will be making their first road trip ever at the University of Tennessee.
“Again, they have to learn what it takes to go on the road and compete at a high level and play winning football and block out all the clutter and distractions. The road focus that it takes to go on the road.”
Oklahoma is a three-touchdown favorite entering Saturday’s game. While both programs boast rich histories, Oklahoma is a national powerhouse hosting a Tennessee program looking to rebuild.
There is also added pressure to defeat “Mr. Anti-SEC” Bob Stoops. Stoops has been vocal of his criticism against what he calls “propaganda” by the media in relation to the SEC’s perceived dominance.
“It’s (non-conference schedules are) not real strong, and you’re only playing 8 conference games,” Stoops said in May 2013. “The bottom line is, all 14 aren’t doing real well. And there’s some of them you wouldn’t mind playing.”
One of the teams he’s referring to is Tennessee, a program that has experienced four-straight losing seasons and is 14-34 in conference games since 2008. Not only would an upset Saturday help Tennessee earn a ranking in the AP poll, it would also silence the SEC’s biggest naysayer.
The pressure is on for the first-year players to have big performances in their first collegiate road game. Tennessee’s young team must step up and be ready to counter a talented Oklahoma team in an extremely hostile environment in order to stay competitive.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
