Tennessee vs. Oklahoma: Five Keys for Each Team

Sep 13, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops shakes hands with Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones after the game at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee vs. Oklahoma game Saturday is the first major test for the Vols and Sooners. Here are the five keys to the game for both teams.

If you are judging the Tennessee Volunteers on any kind of history over the past seven years, they have absolutely no chance in this game. From losing a blowout to Oklahoma last year to simply coming up short in every important game with everything in front of them dating back to 2008, there is no reason to believe in this football team…yet.

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Still, there are a lot of things on paper that suggests these Vols are a heck of a lot better this year than they have been in years past, and they finally have some stability and continuity in the coaching staff.

Add in the fact that they will get the Sooners at home on a Saturday night with the hungriest fan base in all of college football, and there are a lot of reasons to believe that they could pull off the win.

In a match-up of two Top 25 teams, the Vegas betters agree, as this line is even after it opened with Oklahoma as a three-point favorite.

Both teams are going to desperately want to win on Saturday, as Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma Sooners want to prove they have rebounded after last season’s late collapse.

Lots of things are clearly different in this game than they were last year, as both teams have a new starting quarterback and new offensive coordinator, and while Oklahoma has completely changed its offensive scheme, the Vols have become a much more experienced and deeper team.

The combination of all of those things truly makes this game a toss-up. So let’s take a look at what each team has to do to win.

Here are the five keys for the Tennessee Vols and Oklahoma Sooners each to win the game Saturday night.

Next: Tennessee Key #1: Great Protection