Oklahoma game a measuring stick for Tennessee

How good is Tennessee, really?

How much of a leap can the maturing, but still young, Vols make from their seven-win 2014 campaign? Can they be expected to win the SEC East title? Are they capable of something greater?

Those questions started to form in January and have been subject to speculation since a TaxSlayer Bowl win over Iowa. The No. 23 Vols (1-0) finally play a game that can provide some answers.

The Oklahoma team that will come to Neyland Stadium on Saturday may not be the most talented version of a blue-blood program with seven national championships and 851 victories, a number that ties it with Alabama for seventh-most in college football history. But the Sooners (1-0) are ranked No. 19 in the AP poll and are coming off a 41-3 win over Akron in their season opener.

“We’re playing the best of the best,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “Again, they’re a top-five football team, top-five football program. We’ll know a little bit more of where we’re at after the game from a competitive standpoint, from a physical standpoint, from everything. ... When you’re playing the Oklahomas, you know exactly where you’re at. If you have any deficiencies, they’ll be exposed.”

Oklahoma exposed the Vols’ deficiencies when they met last season at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla. The Sooners won 34-10, held Tennessee to 313 yards of offense and sacked quarterback Justin Worley five times, giving the Vols an idea of how far their rebuilt offensive line had to go.

Tennessee appears to have made strides up front. Last week, the Vols allowed just one sack and blocked for 604 yards of offense, including 399 on the ground, in a 59-30 win over Bowling Green. The Falcons’ defense, however, was one of the worst in the Football Bowl Subdivision last season, and the Sooners return two first-team All-Big 12 defenders in cornerback Zack Sanchez and linebacker Eric Striker.

Sanchez recorded a key interception and last year’s game. Striker had six tackles, including two for loss, and three quarterback hurries.

Striker made headlines this week by questioning why the college football media, in his mind, fawns over the SEC, and saying he doesn’t think “nothing special” about UT sophomore tailback Jalen Hurd. In media availability before Striker’s most inflammatory comments, which he made Thursday, Tennessee’s players and coaches said they do consider Striker special.

“I think he’s a great football player,” Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said Tuesday. “He’s very athletic, he’s tough, he plays hard. He’s an edge player, he’s going to try to come off the edge and disrupt your offense.”

The Vols also are impressed by Oklahoma’s Air Raid offense, with four wide receivers, including All-Big 12 wideout Sterling Shepard, and a loaded tailback rotation that includes All-American Samaje Perine, former top recruit Joe Mixon and stalwart Alex Ross.

With Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield at the helm as the starting quarterback, the Sooners threw for 439 yards in their win over Akron. Mayfield’s 388 passing yards were the most by an Oklahoma quarterback in a season opener.

After giving up 433 yards to Bowling Green, which also runs a spread with four wide receivers, the Vols know they can’t afford a similar defensive performance.

Said defensive coordinator John Jancek: “We gotta get better in a hurry.”

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