The margin for error is gone for both Oklahoma and Tennessee. 

The No. 14-ranked Volunteers host the No. 18 Sooners on Saturday with both teams looking to stay alive in the College Football Playoff race. 

Both programs are 6-2 overall. All losses have come in SEC play, meaning the winner on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium will still need help to get to Atlanta. But whoever emerges victorious will be in a great position when the season’s first CFP rankings drop on Tuesday. 

Brent Venables’ defense will have its hands full yet again, this time facing Josh Heupel’s offense one week after matching wits with Lane Kiffin. 

If the Sooners win these three matchups, they’ll have a great chance to notch another legendary win in Knoxville. 

Tennessee’s defense isn’t quite Alex Grinch’s “Speed D”, but Tim Banks’ unit will look familiar to OU fans. 

Given time to work in the pocket, opposing quarterbacks have shredded the Tennessee secondary.

The Vols are allowing 266.3 passing yards per game this season, which enters the week ranked 122nd in the FBS.

Teams have been able to throw and score on Tennessee, but not due to a lack of pressure. 

The Volunteers average 3.4 sacks per game, which ranks sixth in the country. 

Dominic Bailey and Joshua Josephs have done most of the damage for Tennessee this year. Bailey leads the team with 4.5 sacks, and he’s closely followed by four sacks from Josephs. 

True freshman Ryan Fodje performed admirably last week for the Sooners. When Derek Simmons went down, he bumped from guard to right tackle to make his first-career start after working for just two days at tackle. 

Across from him, fellow true freshman Michael Fasusi protects John Mateer’s blind side. 

Saturday night, Fasusi and Fodje will face a massive test. 

Not only will they be tasked with blocking productive pass rushers, they’ll have to do it in a deafening environment. 

Regardless of whether Heath Ozaeta or Eddy Pierre-Louis starts beside Fasusi, the Sooners will start a pair of underclassmen on the left side of the line. 

If OU’s line can hold up on the edge, then Mateer should have a clear enough picture to take advantage of Tennessee’s secondary. 

If not, it could be a long night for Oklahoma. 

For their part, the Volunteer offensive line has kept quarterback Joey Aguilar clean. 

The Vols are 20th in sacks allowed per game, which has helped the offense rank third in first downs per game, third in passing offense and second in scoring offense in 2025.

Oklahoma needs star defensive end R Mason Thomas to have a good night. Add in a strong showing from Taylor Wein, who continues to grow into the season, and the Sooners could put real pressure on Aguilar. 

Wein ranks second in the SEC with 11 tackles for loss and he has 3.5 sacks through eight games. 

Lance Heard has started every game at left tackle for the Volunteers this year, and while Venables moves his defensive linemen all over the field, Wein will get plenty of chances to battle Heard on Saturday night. 

Tennessee defensive back Colton Hood missed time against Kentucky due to a reported calf injury. 

He was not listed on the availability report this week, signaling he should be good to go on Saturday. 

Isaiah Sategna, Deion Burks and Javonnie Gibson will hope to test Hood and see if there are any lingering effects from the injury. 

Burks and Sategna’s speed could be crucial if Hood is half a step slow, assuming Mateer delivers the ball on time on Saturday night. 

If the OU quarterback can’t shake off last week’s poor showing against Mississippi, it might not matter who the Vols have in the secondary. 

Mateer missed plenty of open receivers in last week’s loss to the Rebels, something he hopes to make right at Neyland Stadium. 

In the second SEC Availability Report of the week, released on Thursday, Oklahoma saw status upgrades for two of its top defenders. 

Linebacker Kobie McKinzie and cornerback Gentry Williams, both of whom were questionable on Wednesday’s report, are now probable to play in the Sooners’ game against Tennessee.

McKinzie exited last week’s loss to Ole Miss after playing just 15 snaps. Oklahoma coach Brent Venables revealed after the defeat that McKinzie “tweaked his groin.”

Williams exited the first quarter of OU’s win against South Carolina and did not return. He missed the entirety of the Sooners’ loss to Ole Miss but appears to be on track to play in Knoxville.

Running backs Taylor Tatum and Jovantae Barnes and offensive lineman Logan Howland are all still listed as questionable, as they were on Wednesday.

Barnes suffered an injury during warmups against Texas and hasn’t played since. In four games in 2025, Barnes has rushed for only 45 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Tatum has appeared in only one game for the Sooners, and he was a late addition to last week’s availability report.

Howland was on the injury report all week ahead of the Ole Miss game but was taken off in the final one, meaning he was available to play. The offensive tackle, however, did not appear against the Rebels.

Wide receiver Keontez Lewis and offensive lineman Derek Simmons are both doubtful to play against the Volunteers.

Lewis suffered a scary injury in the Sooners’ 44-0 win over Kent State but returned for the Texas game. He suffered a setback in that contest, though, and missed OU’s games against South Carolina and Ole Miss.

Simmons missed the Ole Miss game after suffering an injury against Texas but returning for South Carolina, and it appears less likely that he’ll play against the Volunteers.

Offensive linemen Jake Taylor, Jacob Sexton and Troy Everett are all ruled out for the Tennessee game. Everett is out for the remainder of the season, while Sexton hasn’t played since OU’s season opener against Illinois State. Taylor has not appeared in a game for the Sooners this year.

Another availability report will be released on Friday before a final report is released no later than 90 minutes until kickoff between the Sooners and Volunteers.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Neyland Stadium.