Oklahoma
Three Matchups Oklahoma Must Win Against Tennessee
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.
Oklahoma State and Houston have an odd tradition dating back to their matchup in 1986. Neither team has won two games in a row.
Since that game in Stillwater in 1986 the Cougars and the Cowboys have alternated victories. Houston won that game in Stillwater, 28-12. The Cowboys followed that with a win in Houston in 1987.
Then the Cougars won in 2006 in Houston, followed by an Oklahoma State win in Stillwater in 2008. The two teams met again in 2009 in Stillwater and Houston won.
That was followed in 2023 by Oklahoma State’s first visit to Houston in Big 12 action with the Cowboys claiming the victory. And, of course, there was Oklahoma State’s loss to Houston last year in Stillwater.
If things hold the form, Oklahoma State will beat Houston this October. But the Cowboys are going to have to overcome something that Houston does better than them.
What Houston Does Better Than Oklahoma State
Given that both teams have talented offenses and have the potential to dominate in the passing game, it’s safe to say that’s a draw. Same for the running game with Caleb Hawkins at Oklahoma State and the incoming Makhi Hughes at Houston.
So, it could come down to who can defend the pass the best. In that area, Houston would have a clear advantage.
In terms of yards allowed in the air last year Houston was No. 10 in the Big 12 and Oklahoma State was No. 13. There wasn’t much separating the pair. But Houston had 12 interceptions to Oklahoma State’s six, and much of that production is coming back in the form of three returning starters. Plus, the Cougars managed to replace some of the lost production with an impressive transfer.
Will James was an All-Big 12 cornerback last year who returns with three interceptions and five pass breakups in what was a breakthrough season for the junior. Both safeties are back after last season as well. Kentrell Webb is more of a ball-hawkish type safety who can also tackle (71 tackles, one interception) while Jordan Allen had 48 tackles and broke up two passes.
New corner Jalen Mayo replaces much of the lost production on the back end. The Stephen F. Austin transfer helped the Lumberjacks win the Southland Conference and an FCS playoff game as he picked off four passes. He’ll combine with James to build a formidable group of cornerbacks that can also count on another transfer, Javion White, in a 4-2-5 formation.
Game planning will be a bit easier for Oklahoma State since it plays the same 4-2-5 scheme. But, on paper, Houston’s secondary looks much better than Oklahoma State’s, which only has one returning starter in LaDanian Fields, who is a sophomore. Fields has two interceptions as a redshirt freshman. But transfers will make up for what else was lost last season.
Given the continuity on Houston’s side, it’s easy to see why their secondary is the thing they do better than Oklahoma State. Of course, the Cowboys have enough runway to nullify that advantage before they meet in October.
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Kentucky fans have been waiting all night to hear the name Otega Oweh called in the 2026 NBA Draft, and the wait is finally over. Oweh just went with the 41st pick to the Miami Heat, but his draft rights were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. This means Oweh will be joining Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace, who just two seasons ago won the NBA Championship.
The Thunder still have one of the best young cores in the NBA, and now they have added to it by bringing in the Kentucky star Oweh. This season for the Wildcats, Oweh led the team in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game to go with 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.8 steals.
When watching Oweh play, some might wonder how he didn’t go higher in the draft, but the goal for him early into his pro career will be to see if he can continue to develop his jump shot. Last year at Kentucky, Oweh shot 33.3% from deep, but fans felt a lot more confident when Oweh would shoot the three-point shot.
Oweh is a great defender who is going to thrive playing for the Thunder, who are a team that works harder than any other team on the defensive end of the floor. Oweh can be a player for the Thunder who can come off the bench and play really hard on the defensive end of the floor, taking away steals and getting to the rim.
When it comes to getting to the rim, there was no player in college basketball better than Oweh last season. He will be able to do this in the league, and if there is nothing there, he can kick the ball out to an open shooter. Being able to drive and kick in the NBA is very important, and I believe Oweh will do this at a high level.
The goal now for Oweh will be to play really well in the NBA Summer League to prove to the Thunder that he has to be on the team next season. While Oweh’s shooting issue doesn’t make him a prototypical NBA guard, BBN knows this kid can play. He will prove in the NBA Summer League that no team can stop him from getting to the rim. It will be great to see him paired with SGA and Wallace. The fit between the Thunder and Oweh makes a ton of sense, and he could make this roster.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma City fire crews responded to a commercial fire in SW Oklahoma City on Wednesday afternoon.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department said crews responded to a fire at a vacant restaurant near SW 29th and South Miller Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.
Crews extinguished the flames, which were shooting up through the roof, according to OKCFD.
No injuries were reported, and OKCFD is working to determine the cause of the fire.
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