Tennessee
No. 6 Tennessee visits No. 15 Oklahoma to highlight weekend's SEC action
Things to watch this week in the Southeastern Conference:
Game of the week
No. 6 Tennessee (3-0) at No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0), 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, (ABC).
It’s the Sooners’ first Southeastern Conference game and the league opener for both teams. The Volunteers’ season has been a walk in the park so far, outscoring Chattanooga, NC State and Kent State by a combined 191- 13, an SEC-record margin through three games.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was the starting quarterback for Oklahoma’s 2000 national championship team, finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was also the Sooners’ offensive coordinator for four seasons starting in 2011.
The game features two talented young quarterbacks, Tennessee redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava and Sooners sophomore Jackson Arnold. Iamaleava directs an offense that leads the nation in scoring (63.7 points per game) and ranks second in total yards (639.3 yards per game) and third in rushing (336.3). Dylan Sampson has powered a prolific ground game by rushing for nine touchdowns already.
Arnold is leading the Sooners with 159 rushing yards while passing for 484 yards and seven touchdowns against two interceptions. Both led their teams in the bowl game last season.
The Vols are favored by 7 points, according to BetMGM.
Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold and linebacker Kobie McKinzie sing the school song after they defeated Tulane during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Norman, Okla. Credit: AP/Alonzo Adams
Napier watch
There are three other league games: Vanderbilt at No. 7 Missouri, Arkansas at Auburn and Florida at Mississippi State.
The most intriguing might just be the Gators and embattled coach Billy Napier against Jeff Lebby’s Bulldogs, who were humbled 41-17 by Toledo. Napier is 6-11 in SEC games and the loss to Texas A&M was his seventh straight against Power 4 opponents. Speculation about his job security has continued to ramp up.
The biggest nonconference matchup features No. 16 LSU against UCLA. The Tigers lost 38-27 at UCLA to open the 2021 season in the programs’ only previous meeting. They’re favored by 24-1/2 points, per BetMGM.
Impact player
Texas quarterback Arch Manning may get his first career start. The top-ranked Longhorns’ coach Steve Sarkisian has labeled starter Quinn Ewers as “questionable” for the game against Louisiana-Monroe with an abdominal strain. Manning passed for four touchdowns and ran 67 yards for another in a 56-7 win over UTSA. If Ewers isn’t fully healthy, this would appear to be a game where he could easily sit out.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning, left, throws against Colorado State during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. Credit: AP/Eric Gay
Inside the numbers
Three SEC defenses have yet to allow a touchdown: No. 2 Georgia, No. 5 Mississippi and Tennessee. … Ole Miss is the first SEC team to score 150 points and allow fewer than 10 through three games, according to ESPN. … … Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has eight passing touchdowns and six rushing TDs in just three games. That’s six more than his first three starts last season. … Arkansas leads the nation with 15 rushing touchdowns, including six from Utah transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson. … LSU has won 16 straight nonconference game in Tiger Stadium and 65 of its last 66. … South Carolina and Akron’s only other meeting came on Dec. 1, 2018 after both teams had early season games called off because of weather.
Bye Bye
The biggest SEC game of the early season is a week away. Georgia and No. 4 Alabama both have open dates before their showdown in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 28. The Bulldogs just dropped from the top spot in the rankings after a 13-12 win over Kentucky. The Crimson Tide have won Kalen DeBoer’s first three games by a combined 121 points. It will be a rematch of the SEC championship game won by Alabama.
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As oppressive heat bears down on Middle Tennessee, more than 1,800 people are without power in Williamson County near Brentwood.
The outage was first reported at 7:42 a.m. July 1, according to Middle Tennessee Electric.
More than 2,400 customers lost power in the Brentwood area after an excavator used for nearby construction got into the lines and broke a pole, according to Middle Tennessee Electric spokesperson Larry Rose.
The number of outages went down to just over 1,400 customers due to Middle Tennessee Electric being able to switch the circuits around the outage location, Rose said just before 9 a.m.
The location of the damaged pole is on Sunset Road near Clovercroft Road across from the Estates at Telluride.
Rose said outages should fall below 1,000 fairly fast, but some would also remain without power until the pole could be replaced.
Power outages were at 211 customers just before 10 a.m.
Rose estimates work could take up to four hours with Middle Tennessee Electric and contractor crews at the location and working.
No Nashville Electric Service customers over the line in Davidson County were impacted by the outage.
Middle Tennessee continues to be in an extreme heat wave. That’ll last until 8 p.m. July 3, the National Weather Service said July 1. Highs could reach 101 with an index near 110, the weather service said.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – We’re experiencing our hottest weather since summer 2025.
The hottest weather of the year is having a major impact on Middle Tennesseans. Temperatures have soared well above average during the afternoon and remained unusually high at night for several days. That’s caused thousands across Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky to temporarily change the way they go about everyday life. The heat has been so significant that temperatures have actually been in record territory.
For example, this past Sunday, Nashville nearly tied the highest minimum temperature ever for the date — 80° set in 1936. Nashville’s low on Sunday was 79.
As for high temperatures, while it was easily the hottest day of the year on Tuesday, Nashville missed that day’s record by nine degrees.
We’ll be closer on Wednesday, missing it by just six degrees.
There’s an even closer approach in line for Thursday. Our forecast for Nashville is 98°. The record high temperature is 101.
Cooler weather will eventually take over. By early next week, we expect highs to return to more seasonable levels — the low 90s.
For life-saving weather alerts, customized messages on conditions and forecasts, and videos detailing upcoming weather events, download the WSMV 4 First Alert Weather app for iPhone or Android. Have weather pictures or videos? Share them here.
Former Tennessee baseball pitcher Garrett Stallings was called up by the Milwaukee Brewers on June 30.
Stallings, 28, likely will make his major league debut against the Cincinnati Reds on June 30 in the second game of the Brewers’ four-game homestand.
Stallings played at Tennessee from 2017 to 2019 in the early years of Tony Vitello’s stint at the Vols’ head coach. He earned a starting role as a freshman and became the ace by his junior season.
In 2019, the Los Angeles Angels selected Stallings in the fifth round of the MLB draft. He bounced around in the minors before landing firmly in Triple-A with the Norfolk Tides, and later the Brewers’ affiliate Nashville Sounds, in 2024.
Stallings posted a 3-3 record with the Sounds in 2026 with a 3.45 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 62⅔ innings.
He will be the 54th player in Tennessee history to reach the major leagues and the 12th since 2020. He will join left-hander Garrett Crochet (2020); right-hander Ben Joyce (2023); infielder Andre Lipcius (2023); IF Trey Lipscomb (2024); outfielder Jordan Beck (2024); RHP Seth Halvorsen (2024); RHP Chase Dollander (2025); RHP Blade Tidwell (2025); INF Christian Moore (2025); OF Drew Gilbert (2025); and RHP Chad Dallas (2026).
Dallas made his debut for the Toronto Blue Jays on June 4.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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