Spoiler: It is all Tennessee as the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers welcome the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners, and the No. 9 Vanderbilt Commodores travel to the Lone Star State to take on the No. 20 Texas Longhorns.
The Red River rivalry takes on the Volunteer State this week, and things have gotten scary.
Rookie and the vet
As Tennessee prepares to take on Oklahoma, a new factor enters the fray for the Vols—true freshman offensive tackle David Sanders.
Sanders was a five-star recruit for the Vols and the ninth-best player in the nation, according to Rivals.com. After he suffered a minor injury to start the season, Sanders has slotted into the starting lineup at the right tackle spot the past few weeks and has lived up to expectations. He has yet to allow a sack this season for Tennessee, but he will get a true test this week.
Senior defensive end R. Mason Thomas has been a staple for the Oklahoma defense for many years and has put together an elite season on his way to the NFL. Thomas has 5.5 sacks so far this season after he posted nine the year before. Expect Thomas to see plenty of reps against the aforementioned Sanders as Oklahoma tries to affect Tennessee senior quarterback Joey Aguilar, who leads the conference in passing yards.
On the flip side, Tennessee looks to take advantage of the poor play of Oklahoma junior quarterback John Mateer, who has struggled since returning from hand surgery just three weeks ago. Since his return, Mateer has thrown two touchdowns to three interceptions and has yet to record a rushing touchdown—something he frequently relied on in his first four games.
Expect Oklahoma to lean on the run to keep this game low-scoring and winnable in the fourth quarter.
I think Tennessee takes advantage of the home crowd and the struggles of Mateer and wins this game.
Tennessee wins: 34-27.
Commodores flip the script
Vanderbilt has been on the up-and-up ever since it brought in redshirt senior quarterback Diego Pavia. A transfer from New Mexico State, Pavia has been the heartbeat of this Vanderbilt team, which has launched itself all the way to the ninth-ranked team in the country.
Typically a shadow of Tennessee, Vanderbilt is now the team in Tennessee and has shown no sign of slowing down. That being said, Vanderbilt does face a UT this weekend—but not Tennessee.
Texas seemed to be on top of the world before this season, but after some struggles from sophomore quarterback Arch Manning, Texas now find themselves the underdogs. Manning has not been bad, per se, but he has yet to live up to the expectations Texas set before the season started.
That does not mean Vanderbilt has a cakewalk, though. Texas is loaded with five-star prospects and future NFL players—something the Commodores lack. However, the X-factor is, and likely always will be, Pavia.
Despite mediocre statistical performances, Pavia is the engine of this Vanderbilt team. He has thrown for 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while also leading the team in rushing yards with 458 yards and five touchdowns. Pavia will have to play his heart out—like always—for Vanderbilt to come away with this one.
Vanderbilt tames the Longhorns and continues to build toward the College Football Playoff.
Vanderbilt wins: 27-24.
