Ryan Aber's Three Bold Predictions for Oklahoma vs. Tennessee

From defensive prowess to Xavier Robinson and more, here are three bold predictions for the Sooners vs. the Vols

Oklahoma Sooners running back Xavier Robinson (24) runs with the ball during the second half against Ole Miss at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Oklahoma faces another road test Saturday when the 18th-ranked Sooners take on No. 14 Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.

Like several other big OU matchups this season, the game features a top-flight offense against the Sooners’ stout defense.

• Tennessee is second nationally in points per game while OU is sixth in points allowed per game.
• The Volunteers are third in first downs per game while OU is third in first downs allowed per game.
• Tennessee is third in passing yards per game while the Sooners are 10th in passing yards allowed per game.
• The Vols are third in total offense per game while OU is sixth in total defense.

So there are plenty of areas of intrigue with this matchup. And there are plenty of areas where unusual things can happen to affect the course of the game.

Here are three bold predictions for the matchup, which will be televised on ABC:

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Read More Oklahoma Football

• Three Matchups Oklahoma Must Win Against Tennessee
• How Oklahoma’s Defense Plans to Neutralize Tennessee’s ‘Explosive’ Offense
• With John Mateer Struggling, is Michael Hawkins the One Big Thing at Tennessee?
• 'We Could Not Hear Each Other': Oklahoma Ready to Contend With Neyland Stadium Noise

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Oklahoma Scores a Defensive Touchdown

While Tennessee’s offense has been explosive, the Vols have been susceptible to the turnover.

Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar has thrown six interceptions, including two against both Georgia and Mississippi State.

The Vols have also lost four fumbles.

Tennessee has yet to surrender a defensive touchdown, though.

The Sooners’ defense is strong and physical up front and while there are questions about safety in particular, the secondary has also held up fairly well.

OU is going to need to come up with game-changing plays defensively in order to pull off a victory and one of the ways to do that is by putting points on the board off turnovers.

The Sooners have the ability to create big-time turnovers, even if that’s been one of the few things missing from the defense this season.

That changes Saturday as Oklahoma puts up its second defensive touchdown of the season and first in SEC play.

Xavier Robinson has Another Career High

Xavier Robinson has come on strong over the last couple of games after a quiet start to his sophomore season.

The Carl Albert product had 11 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown against South Carolina and then had nine carries for a career-high 109 yards and two touchdowns against Ole Miss.

Robinson has proven himself against top-flight competition in his first two seasons with the Sooners and his combination of size, physicality and speed makes him a big asset in SEC play.

OU’s running game isn’t fixed, but it’s at least heading in the right direction and after taking awhile to give Robinson a chance, and abandoning the run during the fourth quarter last week, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle has learned his lesson and Robinson will have plenty of chances against the Vols. 

Sooners’ Offense Finally Stopped in the Red Zone

While OU’s offense hasn’t been overly powerful this season, especially since John Mateer’s uneven return from thumb surgery, one area where the Sooners have been good is converting red-zone opportunities.

Going into Saturday’s game, Oklahoma is one of only three FBS teams to have converted each of their red-zone trips into points.

The Sooners have scored 19 touchdowns and seven field goals in 26 trips inside the red zone.

Only Eastern Michigan (17 touchdowns, 10 field goals) and Washington State (15 touchdowns, seven field goals) join the Sooners in having a 100 percent score rate in the end zone.

But that streak is very unlikely to last long, and there's a good chance it ends in Knoxville.

In what figures to be a close game, and with a high-powered offense on the other side, they’ll be forced into a situation of needing to go for a touchdown instead of settling for a field goal, and the streak will end.