ESPN’s College GameDay show won’t be in Knoxville this weekend for the Tennessee-Oklahoma game, but the Vols are getting ABC’s top broadcasting crew for the 7:30 p.m. ET kick from Neyland Stadium. It’ll be Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call from the booth with Holly Rowe down on field-level as the sideline reporter.
But while the Saturday morning show won’t be set up outside Ayers Hall, the crew will certainly have their eyes on the Top 20 SEC matchup on Rocky Top.
During Wednesday’s episode of the ESPN College GameDay podcast, hosts Rece Davis and Pete Thamel broke down their thoughts on the upcoming game between the Vols and the Sooners. Both Davis and Thamel are picking Josh Heupel’s group to come out victorious, with each host giving some pregame analysis on the matchup.
“I think Tennessee wins the game at home,” Davis said. “They’ll make more big plays than Oklahoma, both in terms of creating negative plays for the Sooners with sacks and tackles for loss and explosive plays on offense. I think the big play edge will go in Tennessee’s favor. That will be the difference in the game.”
Thamel is also going with the Vols, with a side dish of concern for Oklahoma and quarterback John Mateer.
“I like the Vols in this game,” Thamel said. “I’m a little worried about the Sooners, Rece, just if you look at the way the rest of their schedule unfolds. John Mateer’s hand is improving; it’ll be interesting to see if he’s still wearing that thumb splint. It’s just been a bit of a struggle for him, and it’s hard to run a guy with some abandon if your hand is going to be exposed there. So, it will be interesting to see how much at this juncture they can let him rip. So, I think this is a low-scoring game. I think these are two good defenses. And I think Tennessee figures out a way to win at home.”
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While Davis is picking Tennessee, he did note what Oklahoma’s road to victory may look like if the Sooners want to pull off the upset victory under the lights of Neyland Stadium.
“Now, Oklahoma’s got a great defense, too,” Davis said. “It’ll have to carry them, I think. So, if they can, Joey Aguilar has, at times, you know, he’s turned the ball over some in moments. Sooners can get that. That’s the key to the road win for Oklahoma, is if they can force mistakes. But, I’m not betting on it. I’m going to go with Tennessee to win that game and stay in it.”
Tennessee is currently a point betting favorite over Oklahoma, and ESPN Analytics gives the Vols a 63.2% chance to win the game.
No. 14 Tennessee will host No. 18 Oklahoma in an ABC primetime matchup at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football coverage leading into the game.
