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Air Raid coming to Knoxville, but Vols preparing a good cover
By Randy Capps
Published:
While a few teams around the SEC will dive into league play this weekend, No. 23 Tennessee will host No. 19 Oklahoma in the first non-conference game at Neyland Stadium between ranked foes since 2006.
The Volunteers were also ranked 23rd on that October day when they took down then-No. 9 Cal, 35-18, and they’ll be hoping for the same sort of success on Saturday.
But it won’t be easy.
The Sooners, fresh off a 41-3 pasting of Akron, have a stable of talented running backs and a new “Air Raid” offense under new coordinator Lincoln Riley.
“Well, we need to get better in a hurry,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said Monday. “We have a football team coming in here that’s skilled. A very big, physical, imposing offensive line. Three running backs that I would argue would be as good as any three running backs in the country. Not a tandem, but they have three. They complement each other just like Jalen (Hurd) and Alvin (Kamara) do.”
He’s talking about Samaje Perine, Joe Mixon and Alex Ross. Perine rushed for 1,713 yards and 21 scores last fall, while Ross added just under 600 yards and four more scores. Mixon is a touted redshirt freshman that accounted for 142 yards and a score against the Zips last time out.
And to complicate matters, Oklahoma has Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield starting at quarterback, and all he did was pass for season-opening Sooners record 388 yards and three scores.
“He can spit the ball out there exceptionally fast,” Jones said of Mayfield. “He can deal it out there, quick release, sprints to the football to get the offense lined up. I can tell that he plays with a lot of passion, a lot of energy. Strong arm. And he’s comfortable. I think he’s running an offense that fits his skill set and he has a lot of weapons around him with a very big, imposing offensive line.
“In terms of their offense with Lincoln Riley, they have good balance in terms of formations. They can run the football, they do the gamut of screens, pushing the ball down the field. Throw game. And they couple that with an up-tempo package, which is very, very hard to prepare for.”
OKLAHOMA SOONERS CLOSER LOOK
Top offensive player: Samaje Perine, Soph., RB — At 5-foot-11 and 238 pounds, the Pflugerville, Texas, product brings a unique combination of power and speed to the Sooners backfield. The “Air Raid” offense is dangerous, but stopping Perine should be priority one for the Volunteers.
Top defensive player: Dominique Alexander, Jr. LB — The inside linebacker wasn’t a starter for the first few games of 2014, but still led the team with 107 tackles. He showed the way with five solo and 10 total stops in the opener as well.
Top special teams player: Alex Ross, Jr., RB — The running back made several All-America lists as a kickoff returner last season, bringing back kicks at a 27.6-yard average, including two scores. He didn’t get much work in the opener, since Akron only kicked off twice. But he’s worth watching.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
