The Oklahoma Sooners became official members of the Southeastern Conference on July 1st, 2024. However, the real baptism into the SEC will take place on September 21st, 2024.
That’s the night that OU will host the Tennessee Volunteers in Norman for their first-ever SEC league game. Both teams are 3-0 in non-conference action, and anticipation for this one has been high since the schedule was announced in 2023.
The SEC has been the toughest conference in college football for a long time now, and it only got tougher when OU and Texas joined the party. Currently, the league has six of the top seven teams in the AP Poll, with only No. 3 Ohio State, out of the Big Ten, breaking up the SEC dominance.
Saturday Down South, a site that covers the SEC, unveiled their new SEC power rankings following week three of the college football season, and the Sooners climbed one spot after a 15-point win over Tulane. Staff writer Adam Spencer has Oklahoma at number eight, the lowest of the unbeaten teams in the league.
“Oklahoma has won all 3 of its games thus far, but it has looked far from convincing,” Spencer said. “The defense looks elite, but the offense has question marks. The Sooners need to find answers to those questions in the next week if they’re going to compete with a red-hot Tennessee squad, though. Josh Heupel brings his Vols to town on Saturday and College GameDay will be in attendance for the Sooners’ first-ever SEC contest.”
For reference, Spencer had Vanderbilt ranked ahead of OU coming into the week, but dropped the Commodores on the list after a loss against Georgia State. Tennessee currently sits at fourth in Spencer’s rankings.
“No, we didn’t learn much about the Vols from a blowout win over one of the worst teams in the FBS ranks,” Spencer said. “But it was a lot of fun to watch. And most importantly, the starters didn’t have to work too hard in this one. Now they’ll head to Norman to take on Josh Heupel’s alma mater with College GameDay in attendance. Tennessee’s offense vs. Oklahoma’s defense will be must-see TV.”
Head coach Brent Venables and his Sooners will have to continue improving on offense if they want to upset the Vols in Norman. Tennessee is playing as good as anyone in America right now, and Oklahoma will have to play an excellent game to stay undefeated and continuing moving up in the rankings.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Where do Sooners land in Saturday Down South’s SEC Power Rankings?
