Vols search for validation in clash with No. 4 Sooners

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Three seasons in a row, Tennessee has opened with a perfect 2-0 record. Those seasons -- plus a 1-1 start four years ago -- all ended in losing campaigns, including a loss in the third game each time.

Those modest starts provided glimmers of early hope for a season of resurrection for Tennessee, though nobody expected the rebuilding Volunteers to do anything but get blown out like they did at Oregon in the third game last season. Still, the talent ratio was quite disparate then, showing just how far behind Tennessee, a 59-14 loser to the Ducks, was from returning to the national status it once carried as a flag-bearer for the Southeastern Conference. An eventual 5-7 record would banish the Vols to a third-straight bowl game absence.

Tennessee gets another test at how far it has come in Jones's second year when it plays Saturday at No. 4 Oklahoma (2-0), a talented and experienced team featuring a bevy of upperclassmen with national championship aspirations.

"I do know this for a fact, over half (the team) will be making their first road trip ever at the University of Tennessee," said Jones, whose Vols boast home wins over solid mid-majors Utah State and Arkansas State, both bowl game winners a year ago.

But the ante raises dramatically on Saturday for the Volunteers, who have debuted 34 newcomers in the first two games. Among those are 22 true freshmen, including running back Jalen Hurd, the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week after rushing for 83 yards on 23 carries against Arkansas State.

Both Tennessee games were played in front of the Neyland Stadium faithful, including a sell-out crowd of 102,455 in the opener against Utah State and another 99,538 last week. In Norman, Okla., the Volunteers will face a hostile capacity crowd of 82,212 at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, and one that is especially thirsty for a win over any SEC team.

"They have to learn what it takes to go on the road and compete at a high level and play winning football and block out all the clutter and distractions (with) the road focus that it takes to go on the road," Jones said. The Vols won one road game -- a season-ending win at Kentucky -- in five tries last season.

Oklahoma needs impressive wins along the way to bolster chances of making the College Football Playoff, and beating a young, undefeated Tennessee team would help. Offense isn't an issue for the Sooners. Sophomore quarterback Trevor Knight led the way in blowout wins over Louisiana Tech (48-16) and Tulsa (52-7), where the Sooners scored a combined 62 points in the first half, but yielded only three.

Last week, Knight completed 21 of 34 passes for 299 yard and two touchdowns. Behind a huge and experienced offensive line, the rushing attack features a versatile attack led by sophomores Keith Ford (138 yards, four touchdowns) and Alex Ross (126 and three).

"They challenge you schematically," Jones said, "and they challenge you talent-wise. They do a great job. It all starts with their quarterback, dual threat, can make all the throws, can run, different personal groupings. ... They can play physical and run the football, which that is what they want to do, but also they can make it a perimeter game as well. It is very challenging in and of itself, and then you add tempo to it, getting lined up and playing fast. Very explosive offense."

Tennessee's defense doesn't have a returning starter up front, but veteran linebackers A.J. Johnson and Curt Maggitt and a solid secondary have energized the group. The Volunteers have posted 15 tackles for loss, while their third-down conversion -- a huge bugaboo last year, ranking 90th in the nation at 42.5 percent -- has forced opponents to convert 22.5 percent of the time this year.

"Butch and his staff are doing a fantastic job," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "I know they've recruited really well. You can tell when you turn on the film, you see a lot of really big, physical, good looking athletes, with excellent speed and quickness.

"Being their second year in the program, watching their tape here in the first couple of games, you can see they're more comfortable in everything that they're doing. That's natural, now that they're in their second year, with all their schemes and what they're trying to do.

"They look like they're really playing well."