NORMAN — There's going to be a lot to watch when Oklahoma takes the field against No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday.
But there may not be anything more compelling than the starting quarterbacks on either side.
Jackson Arnold will lead the 15th-ranked Sooners against Nico lamaleava's Vols, a battle between two former five-star quarterbacks who were both top players in the 2023 class. The connection doesn't end there — both Arnold and lamaleava made their first collegiate start for their teams' respective bowl games last season, and both will make their fourth career start this weekend.
Arnold and lamaleava don't personally know each other, but Arnold knows the two are often mentioned together.
"Hopefully it stays that way for many years," Arnold said Monday. "I hope we’re both playing ball for plenty of years after college.”
Most importantly, both quarterbacks are making their SEC debuts this weekend as the Sooners and Vols take centerstage in the college football world (6:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC).
Arnold and lamaleava have began their 2024 seasons on slightly different footing. The Vols have been one of the bigger stories in football, and lamaleava and the offense have been a big reason why. The Vols rank first nationally in points per game (63.7) and have outscored their opponents 193-10, marking the biggest margin of victory for any SEC team in history through three games.
They've been firing on all cylinders. The Vols rank third in rushing (336.3 yards per game), 23rd in passing offense (303.0 yards per game) and fifth in yards per play (8.1) as they've established themselves as one of the most explosive offenses in football.
A key reason why has been lamaleava, who has flashed explosive playmaking and dual-threat abilities. Venables praised the young quarterback during his Tuesday press conference.
"He was named the Citrus Bowl MVP in his first start against the University of Iowa last year and he's fun to watch," Venables said. "He's incredibly talented, strong arm, great runner. The things he's been able to do in a short amount of time. He's completed 72% of his passes and he's just been fantastic. He's got a great presence to him. He's got a great supporting cast and a great defense."
How do things feel on Arnold's side of things? Things have been a little up and down to start the season.
Arnold's faced some adversity through three games, particularly compared to lamaleava. The Sooners narrowly beat Houston, 16-12, in a game where the offense didn't score in the second half. The offense showed improvement last weekend against Tulane, particularly in the first half, but the offense struggled in the second half and scored just 13 points. That half also included Arnold's first pick-six, which allowed Tulane to cut OU's lead to five points early in the fourth quarter. Combine that with significant injuries to the offensive line and wide receiver room, and it hasn't been smooth sailing for Arnold.
There hasn't been much explosiveness to the offense through three weeks, either. The Sooners are averaging just 4.6 yards per play, which ranks 98th nationally, and 114th nationally in passing yards per game (166.3 yards).
However, there's been good moments, too. Arnold has been the Sooners' most effective rusher, leading the team in carries and yards, and his 24-yard scramble for a fourth-quarter touchdown helped put Tulane away.
But the numbers tell a story of two quarterbacks who have had similar starts to their careers. Here's how the two second-year quarterbacks compare through their first four starts:
Venables believes one advantage for Arnold is the adversity he's already faced.
"(He's shown) poise under pressure," Venables said. "He’s handled everything perfectly, is how I look at it, because we won, every time. I say that, that doesn’t mean that there’s not moments, lots of moments that you learn from. Even like last week, had an amazing first half, great rhythm. Come out the first drive in the second half, I think it was 13 plays, had to settle for a field goal, lot of good in there.
"That (interception was) a learning opportunity for him. Fortunately we were able to win the game, and that was to me the first... ‘Oh, gol-ly,no, don’t do that (type of moment).' Alright, come here, because you gotta go back out there. You get your arm around him and (say), ‘Hey, man, don’t throw it late over the middle.’ You throw the ball away or just run the ball. I loved how he responded."
Both quarterbacks will be under pressure to respond. The Vols are a touchdown favorite to win, but it'll be lamaleava's first true road game and his first SEC contest. For Arnold, he'll be tasked with helping the Sooners make a statement in their new contest.
Venables believes Arnold is ready for the challenge.
"He’s handled adversity well," Venables said. "We’ve had a lot of scenarios that sometimes you don’t have in the first few games that I think we’ll be able to go back and rely on, whether that’s four minutes, two minutes, how to start fast in both the first half and second half, if that’s to overcome a disaster drive. ‘Now let’s go win this thing, let’s go put this thing out of reach.’ And he did that.
"There’s lots of those moments particularly in the last couple games that we’ll be able to rely on later in the season.”
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