There's no shortage of storylines for Oklahoma’s game against Tulsa on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN2).

For one, it’s the first time that Brent Venables and Kevin Wilson will face off as opposing head coaches. The two coaches both served as assistants at OU from 2002-2010. Wilson isn’t the only Tulsa staff member with OU ties — Dominique Franks, now a TU defensive analyst, played defensive back for the Sooners from 2007-2009.

Also, despite the schools being separated by fewer than 150 miles, Saturday will mark just the 29th time the schools have played each other, and the first time since 2015. The Sooners lead the all-time series record 20-1-7.

The Sooners enter the game as 27-point favorites. But with this being the last non-conference game, the pressure on the Sooners to play well.

Here’s a look at two questions for the Sooners, things to watch and predictions entering this weekend:

1. The running backs

The backfield has been a source of intrigue, and some surprise, through two weeks.

Tawee Walker, who started the season opener, leads the running backs in carries (29), yards (161), yards per carry (5.6) and touchdowns (2). Marcus Major, who started against SMU, is second in those categories. Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk, projected as the backfield leaders heading into the season, have barely seen the field.

OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said that the Sooners would ride the “hot hand” this season, and that’s been Walker so far. However, he also said the Sooners are looking to get Barnes and Sawchuk more involved this weekend.

Right now, it feels like the backfield is something of a juggling act. It should be interesting to see who sees the field first and how the backfield carries are distributed, particularly in the first half.

2. The cheetah position

Venables said Justin Harrington, who has started both games and is sixth on the team in snaps (91), is “banged up” and it’s unclear if he’ll be available against Tulsa. Dasan McCullough didn’t play against SMU and Venables said he’s “hopeful” he’ll play.

Either way, it sounds like the Sooners may not have either of their primary players at the cheetah position. That opens the door for other players to see snaps there.

Could that mean Peyton Bowen? The coaching staff tried the true freshman there during fall camp, and it’s clear they trust him in big moments. Sixth-year senior Reggie Pearson could also see some playing time at cheetah.

But it should be interesting to see how the Sooners handle it.

1. Does Andrel Anthony continue to assert himself as the team’s top receiver?

Through two games, Anthony has been Dillon Gabriel’s No. 1 target. Anthony leads the team in receptions (10), receiving yards (142) and targets (12).

When asked by OUInsider on Monday, Lebby made it sound like that hasn’t necessarily been purposeful.

“Andrel, for whatever reason, (the ball’s) ended up finding him at times,” Lebby said. “He’s made the most of his opportunities. He had the drop on the second play of the game. After that, what I like is how he responded. We come back to him two snaps later and throw a slant to him, really competitive play and he makes the competitive play. Proud of him to get out of his own way after the drop to go put together a really nice game.”

Otherwise, the WR room has been a little interesting. Jalil Farooq, who caught 37 passes last year, has just two receptions on four targets. Jaquaize Pettaway, who caught nine passes against Arkansas State, didn’t play a snap against SMU. Gavin Freeman, Nic Anderson and Jayden Gibson combined for 35 snaps against SMU. Only three receivers caught a pass against SMU.

It’ll be interesting to see if Anthony is the target monster again, and how the Sooners handle the rotation at WR.

2. How much does Jackson Arnold see the field?

The players and coaches won’t say what it’s called, but the Sooners have a package centered around Arnold’s running ability. The true freshman quarterback played six snaps last week, running the ball four times for 11 carries.

It was noteworthy, considering Arnold was on the field for big plays and the Sooners didn’t pull away until the fourth quarter.

Arnold will certainly see snaps if the Sooners build a significant lead heading into halftime. However, the question is how many snaps he’ll play in the first half.

Here are three one-sentence predictions for Saturday:

1. The Sooners will win 42-14.

2. Sawchuk leads the team in carries.

3. Anthony leads the team in receptions.