NORMAN — Brent Venables chuckled when he heard the question during Tuesday's press conference.
How are the Sooners going to handle Tennessee's fast tempo?
In response, Venables joked that if he could be "reborn," he'd come back as an offensive coach.
“Welcome to the life of a defensive coordinator," Venables said.
The sentiment? Tennessee's offense is a huge step up compared to what the Sooners have seen through three weeks, and the tempo is a big reason why.
For the season, the Vols rank first in scoring offense (63.7 points per game), third in rushing (336.3 yards per game) and fourth in yards per play (8.1). But behind that explosiveness has been a very fast tempo.
At first glance, the numbers tell one story. Tennessee ranks 23rd nationally in plays per game (74.0), 43rd in average time of possession (31:36) and 47th in seconds per play 25.6. But those stats include garbage time possessions, which Tennessee has encountered a lot considering they've outscored their opponents 193-10 through three games.
But glancing at the competitive portion of all three games shows just how fast the Volunteers have operated. Here's a look at the tempo of the Vols offense in the first half of all three games:
The stats show when the game is still competitive, the Vols are operating as fast as anybodt. They're averaging just 18.5 seconds per play in the first half, which would be first among all teams nationally if carried over a full game. They've outscored opponents 130-3 in those first halves. They've been able to limit turnovers, too, committing just three.
The Sooners haven't faced a team that plays with a fast tempo like Tennessee, and they're gonna have to be sharp to avoid mistakes.
"This is the stiffest challenge that we'll have," Venables said, "and there'll be several other teams that play with tempo throughout the year. But this will be the strongest one up to this point in time, and one of the hardest in all of college football. A lot goes into it.
"At the end of the day, if you get lined up, if you can play with great fundamentals, great pad level, if you can be physical as a result of that, be confident as a result of that, then you have a chance to win. And if you can, it's not a matter of winning, it's a matter of how bad are you gonna lose? And so that's everything. I think defenses, top to bottom, have been better than they've ever been in handling that."
Fortunately, the Sooners have a few tools at their disposal, and the goal this week has been simulating that up-tempo offense. For one, the Sooners ran a similar style under former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who was Heupel's assistant while at UCF. Mississippi State, now coached by Lebby, leads all FBS teams in seconds per play (19.7). The Sooners' offense also has operated a decent tempo, ranking 27th in seconds per play (24.3).
OU linebacker Danny Stutsman said having that experience practicing against Lebby's offenses could help.
"It doesn’t hurt at all, because you’re going to have to try to kind of remake that environment in practice," Stutsman said. "You’re going to have to practice fast, go through as many plays as you can, because that’s how it’s going to be in the game. And so, we’re really just trying to simulate that.”
The other advantage? The Vols haven't played a defense like Oklahoma's, which ranks inside the top 25 in scoring defense (11.3 points per game) and rushing defense (77.7 yards per game). More importantly, opponents are averaging just 28.2 seconds per play and 4.6 yards per play — both marks rank inside the top 25. The Sooners have also taken advantage of opponent mistakes, leading the country in takeaways with 10, and that could come into play against Tennessee's fast offense.
The Sooners haven't faced a high-tempo and explosive offense like Tennessee, and the Vols haven't faced a stout defense like OU's. That'll be the matchup to watch on Saturday.
“My expectation is we’re going to play our best four quarters of football on Saturday night, in all three phases," Venables said. "That’s the focus. I’ve laid out a plan this week that allows us to do so. We’ve got to work our butt off. We’ve got to make sure we get a plan down early in the week so we can fine-tune that plan and the fundamentals, the physicality, the good-on-good work.
"Then you gotta take the players’ responsibility, all those things that you learn, habits that you developed, built upon throughout the course of the week, and you gotta take that to game day. It’s going to be incredibly emotional, there will be great passion and energy and enthusiasm, and those things are great. But that only lasts so long. This is a game of physicality and a game of execution. So that’s what we need to be able to take to the field, and that will allow us to play well. Well enough to win. Whatever it takes to win. "
Not an OUInsider.com premium member? Sign up today to get loads of inside information on Oklahoma football, softball, basketball, and recruiting, all for just a few dollars a month. Click HERE to get started!
