It appears as though ESPN's Paul Finebaum wasn't all that bullish on the Tennessee Vols' chances on Saturday going into their SEC opener on Saturday against the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman.
However, the Vols' dominant 51-10 win in Charlotte over NC State apparently changed the veteran radio host's tune. Finebaum joined SoonerScoop.com on Wednesday , and he feels strong about Tennessee's chances on Saturday night.
"Sadly, for everyone watching, I'm going to color this one orange," Finebaum said. "A couple of weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have said that, but I just haven't seen enough, and three weeks is not a great deal of information. But still, OU has played decent teams. We're not talking about playing a bunch of East Cupcake U's.
"I haven't seen enough of them that would convince me that they can do more than maybe slow down Tennessee's train. I don't know how they're going to find the offense. Really, their only path, I think, is freaky plays, turnovers, and just Tennessee losing confidence very early on because of the noise and the intimidation factor.
"But if that doesn't happen, and I'm not betting that it does, I think Oklahoma is going to lose this game."
Despite giving the nod to the Big Orange on Saturday, Finebaum does think Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables might be able to come up with a gameplan to give Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava a tough time.
"It's hard to imagine anyone stopping Tennessee right now based on what we've seen, but I think that's a little bit of fool's gold. NC State was a good team, not a great team, and Nico just shredded them. But he still made mistakes, and I think that's the issue I have maybe in just blanketly saying, 'hey, Tennessee's going to run the score up on this.' Venables is a mastermind, and he's faced a lot of quarterbacks like this before, and I think because of the inexperience of Nico, that gives OU hope. I feel like I'm trying to make a case because it's easier to take the other side.
"I don't think this is a slam dunk, but the defense is going to have to be brilliant. They're going to have to disrupt. Isn't that what all of the experts say? Ultimately, Jackson Arnold on the flip side of that is going to have to find some points, because you can't beat Tennessee 13-12 like we saw with Kentucky and Georgia the other night. That won't work."
It's easy to see where Finebaum is going with his comments. Indeed, Nico is young, and it can take time for players to figure out more complex blitz schemes, checks, and proper reads under those circumstances. It can take years, at least for some QBs.
However, Nico isn't like most quarterbacks as far as his maturity level and preparation, at least according to his coaching staff. His teammates also believe in Nico's ability to go into an environment like Oklahoma and not blink against pressure .
We'll find out shortly whether the Sooners can get under the redshirt freshman's skin, as the Vols and Sooners kick off on Saturday night at 7:30 pm ET from Norman, Oklahoma.
However, Vol fans are surely betting with Finebaum that won't be the case when toe meets leather.
Related: Tennessee Vols legend Eric Berry just had a very important football first on Wednesday
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