Oklahoma has its work cut out for Week 10, as it comes back after a brutal loss to Ole Miss. Now that the road to the playoffs has become tougher for the Sooners, John Mateer has a huge task at hand. He’ll be feeling a lot of heat against Tennessee, that too in a hostile environment at Neyland. Unfortunately, he won’t have all the help he needs to guarantee his success.

According to the SEC Availability report, RB Jovantae Barnes, Taylor Tatum, and OL Logan Howland are listed as ‘questionable’ for the Tennessee game. Barnes had already missed the South Carolina clash because of a pre-game injury, and is likely going to another important one. Tatum, on the other hand, has been consistently absent for a while now. The RB has been dealing “one thing after the other,” according to Brent Venables.

This is a setback for a struggling Oklahoma offense, especially since the rushing attack has been lackluster. The Sooners’ run game is one of the worst in the conference and is ranked 99 in the FBS. Brent Venables’ offense is putting up 130.1 rushing yards per game. Barnes himself has taken a backseat this season, despite coming in as an impact player from last year. He has only brought in 45 yards on 19 carries, as Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson take up more work.

But the RB is also an effective blocker in the room, and has also helped in pass protection. He hauled in the 4-highest PFF grade for run blocking among RBs for 2 weeks this season.

John Mateer has also been pitching in with the run game, but the surrounding protection has been shot. The Sooners’ O-line has been riddled with troubling injuries for some time now. Troy Everett is out for the season, while Jacob Sexton hasn’t played since week one. Logan Howland, being possibly absent along with Derek Simmons, makes the right tackle vulnerable. Luke Baklenko and Michael Fasusi are the only remaining options to fill this gap, which puts the depth in jeopardy.

This O-line is already responsible for allowing John Mateer a lot of unnecessary pressure, who has hauled in a total of 9 sacks since his comeback. With an offense that’s got to perform in a must-win game, the QB is now in a lot of trouble. His work here will have to be kept up by the Sooners’ defense, who still have to see a key player being cleared for play.

Gentry Williams’ return is still not green-lit for Tennessee

On the defense, CB Gentry Williams is listed as ‘probable’ in the report. The defense needs him to come through against Tennessee. He is already coming back after missing most of the 2024 season with an injury. Thankfully for Brent Venables, his defensive prowess has made this unit a strength for the squad. But they’ll need Williams, who racked up 30 total tackles and 3 interceptions in his breakout season in 2023. Oklahoma will be facing the most dangerous offense in the SEC at Neyland Stadium and will need all hands on deck.

Tennessee is the second-best team in the country in scoring offense, averaging 45.6 points. The Vols are also putting up 510.1 offensively in each game, which means the Sooners are up for a serious challenge. They have the juice, since Oklahoma has limited its opponents to just 12.5 points per game. But Brent Venables has turned prone to losing the big games, which makes Tennessee an even bigger threat.

The winner of this game will still get to hope for a playoff spot. That puts Brent Venables and Co. in a tough spot. A weakened Oklahoma offense doesn’t help John Mateer, who has been off ever since the hand injury. The offense will need all the help from its defensive counterpart to keep the playoff hopes alive at Norman.