It's no secret the Oklahoma Sooners offensive line has been blamed for the majority of Oklahoma's offensive struggles this season. Part of it is earned, the other part is simply fans just not understanding what's going on. 

Regardless, they'll be tested this weekend against the Tennessee Volunteers, who boast several talented players on the defensive line. The Vols, led by potential first-round pick James Pearce Jr., look like they could be Oklahoma's toughest competition all season. 

However, there is reason for optimism for the Sooners. Despite this talent, Tennessee's defensive line hasn't put up much production this season. 

The Volunteers have tallied just 34 pressures and four sacks this season despite playing Chattanooga and Kent State in two of their three games. Only one team in the SEC has fewer pressures (Missouri) and only one team has fewer sacks (Texas). 

They're still talented, however. James Pearce Jr. is an explosive edge rusher who can still take over games with his speed around the edge. Fellow edge rusher Dominic Bailey is just behind him in pressures with five and is tied for the team lead with one sack.

Inside, DT Omarr Norman-Lott has been a disruptive force for the Vols, while Bryson Eason and Omari Thomas have combined for six pressures. 

On the flip side, Oklahoma's backups along the offensive line have wreaked havoc on their game plan. The Sooners have rotated players at both tackle spots, center, and left guard in an effort to replace guys lost due to injury. 

Oklahoma Sooners release first SEC injury report ahead of matchup against Tennessee Volunteers

The Oklahoma Sooners have released their first injury report of the 2024 season, ahead of their SEC opener against the Tennessee Volunteers.  The Sooners get some much needed and welcomed injury news this week. Starting wide receivers Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony are listed as "probable" to play.  Oklahoma has been relying on backups for […]

However, they got some much-needed good news with their injury report this week. The Sooners will seemingly have one or both of their top two centers ready to play this weekend in Branson Hickman (questionable) and Troy Everett (probable) while starting right tackle Jake Taylor was listed as questionable.  

Having these key players back along the offensive line would be huge for lifting this unit. The starters up front haven't been the issue. It's been the backups that come in mid-game or young players forced to play due to injuries that have dragged the unit down. 

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Pro Football Focus has charted the Sooners' offense with 19 pressures allowed this season. While that may seem like a high number, it's actually closer to the top of the SEC this season. For comparison's sake, Alabama has allowed just 18 and LSU has allowed 17, both of whom returned more starters than Oklahoma did entering this season. 

However, those numbers are inflated some. If we remove pressures allowed from running backs and tight ends, the Sooners drop from 19 to 16. If we remove pressures allowed from backups who mainly came in mid-game against Temple in Week 1 (Geirean Hatchett & Spencer Brown), that 16 drops to 11. 

Backup left tackle Logan Howland has allowed three (one in each game), while backup left guard Heath Ozaeta allowed two, both last week when he came in mid-game against Tulane. 

Of the original five starting linemen who Oklahoma trotted out on the first drive of the game, that group has combined to allow just four pressures. While two of the five haven't played much, the remaining three have played strong so far. Jacob Sexton has given up just two pressures, while Febechi Nwaiawu and Michael Tarquin have just one each. 

PFF also charted that Oklahoma's offensive line has allowed just 59.1% of pressure on Jackson Arnold, the third-fewest in the country. The closest SEC team to that number is Georgia at 73.3%. 

While these aren't perfect measurements for quality of play, these numbers should give Oklahoma fans reasonable hope that the bottom isn't falling out on their offensive line. 

The Sooners will need to bring their A-game against Tennessee on Saturday. Oklahoma will get the best Tennessee can throw at them this weekend. Hopefully with some much-needed reinforcements, Oklahoma will be able to hold Tennessee at bay and give Jackson Arnold time to make plays.