Oklahoma star calls on Sooners fans to be their only hope against Tennessee

The Oklahoma Sooners are set for a tough matchup against the top-10-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and one of the program stars is pleading with the crowd to be loud in the Sooners SEC opener.

As noted by Colton Sulley of The Oklahoman, star Oklahoma Danny Stutsman told reporters that "a little extra juice" from the crowd "wouldn't hurt" "with [the] kind of a younger QB" that the Sooners are facing in Nico Iamaleava.

As Bryce Lazenby of Saturday Down South noted, the Oklahoma student section was nearly empty despite the program only being up 24-19 late in the fourth quarter in last week's 34-19 home win over Tulane that required a late-needed push to beat the Group of 5 playoff contenders. Danny Stutsman comes into the Tennessee game with 33 total tackles and 21 solo tackles.

The 2023 Second-team Walter Camp All-American linebacker will be looking to make a difference as star freshman QB Nico Iamaleava will be leading the Tennessee as favorites against their new SEC opponent.

Despite being ranked 15th in the AP poll, the Sooners have looked a bit fraudulent this season as the program struggled to get by Houston in Week 2 and allowed a slightly above-average Tulane squad to come back and make the game interesting in the fourth quarter in last week's matchup. Tennessee on the other hand is rolling with the offense looking phenomenal through the first three games of the season.

Oklahoma star calls on Sooners fans to be their only hope against Tennessee

While Oklahoma could very well beat the Volunteers on their own, both programs play in the first three games suggesting that Tennessee will light it up against a shaky Oklahoma team that is only ranked because of their past history as a dominant program in the world of College Football.

The Sooners may be able to keep up with the Volunteers for a quarter or two but the program will probably need the crowd to be heavily engaged if they want an actual chance to beat a top-ranked squad that looks destined for the playoff through the first three games. At the very least, one defensive star for Oklahoma is aiming for the home crowd to be loud against the Volunteers this week.