Tennessee Football: Vols' Stout Run Game Is Key to Beating Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners star senior pass-rusher Eric Striker may not be the biggest linebacker in the country, but after his words this week on the SEC, Tennessee and running back Jalen Hurd, he may qualify as having the biggest mouth.

In an interview with Fox Sports Southwest's Andrew Gilman, the 6'0", 222-pound defender who dominated Tennessee in last year's win got in a low jab on Hurd (and Alvin Kamara indirectly), among other things.

When asked if he was aware of Hurd and fellow sophomore Kamara, Striker said: "I'm aware of Hurd. He's a running back, just like any running back; he can get tackled. he can get hit. I don't think nothing special about him."

If Hurd and Kamara want their names known nationally—as they've said several times—and to help the Vols climb back into the echelon of elite teams, they can start with Striker.

He's provided all the bulletin-board material necessary. Now, it's up to the 6'4", 240-pound Hurd and the speedy Kamara to etch their names in Striker's memory by forcing him to read them off the backs of their jerseys as they cross the goal line.

If Tennessee is going to win Saturday, that has to happen multiple times; the Vols must dominate in the run game.

It's impossible to tell if they have an advantage in that area after a strong performance against a poor defense, but if they run the football anything like they did against the Falcons, it's going to be a fun night in Neyland Stadium.

While UT probably won't duplicate the 399 rushing yards it threw up against a hapless Bowling Green defense in last Saturday's season opener, it's evident that new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord likes to lean on the run to set up the pass.

He has the weapons to do it successfully. Michael Spencer of WATE-TV tweeted:

Between Hurd, Kamara and a dynamic running threat at quarterback in Joshua Dobbs, the Vols may wind up being difficult for almost anybody to handle. Hurd and Kamara specifically teamed up for 267 yards and five touchdowns on seven yards per carry in the season opener.

"I wasn't surprised," DeBord told Volquest.com's Rob Lewis. "I've seen it in practice. The way those two guys practice, how tough they are, that wasn't really a surprise to see. That's what they are."

The trio of potential breakout stars presents a challenge for an Oklahoma defensive front that lost its nose tackle to the NFL and really only returns one player (Jordan Wade) who has any real starting experience.

OU has an extremely good linebacking corps, but if the Vols offensive line can block anywhere near the way they did against the Falcons, and if the running backs and receivers keep excelling in the blocking game, too, UT is going to be difficult to handle. Wes Rucker of 247Sports tweeted:

Despite the losses in Oklahoma's front seven, Akron coach Terry Bowden told NewsOK.com's Berry Tramel, "We ran up against a pretty good team against the run."

Even coach Bob Stoops noted in the article that who wins that battle will be a "big part of this game."

It will be bigger than that; it'll be the difference in a win or a loss for the Vols.

Much like Sooners freshman runner Joe Mixon is an X-factor the Vols must deal with, Kamara must be accounted for at all times. He busted free for a 56-yard touchdown run against Bowling Green, and he gained the corner before defenders could stop him all afternoon.

Oklahoma has much better athletes defensively, of course, but the Vols are no slouch in the backfield. Hurd and Kamara represent two massive recruiting wins by coach Butch Jones, and they have the ability to turn into stars.

	Rushes	Yards	Average	Touchdowns
2014 Season (Average)	40.3	146.4	3.6	1.5
vs. Bowling Green	64	399	6.2	6

But the ground resurgence starts with the improvement of the line.

Take into consideration last year's blanket struggles along the offensive front bled over into games against lesser opponents such as Utah State, Arkansas State and UTC, and it's not difficult to assume this year's Vols offensive line is going to be exponentially better than it was a season ago.

It has to be. Last year in a 34-10 loss to the Sooners, UT mustered just 112 rushing yards on a 3.4 average. That put way too much pressure on quarterback Justin Worley, who threw 44 times and tossed two crucial interceptions in the end zone.

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press/Associated Press

Hurd was solid, rushing for 97 yards in that game, and he's getting some headlines going into the showdown with OU, too. ESPN.com's Edward Aschoff wrote a column this week on the super sophomores, Hurd and Samaje Perine, sharing the field.

Kamara, meanwhile, wasn't mentioned once in the article, despite gaining 144 yards on 15 carries against the Falcons.

He's still a bit of an underappreciated commodity, and so is UT's running game. If the Vols can bust free for some game-controlling numbers this week, sustain drives and take over the game on the ground, not only will it result in a likely win, it'll bode well for the remainder of the season.

DeBord wants to build his offense around ground success.

Despite keeping it on the ground a lot against the Falcons, the Vols' eight touchdown drives lasted an average of less than two minutes. That's efficiency, moving the chains and breaking big runs.

Again, Oklahoma's defense is a far cry from Bowling Green's, but Tennessee didn't employ that philosophy in Week 1 because it wanted to try something new. It's how the Vols plan to play, and it's how they have to win games like Saturday's.

Hurd and Kamara are going to be the focal point of this offense moving forward. The offensive line has to give them the opportunities to shine, and the duo has got to put this team on its shoulders and carry the Vols to a resounding win.

All stats gathered from UTSports.com unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information gathered from 247Sports unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.