The baton was passed from Stoops to Lincoln Riley in Norman. He carried it for a while before tossing it aside. Brent Venables was the man chosen to begin the climb back to the top. Venables was at Clemson ten years ago, but many of his recruits were on OU’s roster that night.

Excuse the poor grammar, but those three words have to be considered when evaluating No. 6 Tennessee this week as the Volunteers travel to No. 15 Oklahoma. Star quarterback Nico Iamaleava and his teammates are one of the best stories of the season so far.

The Cougars thrive under the lights in Provo, where the team has won 29 of its past 34 night games. Kansas State’s Avery Johnson — who has never thrown for 200 yards — will step into such a unique atmosphere for the first time and be forced to air it out against a top-25 run defense.