Bohls, Golden: For a nonconference matchup, there's a lot on the line in Knoxville

Saturday features a top-10 clash in Knoxville when No. 10 Texas plays No. 4 Tennessee, a game with national and NCAA Tournament implications. But, we wonder, for which side is this a bigger game? Don't forget it also pits Longhorns interim head coach Rodney Terry against Tennessee's Rick Barnes, for whom Terry served as an assistant coach for nine years at Texas:

1. Texas vs. Tennessee: big stakes

What's on the line in Saturday's game in Knoxville between No. 4 Tennessee and No. 10 Texas?

Bohls: Maybe a seed line. Rodney Terry’s crew is projected as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but a road win over a stout Volunteers team coached by Rick Barnes would be a nice feather in his cap.

Golden: When two top-10 teams get together in the second half of the season, national tournament seedings are always on the line. The Longhorns have beaten five ranked teams this season, including top-10s Gonzaga and Creighton. A third top-10 win over Tennessee and former Texas coach Rick Barnes would keep the Longhorns' hopes of a No. 1 seed alive. Tennessee is arguably the best defensive team in the country, but I’m taking an experienced Texas crew to win. Call it 64-62.

2. Still buzzing from that Wednesday win

How big a step forward did Texas women's basketball take with Wednesday's win over Oklahoma?

Bohls: A monumental step. Sure, Vic Schaefer’s bunch has an incredibly high 11 NET ranking that belies its absence from the Top 25. But the rout of No. 14 Oklahoma further solidifies a growingly attractive résumé that includes losses to top teams UConn and Louisville (though without engine Rori Harmon) but also wins over ranked teams Iowa State and Kansas and fringe Top 25 Baylor.

Bohls: At Texas, all Vic Schaefer really wants (and demands) is perfection

Golden: The Horns will go as far as their defense takes them, and Schaefer is starting to see the kind of hard-nosed play on that end that could get his team ranked sooner rather than later. DeYona Gaston is having a career season on both ends, and her stellar inside play has taken plenty of pressure off Harmon, UT's floor general. Texas isn’t as athletic overall as past UT teams but has enough talent to make a realistic run at the conference title down the stretch.

Golden: Hot-shooting Brock Cunningham adds another skill to his set

3. (You won't find Dak Prescott on this list)

Who's on your list of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL?

Bohls: Joe Cool tops my list, of course. And I’d go with Joe Burrow even if Patrick Mahomes wasn’t battling a high ankle sprain. The former LSU star has better weapons than the Chiefs’ main man, other than Travis Kelce in Kansas City, better health obviously, and a 5-1 track record in the NFL playoffs already. So as of today, I’d go with Burrow, Mahomes, Josh Allen (despite his dismal showing in the postseason), Jalen Hurts and Aaron Rodgers.

Golden: Burrow has been on a heater for quite some time now. He’s tops for me right now, followed by Mahomes, Hurts, San Francisco’s surprising Brock Purdy and Allen.

4. Eagles vs. San Fran, Bengals vs. Chiefs

Picking any upsets on Sunday?

Bohls: I am not. The Bengals and Eagles both appear to be teams of destiny locked in paths to meet in the Super Bowl. Both have quarterbacks at or near the top of their game despite Hurts’ ailing shoulder, sound running games, star power at wide receiver and physical defensive fronts. That will be an entertaining Ultimate Game.

Golden: Cincinnati has the look of a Super Bowl champion, and I’m taking the Bengals to beat a gimpy Mahomes and Kansas City. Of the four remaining teams, they are playing the most complete football. Their win will set up a nice Cincy-Philly matchup in the Super Bowl. The Eagles will take out the Niners.

More: Texas adds former Jacksonville Jaguars receivers coach to Steve Sarkisian's UT staff

5. How ❜bout them Cowboys?

Do you think Jerry Jones will win another Super Bowl in his lifetime?

Bohls: I do not. Call it the Cowboys Curse or whatever, but he hasn’t shown the willingness to sign a high-priced free agent as he did when he was desperate for a title and lured big names like Terrell Owens, Deion Sanders and Charles Haley to the Star. I won’t say the window has closed, but he’s got issues at head coach and quarterback.

Golden: I do not. I’m hoping Jerrah lives to a riper older age, but Dallas’ chances of winning another Super Bowl with Mike McCarthy at head coach aren’t great. Add to that, the Jones family just isn’t interested in bringing in a John Lynch type to improve their front office. Dallas is on the upswing, but to expect the Cowboys to go unbeaten in a postseason just doesn’t feel like reality in Jerry’s golden years.

6. And with the 26th pick of the NFL draft ...

What's the Dallas Cowboys' biggest need this offseason?

Bohls: A No. 2 wide receiver. Not hanging onto Amari Cooper was a devastating mistake. Michael Gallup isn’t the answer. Clearly neither was T.Y. Hilton. I did see that Mel Kiper’s mock draft has Bijan Robinson going to Dallas, which would be way cool, but I think Prescott would be better served with a Quentin Johnston, Jalin Hyatt, Jordan Addison or a less-heralded Zay Flowers from Boston College or Xavier Hutchinson from Iowa State.

Golden: A second receiver to complement CeeDee Lamb has to rank over backfield, secondary and offensive line help. Michael Gallup and Noah Brown just aren’t good enough to come anywhere close to the numbers Amari Cooper produced. Kiper has Dallas taking Bijan at No. 26, but I think Bijan will be gone by then. The receiver pickings are slim in free agency, so the hope is the Cowboys go after a playmaker like Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Biletnikfoff winner Jalin Hyatt of Tennessee or TCU product Quentin Johnston.

7. There's a good side of golf and a bad side of golf

Do you think Patrick Reed will be picked for another Ryder Cup team?

Bohls: Maybe for Europe. No way will golf’s bad boy ever play for his country again. His unpopularity is at an all-time high after his exit to the LIV Golf League, his feud with Mr. Nice Guy Rory McIlroy, and his many lawsuits with the Golf Channel and whomever. Reed might be the biggest villain in all of sports, at least outside of Patrick Beverly.

Golden: No, not after he was the highest-ranked player not to be named to the team. He isn’t the most popular player on our shores, and I’m guessing he and McIlroy are no longer on each other’s Christmas card list. Reed had 16 top-10 finishes and two titles in his last three seasons on the PGA Tour, but leaving for the LIV Tour, while lucrative, hurt his standing.

8. Move over, Scheffler, and Rory, and Rahm?

Pick a flier for this year's PGA player of the year.

Bohls:  It’s Xander Schauffele’s turn. He’s won seven times, including an Olympic gold medal, and has the overall game. This is his breakthrough year for a major.

Golden: Twenty-six-year-old Will Zalotoris came oh-so-close to breaking through last season with runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. His putter let him down at critical stages, but he has the game to make a run to the top.

9. Another year, another Alabama offensive coordinator

Whom would you like to see Nick Saban hire as Alabama's OC?

Bohls: Let’s see. Has to be someone out of work, so Kliff Kingsbury would be at the top of the list if he isn’t too busy counting his pink-slip fortune. Another option could be Tom Brady. He’s available.

Golden: Joe Brady was the wunderkind who helped coach LSU's Joe Burrow to an NCAA title as the Tigers' passing game coordinator in 2019. The former Broyles Award winner had a rough go of it in Carolina but spent this season as the quarterbacks coach in Buffalo, where Josh Allen has emerged as an MVP candidate.

10. If he can make it there, he'll make it anywhere

What college coach do you think could find success in the NFL?

Bohls: Can’t be a control freak like Urban Meyer or a Kirby Smart or a Ryan Day. He has to be proven without being arrogant, which narrows the field. I’d take a flier on Lincoln Riley. His offense could play in the NFL.

Golden: Smart isn’t leaving Georgia, but his style of coaching would translate nicely to the next level. His ability to adapt to the changing tide of offensive concepts and increasingly elaborate defensive schemes should make him an attractive option for many franchises. That said, he has his own empire in Athens. No sense in UGA’s king leaving the castle.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Who needs this top-10 men's matchup win more, Texas or Tennessee?