No. 2 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Iowa State Cyclones
Friday, 11/18/11, 8:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Oklahoma State -25
Current Betting Line: Oklahoma State -25.5
Opening Total: 66
Current Total: 66.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Oklahoma State is set to close out its 2011 road schedule Friday night with a trip to Ames to take on the Iowa City Cyclones, coming off a 66-6 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders as 19-point road favorites. The Cowboys are looking dead ahead to a showdown with the Oklahoma Sooners on Dec. 3. Sitting in the No. 2 spot in the most recent BCS rankings, the program will play in the BCS Championship Game if it wins out. “I’d much rather have this pressure than sitting around and having a tough season,” stated Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy. Oklahoma State is 10-0 ATS as a road favorite the last two-plus campaigns.
The Cowboys are led by a potent pass-catch combination of quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon. Oklahoma State also comes in with the nation’s third-longest road winning streak of 10 games. In the last meeting of this particular Big 12 Conference series, the Cowboys walked away with a 34-8 win as 7.5-point road favorites, winning the statistical battle by 231 yards. Offensively, the unit ranks second behind only the Houston Cougars in scoring 51.7 points per game.
Iowa State comes into this matchup on a two-game win streak, but both victories came against poor competition. The Cyclones were actually out-gained by their previous five opponents before totaling more yards than the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Kansas Jayhawks. It’s important to note that the defense snapped Texas Tech’s 69-game streak of throwing at least one touchdown pass on Oct. 29. Iowa State is coming off a bye week and is 1-1 ATS in that situation the last two-plus seasons.
The Cyclones key number is 24 points under head coach Paul Rhoads, tallying a 15-1 record when holding opponents under that particular number. It’s going to be a hard task to fulfill against arguably the best offensive unit in college football. “There are no weaknesses,” commented Rhoads about Oklahoma State’s offense. “Everyone is aware of their skill.” From a defensive standpoint, Iowa State ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in surrendering just 217.3 yards per game through the air.
Bettors will likely back the Cowboys due to their 21-5-1 ATS mark as a road favorite, while the underdog is 0-6 ATS in this series.
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