#21 Oklahoma St Cowboys at #13 Oklahoma Sooners
Saturday, November 24, 2012, 3:30 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – Norman, Oklahoma
Opening Line: Oklahoma -7 1/2
Current Line: Oklahoma -6 1/2
Opening Total: 72 1/2
Current Total: 71 1/2
Opening Money Line: Oklahoma -250 / OSU +210
Current Money Line: Oklahoma -240 / OSU +200
In a game known as Bedlam, the Oklahoma St Cowboys travel to Norman to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Both teasm have a shot at winning the Big 12 title, but need some help. For Oklahoma, the path is simpler beat Oklahoma St and TCU next week, and hope Texas upsets Kansas St next week. Oklahoma St has to beat both Oklahoma and Baylor, hope Oklahoma beats TCU, and also needs Kansas St to lose to Texas. That still might not be good enough as it would come down to a convoluted tiebreaker that involves the three teams’ record against the next highest teams in the conference.
Oklahoma and Oklahoma St have met annually since 1910. Oklahoma has dominated the series with an 82-17-7 record including 38-8-2 in Norman. OSU won last year in Stillwater 44-10 to clinch their first ever outright Big 12 title. The Cowboys hadn’t beaten the Sooners since 2002 before that game.
Oklahoma St is 5-2 in the Big 12, and 7-3 overall under coach Mike Gundy. The Cowboys have losses at Arizona 59-38 and Kansas St 44-30 and at home against Texas 41-36. OSU has home wins over Savannah St 84-0, Louisiana-Lafayette 65-24, Iowa St 31-10, TCU 36-14, West Virginia 55-34 and last week against Texas Tech 59-21. The Cowboys also have a 20-14 road win at Kansas. The Cowboys are 5-4 ATS and the total is 6-3 this season. OSU was a 10 point favorite against Texas Tech and the total was 72.
Oklahoma St is averaging 553.7 yards per game on offense, including 337 passing yards and 216.7 rushing yards. The Cowboys are outscoring teams 45-26 this season. OSU is #3 in total and scoring offense, and #5 nationally in passing. Even the rushing attack is #18. The Cowboys are -5 in turnovers with 19 giveaways. OSU is averaging 63 penalty yards per game and has allowed 7 sacks. The Cowboys are 72/153 on third and fourth down conversions, and 50/55 scoring in the red zone with 35 touchdowns. Oklahoma St is allowing 388.2 yards per game on defense, including 262 passing yards and 126.2 rushing yards. The Cowboys have forced 21 sacks this season and 14 turnovers. OSU opponents are 65/186 on third and fourth down conversions, and 29/36 scoring in the red zone with 22 touchdowns. OSU has 3 special teams touchdowns this season.
Oklahoma St quarterback J.W. Walsh was reportedly out for the season but he returned unexpectedly last week against Texas Tech. He has passed for 1,469 yards with 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and also rushed for 257 yards and 4 touchdowns. Wes Lunt started the first three games of the season but missed a few games with a knee injury. He was injured in the Kansas St game and Clint Chelf came in and did well. Chelf started the last two games, but Lunt was recovering from a concussion. Lunt is questionable against Oklahoma. Gundy hasn’t announced his starter yet, but all three could see action. Lunt is 80/128 passing (63.9%) for 1,096 yards with 6 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Chelf is 53/87 passing (60.9%) for 805 yards with 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, along with 13 carries for 83 yards. It doesn’t seem to matter who the quarterback is, as all three have had success in the explosive offense.
Running back Joseph Randle has 213 carries, 1,099 yards and 10 touchdowns, along with 22 catches, for 172 yards. Desmond Roland has 4 rushing touchdowns, and Jeremy Smith has 7. Roland also has a kickoff return for a touchdown. Receiver Josh Stewart has 73 catches, 857 yards and 5 touchdowns, along with a rushing touchdown. Blake Jackson has 25 catches, 528 yards and 2 touchdowns. Charlie Moore has 29 catches, 481 yards and 5 touchdowns. Isaiah Anderson had a huge game against Texas Tech with 3 touchdowns. He has 14 catches for 297 yards. Tracy Moore has 20 catches, 259 yards and 4 touchdowns. He is out indefinitely with an ankle injury. John Goodlett has only 5 catches, but two of them went for touchdowns. Six Cowboys are listed as out against Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is 8-2 this season and 6-1 in the Big 12 under coach Bob Stoops. The Sooners are #13 in the BCS standings and will be a strong candidate for one of the at large berths to a BCS game if they win out. The only losses came at home to current #7 Kansas St 24-19 and #1 Notre Dame 30-13. The Sooners have home wins over Florida A&M 69-13, Kansas 52-7, and Baylor 42-34 a win in Dallas over Texas 63-21, along with road wins at UTEP 24-7, Texas Tech 41-20, Iowa St 35-20 and last week at West Virginia 50-49. Oklahoma is 5-5 ATS and the total is 6-3. The Sooners were 10.5 point favorites and the total was 73 in the West Virginia game last week.
Oklahoma is averaging 502.3 yards per game on offense, including 333 passing yards and 169.3 rushing yards. The Sooners are outscoring teams 41-23 this season. The Sooners are in the top 11nationally in total offense, passing and scoring. The Sooners are -2 in turnovers this season with 15 turnovers. The Sooners are 76/141 on third and fourth down conversions, and 48/52 scoring in the red zone including 38 touchdowns. Oklahoma has allowed 13 sacks this season and averages 51.1 penalty yards per game. On defense, Oklahoma is allowing 370.5 total yards, including 185.2 passing yards and 185.3 rushing yards. The Sooners are #16 against the pass, and #29 in scoring defense. The Sooners have forced 20 sacks and 13 turnovers this season. Oklahoma opponents are 24/29 scoring in the red zone with 18 touchdowns, and 75/174 on third and fourth down conversions. Oklahoma has 3 defensive/special teams touchdowns this season.
Quarterback Landry Jones has completed 264 of 396 passes (66.7%) for 3,245 yards with 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He has been sacked 1 times this season. Back-up quarterback Blake Bell has 51 carries, 174 yards and 10 touchdowns. Running back Damien Williams has 135 carries, 779 yards, and 10 touchdowns, along with 24 catches for 266 yards. Brennan Clay has 64 carries, 405 yards and 5 touchdowns, along with 11 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Dominique Whaley has 39 carries, 243 yards, and a touchdown. Full back Trey Millard has 21 carries for 129 yards, along with 24 catches, 278 yards and 3 touchdowns. Roy Finch has a rushing touchdown and a kickoff return for a touchdown. Receiver Kenny Stills has 64 catches, 773 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Justin Brown has 47 catches, 649 yards and 4 touchdowns, along with a punt return for a touchdown. He is questionable with a head injury. Jalen Saunders, Sterling Shepard, and Trey Metoyer will also get some catches. Seven Sooners are out indefinitely or for the season, including 4 defensive players.
Oklahoma St is 6-1 ATS after gaining more than 450 yards, 11-2 after allowing more than 280 passing yards, 4-1 in Big 12 games, against teams with winning records, and overall, 18-8 after a straight up win, 2-5 after a cover, 2-6 after a straight up win of 20 points or more, 1-4 after scoring 40 points or more, 1-5 after rushing for 200 yards or more, and 0-4 in road games.
Oklahoma is 6-1 ATS after allowing more than 200 rushing yards, 4-1 after failing to cover, and after gaining more than 450 yards, 11-3 after allowing more than 280 passing yards, 7-3 after allowing more than 40 points, and 1-4 in November. The favorite is 6-1 ATS in this series recently, and the home team is 10-4. The Sooners are 6-1 ATS against the Cowboys including 4-0 in Norman.
This should be an exciting high scoring game as both teams average over 500 yards per game on offense and have mediocre at best defenses. The Sooners should be out for revenge after the humiliating 44-10 beat down the Cowboys handed them last year. OU wins but it won’t be easy.
Get Saturday’s college football picks now. Our handicappers are red hot as the weather gets colder.
