Oklahoma Sooners at Florida St Seminoles
Doak Campbell Stadium – Tallahassee, Florida
Saturday, September 17, 2011, 8:00 pm Eastern, TV: ABC
Opening Line: Oklahoma -3 (all odds courtesy of bookmaker)
Current Line: Oklahoma -3 (-115)
Opening Total: 54
Current Total: 55
Opening Money Line: Oklahoma -160 / Florida St +140
Current Money Line: Oklahoma -160 / Florida St +140
47-17. 47-17. 47-17. That has been the mantra all week for Florida St. That was the score the last time these two elite college football programs met last year in Norman. Oklahoma crushed Florida St last year as the Seminoles had no answer for the Sooners’ up-tempo attack. Even as far back as spring practice, Florida St defensive coordinator Mark Stoops (younger brother of Oklahoma head coach Bob) has been working with the defense to make them quicker to defend against the no huddle offense the Sooners employ. Oklahoma leads the overall series 5-1, but this is the first visit to Tallahassee for the Sooners. Besides the game in Norman last year, the two schools met in bowls 4 times, including the 2001 Orange Bowl which served as the National Championship game. Oklahoma won that game 13-2 to claim Bob Stoops’ first and so far only National Championship. Oklahoma comes into the game ranked #1 in both polls and Florida St is ranked #5.
Oklahoma beat Tulsa 47-14 to open the season, but is coming off a bye week. Florida St, coached by Jimbo Fisher, is 2-0 with easy wins over Lousiana-Monroe 34-0 and Charleston Southern 62-10.
When Oklahoma’s offense is firing on all cylinders, there is little most defenses in the country can do. It certainly was in the season opener at home against Tulsa as the Sooners rolled to a 47-14 victory over their in-state rivals. The Sooners jumped out to a 30-0 lead in the first half before Tulsa got on the board with a late touchdown. Oklahoma had 663 total yards in the game with 417 passing yards and 246 rushing yards. Tulsa is one of the most prolific scoring teams in the country, but despite having 400 total yards, they could only manage 14 points. Three Golden Hurricane turnovers didn’t help much either. Oklahoma had 3 sacks in the game. The Sooners had 34 first downs and Tulsa had 15.
Quarterback Landry Jones was 35/47 passing for the Sooners with 375 yards and 1 touchdown with no interceptions. He was taken out of the game early in the fourth as the Sooners had the game well in hand. In a great story, running back Dominique Whaley had 31 carries, 118 yards and 4 touchdowns, and 2 catches for 12 yards. It was a great story because he transferred from tiny Langston University ( a small school located about 40 miles north of Oklahoma City) because he wasn’t getting enough playing time and walked on for the Sooners. It makes you wonder who the heck Langston had that he didn’t play much! Whaley probably earned a scholarship with his performance 2 weeks ago. Brennen Clay had 14 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown and 4 catches for 41 yards. Ryan Broyles had 14 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. Receiver Kenny Stills missed the Tulsa game due to being suspended for violating team rules but he will return against Florida St. Linebacker Travis Lewis is out until October with a broken foot. Jimmy Stevens and Michael Hunnicutt split the kicking duties. Stevens was 1/1 on field goals with a 28 yarder and 4/5 on extra points, while Hunnicutt made a 27 yard field goal and an extra point in his two attempts on the day.
Though Oklahoma had an official bye last week, for all intents and purposes, so did Florida St as they demolished lowly Charleston Southern last week 62-10. Florida St had 647 total yards in the rout, including 477 passing yards. Quarterback E.J. Manuel was 24/35 passing for 329 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception along with 2 carries for 8 yards. Charleston Southern had 84 total yards and only 3 first downs for the whole game.
Florida St is averaging 509.5 total yards a game and 48 points a game. The Seminoles are averaging 378.5 passing yards a game. The Seminoles have 2 turnovers and have allowed 4 sacks. Florida St is 16/26 on third and fourth down conversions. Florida St is 11/12 scoring in the red zone but have only 7 red zone touchdowns. Florida St is giving up 137.5 total yards a game and only 5 points. The Seminoles have forced one turnover and 7 sacks. FSU opponents are 7/31 on third and fourth down conversions.
Quarterback Manuel is 46/69 passing with 581 yards, 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, along with 10 carries for 30 yards. Back-up QB Clint Trickett is 7/8 passing with 176 yards and 3 touchdown passes in mop-up duty. The Seminoles haven’t had to run the ball much as the passing game has been so explosive and they are only averaging 131 rushing yards a game with two touchdowns. James Wilder, Jr., Chris Thompson, and Devonta Freeman are the leading rushers but none has more than 76 yards combined in the two games. Thompson and Freeman have the 2 rushing touchdowns. Receiver Rodney Smith has 11 catches for 155 yards with a touchdown. Rashad Greene only has 3 catches for 126 yards but all three have gone for long touchdowns. Bert Reed has 7 catches for 64 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is listed as probable with an ankle injury. Kicker Dustin Hopkins is 12/12 on extra points and 4/4 on field goals with a long of 26. Florida St has 6 defensive players listed on the injury report which could be a problem facing the high powered Sooner attack. The secondary has been especially hit by the injury bug with four players listed as questionable, doubtful, or out.
Florida St is 1-1 against the spread this year and the total is also 1-1. Oklahoma is 1-0 ATS and the under is 0-1. The Sooners have covered 5 of their last 6 overall, including 4-1 as a favorite, 4-1 in the last 5 versus teams with winning records, 13-5-1 ATS in the last 19 September games, and 1-5 ATS in the last 6 as a road favorite. The Seminoles are 4-0 in their last 4 non-conference games, 5-0-1 ATS in the last 6 as an underdog of 3 points or less, and 1-4 ATS in the last 5 home games against a team with a winning road record.
No question Florida St has improved but I just don’t know if they have improved 30 points from last year. It does bother me a little that Florida St has had to settle for field goals so many times in the red zone against Louisiana-Monroe and Charleston Southern. Also the Seminole secondary is banged up and that is also worrisome. Oklahoma has struggled on the road under Stoops, and could stumble here. However, I think the Sooners have enough talent to pull out a close game with lots of points scored.
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