Oklahoma at Oklahoma State Spread

Written by Jack Jones

The third-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys host the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners Saturday in a game that will decide the Big 12 champion. These are two teams coming off recent upset losses that have all but eliminated them from the national title discussion. But without question, both squads would love to be assured a berth in a BCS bowl with a win. The Sooners have won eight straight meetings with the Cowboys, including a 47-41 barn-burner at Oklahoma State last season.

Taking a look at the lines for Saturday, I find a spread of Oklahoma State -3.5 over Oklahoma and a total set of 74 points.

Oklahoma State

The Cowboys opened the season with 10 straight wins and appeared to be in great shape to play for a national championship. But they slipped up on Friday, November 18th, losing at Iowa State 31-37 in double overtime. They were likely looking ahead to this game with Oklahoma, but give the Cyclones credit for pulling off perhaps the biggest upset of the season.

Oklahoma State (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) raced out to a 24-7 lead over Iowa State and appeared to be well on their way to an easy victory. But the Cyclones would fight back, intercepting Brandon Weeden three times. Both teams exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime, but Ter’Ran Benton picked off Weeden in the second extra session. Jeff Woody eventually scored on a 4-yard touchdown run, and Cyclone fans stormed the field. Oklahoma State allowed 568 total yards to Iowa State in the loss.

There’s no denying that the Cowboys can light up a scoreboard. They rank 3rd in the country in total offense (562.6 yards/game), including 2nd in passing (401.6 yards/game). The problem for them is stopping people, as they rank 104th in the FBS in total defense (453.6 yards/game). Weeden is completing 73.0 percent of his passes for 4,111 yards with 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Joseph Randle has rushed for 1,042 yards and 21 touchdowns, while star receiver Justin Blackmon has 103 receptions for 1,241 yards and 15 scores.

Oklahoma

The Sooners have been prone to the upset as well this season. Oklahoma (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) won six straight to open the season before a crushing 41-38 home loss to Texas Tech. That setback put an end to a 39-game home winning streak for the Sooners. They would also lose at then-No. 22 Baylor 45-38 on November 19th, which put an end to their national title hopes. Oklahoma rebounded last week with a home 26-6 victory over Iowa State, keeping their hopes alive for a conference championship.

Oklahoma outgained Iowa State 509-245 on the day, but they would have to settle for four field goals which kept the Cyclones in the game. Both teams committed four turnovers in a very sloppy showing. Landry Jones threw for 256 yards, but he didn’t have a touchdown while tossing two interceptions. Blake Bell scored both of their touchdowns from the wildcat formation near the Iowa State goal line. The Sooners rushed for 253 yards as a team, including 88 from Trey Franks and 83 from Roy Finch.

The Sooners come into this game ranked 4th in the land in total offense (547.9 yards/game) and 49th in total defense (373.0 yards/game). Jones is completing 64.1 percent of his passes for 4,052 yards with 28 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, though he hasn’t thrown a TD pass in two straight games. A big reason for that could be the loss of star receiver Ryan Broyles, who had 83 receptions for 1,157 yards and 10 touchdowns before being lost for the season with a knee injury in the Texas A&M game. Leading rusher Dominique Whaley is also out for the year with an ankle injury.

Betting Trends

The Sooners are 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog, and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 meetings with Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0, and 17-5 ATS in their last 22 games overall.

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