Oklahoma State at Texas A&M Line

Written by Steve Janus

Two of the best teams in the country will face off this Saturday, as the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies are set to host the No. 6 Oklahoma State Cowboys in a blockbuster Big 12 matchup. The Aggies knocked of Idaho 37-17 to improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Cowboys dominated Tulsa 59-33 on the road. Oklahoma State held on for a 38-35 win at home last season, but that was before the Aggies really turned it on late in the season. While Oklahoma is the team to beat in the Big 12, both of these teams believe they are more than talented enough to win the conference in 2011.

Taking a look at the week 4 college football odds, Texas A&M comes in favored by 3-points over Oklahoma State with the total set at 67 points.

Oklahoma State:

The Cowboys have really looked impressive in their first three games of the season. They come in ranked third in the country at 52.3 ppg and have the No. 1 rated passing offense with an average of 408 yards per game. Texas A&M has played a couple of easy opponents, but they also have a 37-14 win over a good Arizona team.

Senior quarterback Brandon Weeden has already thrown for 1,154 yards with eight touchdowns, but he hasn’t been flawless. Weeden has thrown six interceptions in three games after throwing just 13 all of last season. Future NFL wide out Justin Blackmon has already hauled in 27 catches for 329 yards and three touchdowns, and his big play ability makes the Cowboys a threat against any team in the country.

A lot of people wondered how Oklahoma State would do without starting running back Kendall Hunter, who rushed for 1,548 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. So far it doesn’t look like his loss is going to hurt this team at all. Sophomore Joseph Randle has already racked up 378 yards and seven touchdowns and is fourth on the team with 12 catches for 117 yards. We will find out just how good Randle is this week, as the Aggies held Oklahoma State to just 67 yards on the ground last year and are holding opponents to an average of just 67.5 yards this season.

The Cowboys have been better than expected on the defensive side of the ball, but they will face their toughest challenge to date this week. Texas A&M piled on 535 yards of total offense last year against Oklahoma State and can really move the football with the run and the pass.

Texas A&M:

The Aggies come in averaging 41.5 points on the season. They rank 18th in the nation at 311.5 passing yards a game and are 47th in rushing with an average of 176 yards. A lot of that has to do with two easy opponents they have opened the season with.

Last year Texas A&M faced the Cowboys before they swapped out starting quarterback Jerrod Johnson with current starter Ryan Tannehill. Johnson threw for 409 yards and five touchdowns against the Cowboys, but also had four costly interceptions.

The Aggies were a much better team once Tannehill took over last year, winning each of their final six regular season games. So far this season Tannehill has completed 72.3% of his passes for 583 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. A lot of his success needs to be credited to star wide outs Ryan Swope and Jeff Fuller. Swope leads the team with 14 catches for 183 yards and two scores, while Fuller has caught 11 passes for 131 yards. The two combined to grab 14 passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns last year against Oklahoma State.

What makes Texas A&M so difficult to defend is they can also pound the football with senior running back Cyrus Gray, who has carried it 50 times for 233 yards and four touchdowns in just two games. Gray was a non-factor in last year’s game, carrying it just five times for -3 yards. Gray really wasn’t used all that much early in the season last year, but was outstanding late in the season rushing for at least 100 yards in each of the final six games.

Texas A&M gets a lot of credit for how strong they are the defensive side of the ball, and rightfully so. While they did give up 38 points to the Cowboys last year, they outgained Oklahoma State 535 to 351. Had the offense not turned the ball over five times, Texas A&M could have easily won that game by two touchdowns. If they can limit the big plays from the Cowboys they have a great shot at winning this game.

Betting Trends:

Oklahoma State is 11-3 ATS in their last 14 games overall and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 conference games.

Texas A&M is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 conference games.

Be sure to stop back and check out what Steve Janus has going in week 4 of college football.

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