As the season starts to wind down already, the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys are preparing for their first game against each other this season. The Bedlam rivalry starts at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday inside Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla.
These two teams have a ton of history against each other. They’ve played a total of 106 games matched up with each other, but the Sooners have dominated the series with an 80-19-7 record.
The Cowboys have lost their last five games against Oklahoma, dating back to November 2015.
It’ll be interesting to see which team comes out swinging on Saturday. Both teams are having incredible seasons, but they play two completely different brands of football.
It’s clear that defense will play a major role; it’s just a matter of which defense comes to play this week.
Can the Cowboys pull off the upset?
The Cowboys enter this week’s matchup with a 5-1 overall record, including 4-1 in conference play. They’re coming off a tight victory against Kansas State, a game that ended 20-18. It was a nice bounce-back game after Oklahoma State suffered its first loss of the season on Halloween.
The Cowboys haven’t always got it done on offense, but they’ve done enough to warrant wins. They average a respectable 28.0 points per game and put up over 410 yards per game on offense. They also only give up 17.8 points per game and allow just over 310 yards per game.
They’ll need a strong defensive showing from their group on Saturday. They’re going up against one of the better offenses in college football.
With a lot riding on this game, they need players like Kolby Harvell-Peel to force turnovers. They’ll also need players like Tyler Lacy and Trace Ford at defensive end to pressure the quarterback.
Will the Sooners win their fifth straight?
The Sooners started the season with a dominant 48-0 victory against Missouri State. Unfortunately, they followed that up with two straight losses in which they gave up 38 points and 37 points.
Since then, they’ve won four straight and scored 62 points in each of their past two games.
The Sooners are a hot team right now, but you wonder if they have enough to keep going. They’re currently averaging an astounding 46.1 points per game and only allow 24.4 each game.
They also rack up over 510 yards per game, despite only allowing under 340 yards per game.
Oklahoma needs quarterback Spencer Rattler to lead it to victory in this one. The Cowboys don’t have the type of passing game that the Sooners have, so Oklahoma will need to use that to its advantage.
With that being said, you can’t ignore the fact the Sooners have seven different players with a rushing touchdown this season — two of whom have five touchdowns and two of whom have three touchdowns.
Odds & Lines
Who do you think takes home the victory when this Bedlam rivalry continues on Saturday? The Oklahoma Sooners (-121) are currently seven-point favorites over the Oklahoma State Cowboys (-100). The over/under is listed at 58.5 total points for those that like to make those picks.
Free Betting Pick
If the Cowboys can turn in a solid defensive performance, they’ll have a shot in this game. Spencer Sanders won’t put up huge numbers on offense, but they’ll want to focus more on their running game with Chuba Hubbard and LD Brown.
For the Sooners, they just need to do what they’ve been doing the past four games. Score, score, score.
They do it in a variety of ways, which will make it difficult for the Cowboys’ defense to contain. Either way, expect a fun and exciting game to watch on Saturday night.
Final Score 38-27, Oklahoma Sooners.
Pick: Oklahoma Sooners (-7)