3% Take Tulane (#145)

In Week 1 of this college football season, Oklahoma beat Temple 51-3.  But that had everything to do with Temple finishing -6 in turnovers.  Note this: Oklahoma went 1-12 on third downs in that game.  They finished with just 5.4 yards per pass attempt.  After going up 14-0, the Sooners next drives went: Punt, FG. FG, TD, FG (six yard drive) TD, Punt, FG, Punt.  When bottom feeders get run over, those drive charts tend to look like this: TD, TD, TD, TD, TD.  When Temple holds Oklahoma to a single third down conversion, its something worth noting. 

Oklahoma’s offense was every bit as problematic last week against Houston.  They finished the game with 15 first downs and 249 yards of offense. Navy moved the ball better against Temple last week than Oklahoma did the week before.  UNLV moved the ball better against Houston in Week 1 than Oklahoma did last week.  And now, to make things even worse for first time starting QB Jackson Arnold (only 5.5 yards per pass attempt this year), the Sooners offensive line is riddled with injuries; bad news for a unit that lost all five starters in the offseason, including a first round NFL draft pick.

Tulane gave Oklahoma everything the Sooners could handle in the most recent meeting between these schools back in 2021; a 40-35 Sooner victory in which OK never sniffed a pointspread cover.  The Green Wave took Kansas State to the wire last week, a battle tested team that has already proven capable of hanging tough with quality foes.  And it’s surely worth noting that Brett Venables team has their SEC opener at home against Tennessee next week; a MUCH bigger game than this one for the 2-0 Sooners.  Too many points!  Take Tulane

Line Parameter: 3% at +11.5 or higher, 2% at +11 or lower