The Oklahoma Sooners have a highly-ranked team, but they are playing their first game outside the state of Oklahoma this weekend. Things could get very dicey for them in a hurry.
Oklahoma Sooners @ West Virginia Mountaineers
Saturday, September 20th – 7:40 PM ET
Odds: Oklahoma -7
Why The Sooners Will Cover
They do have the better team in this matchup. The Sooners’ move from a 4-3 defensive alignment to a 3-4 or a 3-3-5 formation has made them better. The Sooners are quicker to the ball now. They get off their blocks and are generating more of a push at the line of scrimmage. The defensive linemen are rushing the passer well, and on running plays, Oklahoma’s ability to play stout defense up the middle is enabling linebackers to come in untouched to finish off tackles before running backs can get started upfield. Oklahoma is playing very close to the way it wants to play all the time on defense. The Sooners aren’t entirely there, but they’re close, and that’s a lot better than where this team stood a year ago.
On offense, the Sooners didn’t play their best last week against Tennessee, scoring under 30 points (with seven of the Sooners’ 34 points coming from an interception return for a touchdown). This could be seen as a bad thing, but it actually could be just the thing to make the offense more aware of what it needs to improve on. Quarterback Trevor Knight, after watching film of his performance against Tennessee, might now see things that didn’t really appear to him a week ago. The Tennessee game might have been just the test Oklahoma needed to sharpen itself for this conference game against West Virginia.
Why The Mountaineers Will Cover
They have the kind of offense that is able to speed past Oklahoma’s defense and create all sorts of matchup problems for the Sooners. West Virginia’s offense was a mess last year, but that mess has been cleaned up thanks to better offensive line play and some emergent receivers, but most of all, because quarterback Clint Trickett looks and feels like a new man. Trickett was dealing with shoulder pain for much of last season, and he’s now throwing the ball without any pain to speak of. It shows. West Virginia moved the ball up and down the field against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the season opener, and the Mountaineers scored 40 points last weekend in a win over Maryland. This is the offense West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen expected to have, but Trickett’s injury last season prevented the Mountaineers from doing what they wanted to do.
This is a home game and a night game for West Virginia. Oklahoma’s young quarterback, Trevor Knight, could easily be intimidated by what he sees and feels. If Knight leaves enough points on the field and makes key mistakes, West Virginia could win a shootout with a score of something like 38-30. It’s very realistic.
Outlook
Oklahoma is going to have its hands full. The Sooners might be able to make just enough plays on offense to win this game, but they’re not likely to cover the number. West Virginia will take this game down to the final minute and cover. Oklahoma will survive by a field goal.
Pick: West Virginia +7
