Idaho State Bengals (0-1) ATS 0-1, O/U 0-1 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners (0-1) ATS 0-1, O/U 0-1 Saturday September 12, 2009 Norman, Oklahoma
By Wilson of Predictem.com
The Idaho State Bengals may want to rethink their decision to play the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Oklahoma Sooners back to back. Man, thats a tough gig to pull off especially after the Bengals were destroyed this past Saturday by the Sun Devils 50-3.
Idaho State was clearly overmatched by superior athletes in a game that got out of reach for the Bengals as soon as the first whistle blew for the kickoff. The Bengals only gained a total of 37 yards in offense. Yes, that is correct, total offensive yards equaled 37! Wow, it is going to be real interesting to see how they matchup against the Sooners this weekend. Even with starting QB Sam Bradford out, the Okies should romp.
The Bengals were victims of their own actions as well as being outplayed. Idaho State turned the ball over five times to ASUs zero TOs. Idaho States starting QB, Kyle Blum threw three picks in the first half and was replaced by Russel Hill who tossed a pick of his own in the second half. Its real hard to win games when your QBs keep giving the ball to the other team. Hopefully the Bengals can make some serious adjustments by the time they face the Sooners. ASU scored seven times before the Bengals place kicker Jarrett Huk connected on a 54-yard FG to give Idaho State their only points on the day.
The only glimmer of hope for Idaho State will be the absence of Oklahoma Heisman winner Sam Bradford who was knocked out of the Sooners game versus No. 20 BYU last Saturday as the Cougars went on to upset the No. 3 ranked Oklahoma squad 14-13. OUs head coach Bob Stoops was not too happy with his teams play despite the loss of Bradford. Stoops mentioned how his guys didnt play very smart and executed poorly in certain situations.
This was the first college football game played at the brand new Dallas Cowboys Stadium and it was definitely full of drama from the get-go. The loss of Bradford; then enter backup QB Landry Jones (a guy named Landry in Cowboy land) and a late drive by BYU QB Max Hall who just happens to be the nephew of former Dallas Cowboys QB Danny White, and you have a pretty decent chain of events which ended with Oklahoma missing a 54-yard FG attempt by Tress Way that came up short as it died in the endzone. Stoops opted for the FG rather than to gamble with fourth and 14 yards to go for a first down. He apparently watched Way hit FGs from 53 yards in warm-ups and that is what fueled his decision.
The Sooners are in rare territory as they are now 0-1 for the first time in eleven seasons under Stoops. OU might be able to survive without Bradford as he is projected to miss three to four weeks. But the Sooners certainly did not want to start the season in this capacity even if they have a pretty soft schedule the next couple of weeks.
Another concern for OU fans is the play of the offensive line. The O-line has four new starters this year which might explain why Bradford was such an easy target thus leading to his injury. Idaho State should not have a chance at all to win against OU even with backup QB Landry Jones behind center. The Sooners are simply too good of a football program to drop a game to the Bengals.
Wilsons Pick: Oklahoma wins big. OU 56, Idaho State 10. Luck to ya.
