Kansas State Wildcats (4-1 SU, 3-2 ATS) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (5-1 SU, 3-3 ATS)
College Football Week 8
Date and Time: Saturday, October 18, 12:00pm EST
Where: Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
TV: ESPN
by Bob, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: KSU +8/OKL -8
Over/Under Total: 58
This Saturday, we will witness the 95th meeting between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Kansas State Wildcats. This series started in 1908 and has been pretty one sided the entire time. Oklahoma leads Kansas State 72-18 in wins, with four ties sprinkled in. During this series, Oklahoma has been so dominant, they were able to put together a 32 game winning streak over the Wildcats from 1937-1968. The Wildcats longest streak in this game was only five wins that went from 1993-1997. Oklahoma currently comes in with a one game winning streak, and this will not be an easy win for them. Both of these teams are still alive for a Big 12 title, and they are also both top 15 ranked teams in the nation.
Oklahoma opens as the 8 point home favorite and the total points are set at 58. Both teams come into this game with one loss. Oklahoma lost a conference game to TCU, while Kansas State’s only loss was to the Auburn Tigers from the SEC. A win or a loss in this game could seriously alter both team’s seasons. As far as these teams success against the spread, Kansas State is 3-2 while Oklahoma is 3-3. This is going to be a great Big 12 battle, and I believe the winner of this one goes on to win the conference championship.
Oklahoma was one of the top teams in the nation for most of this season, until they lost a heartbreaker to TCU just a few weeks ago. Last week, we all thought they would come out angry and blow out their rival, the Texas Longhorns. Well, they got the win, but Texas hung around the whole game and if not for a play here and there, Texas could have easily won that game. If Oklahoma does not come out with some sense of urgency in this one, they could very well see their record drop to 5-2. In order to not only win this game, but cover the spread, the Sooners will need to play a complete game on both sides of the ball. The Sooners offense is averaging 40 points a game behind the leadership of quarterback, Trevor Knight, and if they want to compete in this game with K-State, they better keep the scoring up. Along with scoring, Oklahoma needs big special teams play. This has helped them in many games this season, and I believe it is going to be needed yet again.
Kansas State is constantly going under the radar. For the last 4-5 years, they have played pretty good football and always find themselves a game or two away from making huge noise on the national scene. A win over Oklahoma in Norman will not only boost their ranking and put them in the drivers seat to win the Big 12, but it will show the nation they are for real and belong in the discussion as one of the top teams in the country. Kansas State’s only loss of the season was to the Auburn Tigers, who themselves were ranked in the top five until this last week. Even in that game, the Wildcats were a play or two away from winning. They hurt themselves with turnovers and bad tackling. If you play that game 10 times, I truly believe Kansas State wins six of them. Just like Oklahoma, the Wildcats average around 40 points per game. Not only does K-State score the ball, but their defense has played well too. Giving up just 21 points a game, the Wildcats defense is ranked in the nations top 35..which is a good stat seeing that the level of competition played so far is much better than other teams ranked ahead of them defensively. The key to this game for Kansas State is to play that solid defense. If they can keep the final score to this game in the 20s, I think they will not only cover the 8, but win this game straight up.
Bob’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: This is a big game for the landscape of the Big 12 conference. Seeing that this spread is at 8 makes me think that Oklahoma is getting a lot of value. On paper, I would see this game being a 3-4 point spread. Right now, the guys in Vegas laying money is about 50/50. Actually it is 53%/47% in favor of Kansas State. I like this. I am going to jump on with them. I actually think Kansas State wins this game outright, but I will gladly take the eight points being spotted. PICK KANSAS STATE +8
