Miami Hurricanes vs. Oklahoma Sooners Preview and Pick

Miami Hurricanes (1-0) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (1-0) -10.5, O/U 43.5, Noon Eastern Saturday, September 8, 2007 on ABC.
by Jerald of Predictem.com

The Miami Hurricanes come into this game after winning at home against Marshall last week by a score of 31-3. The Oklahoma Sooners defeated North Texas last week in a rout by a score of 79-10.

This will be the first time these teams met since the 1988 Orange Bowl when Miami defeated Oklahoma 20-14 for the National Championship.

Miami is led by QB Kyle Freeman who struggled in week 1. Freeman was 9-21 for 81 yards and threw for 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The Hurricanes rushed for 251 yards and averaged 6.44 yards per rush last week. The Hurricane defense held Marshall to 64 yards rushing (2.06 yards per rush) and 181 yards passing.

Oklahoma is led by Redshirt Freshman Sam Bradford who had a fantastic opening game throwing for 363 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions last week. The Sooner offense also rushed for 265 for a 5.89 yards per carry average. The Sooner defense held North Texas to 15 yards rushing (0.48 yards per rush) and 232 yards passing.

The Sagarin PREDICTOR ratings at USAToday.com rank the Hurricanes at 17th at 84.62. Oklahoma ranks 6th at 89.73.

The Predictem Pick:

Miami is led by a new head coach and former defensive coordinator Randy Shannon. With an emphasis on defense and rushing the football we feel that this will be a hard fought win for the Sooners as they make a big step up in competition from last week. We look for the Sooners to win in a close game and suggest taking the points in this matchup.

Oklahoma 24 Miami 21