The Oklahoma State Cowboys are not “cursed”, but they are indeed the NCAA football betting underdogs when they face the Oklahoma Sooners in the 112th edition of the Bedlam series. And even if OK State has found itself on the losing end more often than not, people who enjoy gambling on college football know that, when it comes to rivalries, record books don’t mean squat. And even more so when the stakes are as high as this year. It’ll certainly be a good day to be a neutral Oklahoman and just sit back and enjoy two teams, neither of which can afford to lose.
In a rivalry, on the biggest stage, in crunch time… who would you rather have?
✍️ https://t.co/O6kvBA8HQx pic.twitter.com/DjolftkgRt
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 2, 2017
- Date: November 4th.
- Time: 4:05 PM
- Venue: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK
- Sportsbook Odds:
Oklahoma Sooners +2½ (-110) 76 (-110) +115
Oklahoma State Cowboys -2½ (-110) 76 (-110) -135
The Rated-R Superstar
“It’s going to be probably rated R on Saturday,” Sooners starting QB Baker Mayfield said. The senior continues to have a more successful farewell tour than Black Sabbath and Motley Crue combined. He has thrown for 2,628 yards, 23 touchdowns and just three picks, including four passing TDs and a rushing TD in Saturday’s 49-27 win over Texas Tech, which not only extended OU’s winning streak to three games but also snapped a four-game ATS losing streak. Mayfield has, additionally, completed 68.2% of his passes for five TDs and no picks in the last two seasons against Oklahoma State. The Sooners are 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games against the Cowboys, 2-5 ATS in their last seven on the road, 1-4 ATS in their last five Big 12 games, 1-4 ATS in their last five overall, 5-1 ATS in their last six trips to Oklahoma State, and the visiting team has covered the NCAA football betting spread in the last five iterations of the rivalry. Finally, OU is in 14-true road game winning streak.
Outbaking Baker
The Cowboys signal-caller is no slouch, either. Mason Rudolph paces the FBS with 2,866 passing yards, seven spots ahead of Mayfield, and OK State, accordingly, has the second most passing yards per game in the country. Rudolph has, however, one fewer TD pass than Mayfield. Moreover, Rudolph went 11-for-25 for just 186 yards with no TDs or picks in last season’s Bedlam series. The ace in the hole for the Cowboys could be their increasingly improving run game, which has 743 yards and 12 touchdowns in the last four games. The Sooners defense, on the other hand, has been pretty good at stopping the run, allowing 142.5 rushing yards per game, which is still not as good as 125.4 yards Oklahoma State allows on average. OKState’s pass defense is also slightly better, allowing 232.8 yards per game compared to OU’s 240. But it’s the Cowboys’ defense, all things considered, that has something to prove; Oklahoma has won the past two encounters with Oklahoma State by a combined score of 96-43. The NCAA football betting total has gone over in 14 of Oklahoma State’s last 16 home games.