Jim Barnes’ college forecast: Expect Oklahoma’s best for Texas
Does Oklahoma still have an A-plus game to show, or have the Sooners already shown us who they are?
That’s the question for bettors looking at the Red River Rivalry game against No. 21 Texas on Saturday in Dallas.
The No. 6 Sooners are about as unimpressive as 5-0 can get. Take out a 76-0 romp over Western Carolina, and Oklahoma has won its other four games by a combined 21 points against a solid but unspectacular lineup of Tulane, Nebraska, West Virginia and Kansas State.
Texas got bopped on the nose in a 40-21 loss to Arkansas, but the Longhorns have otherwise looked impressive, rolling over Louisiana (Lafayette) (38-18), Rice (58-0) and Texas Tech (70-35), then holding off Texas Christian 32-27 in a look-ahead spot last week.
Based on reputation and preseason projection, Oklahoma is a 3-point favorite over the Longhorns. The Sooners have also controlled the series in recent years, winning five of six and nine of 12.
Coach Steve Sarkisian appears to have the Longhorns on the right track after making the switch to quarterback Casey Thompson late in the Arkansas loss, but here’s betting Oklahoma will find its best effort in Dallas.
Lay 3 with the Sooners.
Here are four other plays for Saturday. Home team in CAPS:
— RUTGERS +5½ over Michigan State: The Scarlet Knights got run over by Ohio State last week, but they have the right opponent in front of them for a bounce-back effort. Michigan State is 5-0, but the Spartans don’t have the firepower to take Rutgers out of the game. The Scarlet Knights will win outright, or at least keep it close.
— KENTUCKY -3½ over Louisiana State: Normally, I’d look to fade the Wildcats off a big upset of Florida, but this is a bet against LSU, which already has some rumblings of discontent less than two years after winning the national championship under coach Ed Orgeron. If Kentucky win this game, it has a reasonable shot at a 10-win season.
— Georgia Southern +5½ over TROY: The Eagles responded well to interim coach Kevin Whitley, blowing out Arkansas State 59-33, while Troy had every chance to beat South Carolina last week but fell short. Here’s betting Georgia Southern can keep it going for another week against a Troy team that might not be that interested in the game after failing to knock off a Southeastern Conference foe.
— MISSISSIPPI -5½ over Arkansas: Ole Miss laid an egg in the first half last week against Alabama, and Rebels coach Lane Kiffin took heat for confident comments before the game. Expect Mississippi to bounce back against a solid Arkansas team that might be hurting after a physical loss to Georgia.
— Last week: 1-3-1
— Season: 11-13-1
Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.