This game may be one of the most lopsided of all the FBS games this weekend. Seventh-ranked Oklahoma is coming off a huge win over Florida Atlantic in a game that many thought could give Oklahoma a little bit of trouble due to the time Lane Kiffin had to prepare FAU. Instead, the Sooners rolled 63-14.
It was a different story for UCLA as in Chip Kelly’s head coaching debut for the Bruins, they were defeated by Cincinnati. A 26-17 loss to a team that finished 4-8 last year isn’t what they had in mind. This week it only gets tougher as Oklahoma hosts Cincinnati. The Sooners are -30 over the Bruins.
Sooners Looking to Keep Rolling
Oklahoma is looking to have a monster season and with the weapons, they have on offense, it is possible that they run the table and find themselves in the playoffs. It all starts with Kyler Murray at the helm. He played a great game last week completing 9-of-11 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. That is all he needed to do in the game as the Sooners routed FAU. Oklahoma gained 650 yards of total offense 314 of which was on the ground.
UCLA struggled to stop the run at times last week, so that is one area that we will have to keep an eye on going forward to this game. The Oklahoma defense was stifling as they only allowed 324 yards of offense and most of that was when their back up defenders were in the game. Allowing only 14 points to an offensive team like FAU is something to hang your hat on.
Bruins Need to Bounce Back
UCLA is a team on the rise. Even though they played Cincinnati, who is going to struggle this year they had some things go their way. In order to beat Oklahoma, they do need to throw for more than 162 yards as a team. That was one thing that UCLA didn’t do well last week that they will have to improve on.
They rushed for 144 yards as a team and were led by Kazmeir Allen with 103 yards. Cincinnati did only gain 304 yards, which was actually less than what UCLA gained, so going into this week, they are going to have to find ways to move the ball better as well as play defense like they did last week.
With a team like Oklahoma on the horizon, that could get a little tough though. UCLA just doesn’t have the firepower to compete with the bluebloods in college football yet like he was doing at Oregon. This is going to be a great test for his young football team but it is going to be ugly early and often.
You can easily put your money on Oklahoma hear as they are at home and Oklahoma just doesn’t lose at home. This is one of the best teams they have had in years and while UCLA is on the upswing, they don’t have the talent of athletes to be able to hand with Oklahoma for more than a quarter.
College Football Pick and Prediction
Look for Oklahoma to stifle UCLA and UCLA to not be able to stop Oklahoma at all. We will see the first string at Oklahoma a little more than we did against FAU, but not much longer. This will be a game that Oklahoma sets the tone on the ground early.
UCLA will not be able to run the ball like they did last week so that will throw a wrench into their game plan. Look for Oklahoma to easily take this game by a wide margin. Bet the Sooners -30 over the Bruins.