Kansas State @ Oklahoma College Football Odds Preview

Posted by Tony Newborn on Tuesday,October 14, 2014 7:01, EDT in

NCAA football Lines will take center stage when the Kansas State Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners square off in their Week 8 Big 12 battle on Saturday.Oklahoma (5-1 SU, 3-3 ATS) is coming off a narrow 31-26 win over Texas on Saturday, though the Sooners failed to cover the spread as a 16.5-point favorites. Kansas State (4-1 SU, 3-2 ATS) is coming off a bye in Week 7 but took out struggling Texas Tech 45-13 on October 4 to easily cash in as a 13.5-point home favorite and improve to 3-0 ATS over their last three games. With that said and Week 8 quickly approaching, let’s get started.

A Closer Look at the Wildcats @ Sooners College Football Odds Match Up & Game Info

When: Saturday, October 18, 2014
Kickoff: 12:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Spread: Oklahoma -9.5

Who Should You Be Taking, Kansas State or Oklahoma?

A lot of folks (including me) thought Oklahoma was going to contend for the national championship this season after spanking Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to cap off last season. Unfortunately, the Sooners have been exposed over their four games, including their 45-33 road win at West Virginia on Sept. 20. Oklahoma then fell at TCU 37-33 in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score. The Sooners may have beaten Texas 31-26 on Saturday, but the Longhorns are clearly mediocre this season, leading many to believe the Sooners can’t be much better.

Now they’re going to face an explosive Kansas State Wildcats squad that is not only ranked 16th in the nation in scoring (40.8 ppg), but one that is well-rested and has had extra time to prepare. Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops is expecting Kansas State leader Bill Snyder to be more than prepared. “I’m sure they’ve got extra work on us, definitely,” Stoops said. “It is that way with everybody.”

In 2012, Snyder’s Wildcats were also coming off a bye week when they visited the Sooners – and left town with a convincing 24-19 win. Still, Sooners’ quarterback Travis Knight said he and his teammates aren’t worried. “It doesn’t make me nervous at all,” said OU quarterback Trevor Knight. “We had a bye week the week before TCU. You go into those weeks and you get little extra preparation but you still have to go out and make the plays on Saturday.”

Outcome: Worried or not, I say Knight and the Sooners fail to cover the spread in this Week 8 showdown, mostly because I believe the Wildcats are as good, if not better than the Sooners right now, no matter where they play.

My Expert Analysis and Betting Prediction

Oklahoma has been pedestrian offensively this season and ranks a dismal 105th in third down conversions (5.2 per game) while also ranking 94th in third down conversion percentage (34.9). The Sooners are also last in the Big 12 Conference and 107th nationally in passing defense, giving up 275.7 yards per game. “We need to execute better in a lot of those areas,” Stoops said. “We’ll work that hard this week.”

Kansas State exploded on both, UTEP and Texas Tech the last two weeks while Oklahoma has given up at least 26 points in three straight. The Wildcats are 19-6-1 ATS in their L/26 games against a team with a winning record and a blistering 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 road games. K-State is also 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven road games against Oklahoma while the underdog in this Big 12 rivalry has gone 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 meetings.

My Pick: Kansas State +9.5 Points