The Oklahoma Sooners looked incredibly sharp in their season-opening win against Florida Atlantic. Many analysts, including yours truly, expected the Owls to give the Sooners all they could handle. However, the Sooners were more than up to the challenge, jumping out to a 42-0 halftime lead in an eventual 63-14 rout where OU easily covered the CFB betting line.
The same can’t be said of the UCLA Bruins. Chip Kelly’s debut did not go smoothly, as the Bruins offense sputtered throughout the game and eventually came up short in a 26-17 home loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats. UCLA was a 14-point favorite per the CFB betting odds in this game, so the loss doubled as a reality check for many in the program that had sky-high expectations with Kelly in charge. The Bruins are now staring down the barrel of an 0-2 start with a trip to Norman in Week 2.
This contest in Week 2 will go down Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 1 p.m. ET at OU Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.
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Odds Analysis
No line has been posted for this game yet. However, you can be sure that Oklahoma will open as a hefty favorite on the NCAAF betting line after their Week 1 performance.
Matchup to Watch
It was a complete performance for Oklahoma’s offense in the opening week of the season. There were questions about how the Sooners could possibly replace Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, but new starter Kyler Murray answered those questions with aplomb. Murray went 9-11 for 209 yards with two scores in the win, posting an almost perfect quarterback rating. He showed that he has the potential to be dangerous on the ground too, giving Oklahoma the same dynamic it had with Mayfield the last two years.
Two other quarterbacks were able to get some playing time as well, and they looked sharp when called upon to throw the ball too. The ground game was fantastic too, with the Sooners racking up 316 yards and five touchdowns on just 39 carries. In all, Oklahoma tallied 650 total yards against the Owls defense, and they looked just as dangerous as they did with Mayfield in 2017.
UCLA’s defense will have its work cut out for it here. Last week, the Bruins faced a Cincinnati team that ran the ball 51 times in the game. They are now battered and bruised and will have their longest road trip of the season before playing a completely different offense.
Key Position
The reason there is no line for this game yet is because no one knows who UCLA’s quarterback will be for this game. Michigan transfer Wilton Speight was named the starter prior to the opener against Cincinnati, but he went just 8-12 for 45 yards with an interception in the first half and was quickly yanked in favor of true freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Thompson-Robinson wasn’t much better, going 15-25 for 117 yards in the second half in the loss.
Kelly knew he would have his work cut out for him as Jim Mora Jr. left the cupboard pretty bare, but I don’t think even he expected his quarterback play would be this bad. It might be time to play the freshmen and kick off a total rebuild, but he may not want to throw his true freshman into the fire with his first start coming on the road in a hostile environment.
Free ATS Pick
Oklahoma is going to win this one going away, the question is by how much. Although Mike Stoops’ defenses are generally hot and cold, their performance in Week 1 gives me faith in their ability to stop an offense in search of an identity. The Sooners are going to win by 30-plus, and that will likely mean a cover per the NCAAF betting line.
College Football Odds: Oklahoma 45, UCLA 13
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