Houston Cougars vs Oklahoma Sooners Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/07/2024

Game Time: 7:45 pm ET, Saturday, September 7, 2024

Venue:  Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK

Where to Watch:  SEC Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Houston +29, Oklahoma -29; Over/Under:  49.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Houston +29, Oklahoma -29; Over/Under:  49.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Houston +29.5, Oklahoma -29.5; Over/Under:  49.5 points

Houston Cougars:  0-1 (0-0) (16th place, Big 12)

Oklahoma Sooners:  1-0 (0-0) (9th place, SEC)

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Houston Cougars:  lost their last game at home against the UNLV Rebels 27-7.

Oklahoma Sooners:  won their last game at home against the Temple Owls 51-3.

Houston is entering this game with a 0-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 0-1 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They lost their last game against UNLV 27-7. Donovan Smith was the starting QB and he completed 15/30 passes for 135 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Parker Jenkins led the team in rushing yards with 17. Mekhi Mews led the receivers with 57 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Brandon Mack led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Keith Cooper Jr. led the defense in sacks with 1. A.J. Haulcy came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Oklahoma is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Temple 51-3. Jackson Arnold was the starting QB and he completed 17/25 passes for 141 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Taylor Tatum led the team in rushing yards with 66 and 1 TD. Bauer Sharp led the receivers with 47 receiving yards on 5 receptions and 1 TD. Danny Stutsman led the defense in that game with 3 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while Markus Strong led the defense in sacks with 2. Kani Walker came away with the only interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Oklahoma listed as a 29 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Oklahoma looked good in their season opener with a big win over Temple, covering the spread in that one too. Their defense was great as they only gave up 3 points and their defense has been improving a lot each season under Venables. They have a new starting QB this season with Jackson Arnold and he looked good as the offense put up 51 points. They did stall at times and had to settle for field goals, but the defense made sure they got the ball back right away and dominated the time of possession. Meanwhile, Houston is in their 1st season with a new head coach but his debut did not go very well. Houston lost their season opener to UNLV and were embarrassed at home with a 27-7 loss. The defense wasn't great at home and the offense was terrible too. Now they will be playing their 1st road game of the season and it is against a much stronger defense that is also a ranked team. Oklahoma is in their 1st season of being in the SEC and with a lot of competition in the conference, they won't be holding back anything in these games as they need to impress. Houston was terrible and with the way their offense played at home, they aren't going to be any better here on the road against a stronger defense. They also have to face a stronger offense that is going to torch this Houston defense which gave up 27 points at home. This isn't a large spread for Oklahoma to cover at home with the way they score points, and Houston won't have the offense to keep up in this game either. The best way to place a bet here is on Oklahoma to cover the spread in this game. 

Houston Oklahoma Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 7, 2024 (7:45 pm ET start time) is Oklahoma 45 Houston 10.

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Houston Cougars: 4-8 ATS in the first quarter of their last 12 games. 3-9 (-4.35 units) on the first quarter moneyline in their last 12 games. 3-0 to the under in their last 3 road games. 

Oklahoma Sooners: 9-4 ATS in the first half of their last 13 games. 7-5 (+4.40 units) on the first quarter moneyline in their last 12 games. 9-3 (+7.85 units) on the first half moneyline in their last 12 games. 

Houston Cougars:  S. Smith (RB) Questionable - Ankle. M. Byrnes (TE) Questionable - Groin. A. Carter (DB) Questionable - Hip. C. McMickle (QB) Out - Knee. S. Polk (RB) Out - Achilles. T. Mathis (RB) Out - Knee.

Oklahoma Sooners:  J. Farooq (WR) Out - Foot. N. Anderson (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Gibson (WR) Out - Knee.

“Very disappointing. I thought we’d play better than that. I did a poor coaching job as a head coach. Poor job by my assistant coaches and poor job playing. I didn’t see much good out there.” - Willie Fritz after his team’s loss against UNLV in their last game. 

“We thought Jackson played really efficiently.” - Brent Venables on Jackson Arnold after his team’s win against Temple in their last game. 

WR Manjack IV, Joseph

WR Wilson, Jonah 

WR Johnson, Stephon 

TE York, Jayden 

QB Smith, Donovan 

RB Jenkins, Parker 

WR Farooq, Jalil 

WR Thompson, Brenen

WR Burks, Deion 

TE Sharp, Bauer

QB Arnold, Jackson 

RB Sawchuk, Gavin 

Passing: Donovan Smith (135)

Rushing: Parker Jenkins (17)

Receiving: Mekhi Mews (57)

Touchdowns: Joseph Manjack IV (1)

Passing: Jackson Arnold (141)

Rushing: Taylor Tatum (66)

Receiving: Bauer Sharp (47)

Touchdowns: Deion Burks (3)

Coaches:

Houston Cougars: Willie Fritz (1st season)

Oklahoma Sooners: Brent Venables (3rd season)