Oklahoma football: How to watch, betting odds, injury report for OU vs. BYU
By Chip Rouse
The Oklahoma football team makes its final road trip of the regular season this weekend and its first ever trip to the state of Utah for a showdown with Brigham Young University.
It is a game the 14th-ranked Sooners must win to keep their hopes alive of making it to the Big 12 Championship in what is their final season in the Big 12 before moving to the SEC.
BYU also has something to play for. The Cougars (5-5, 2-5) need a win in one of their final two games to reach six wins and become bowl eligible.
Oklahoma and BYU have played just two times previously, with the Cougars winning both games (31-6 in the Copper Bowl in Tucson, Arizona, in 1994 and 14-13 in Arlington, Texas, to open the 2009 season).
How to watch
The game is scheduled for an 11 a.m. kickoff (the sixth time this season the Sooners have had to play in the early TV window) and will be televised by ESPN. The announce crew will be Mark Jones, Louis Riddick and Quint Kessenich.
Weather forecast
Cloudy with a 20 percent chance of light rain at 10 a.m. and a temperature of 45 degrees. The chances of rain increase as the game progresses. There is a 40 percent chance at 1 p.m. It’s sounding like another game with conditions like they were at Kansas several weeks ago. That didn’t work out very well for Oklahoma. The game kicks off at 11 a.m. CT, which is 10 a.m. in Provo, Utah.
Betting information
Oklahoma is a 24.5-point favorite as of Friday afternoon, according to Betsided.com, a betting site affiliated with the FanSided network. OU is 6-3 against the spread this season, according to BetSided.com, a betting site affiliated with the FanSided network. BYU is 2-7 ATS. The over/under is 57.5. Money line: OU -3500, BYU +1350,
Injury report
Oklahoma
Gentry Williams, CB — Questionable
Kaden Helms, TE — Questionable
D.J. Graham, WR — Out
Andrel Anthony, WR — Out for season
Justin Harrington, Cheetah — Out for season
Phil Picciotti, LB — Out for season
Jayden Rowe, DB — Out for season
BYU
John Henry Daley, DE — Questionable
Darius Lassiter, WR — Questionable
Caden Haws, DT — Questionable
Kaden Slovis, QB — Questionable
Hinckley Lopati, RB — Questionable
Impact players
Oklahoma
Dillon Gabriel is having his best collegiate season. He leads the Big 12 and ranks in the top-10 nationally in seven major statistical categories, including total offense (340.6 yards per game), passing offense (306.9) and passing TDs (25). Gavin Sawchuk appears to have claimed the lead running back position. The sophomore is coming off back-to-back 100-yard rushing games.
Drake Stoops leads the Big 12 with 62 catches and nine receiving touchdowns, and redshirt-freshman Nic Anderson leads the country with 25.7 receiving yards per reception. Eight of his 24 total catches have resulted in touchdowns.
OU leads the Big 12 in scoring offense (41.8), total offense (505.4 yards per game) and passing offense (323.8).
The Oklahoma defense, led by linebacker Danny Stutsman, DE Ethan Downs and DB Billy Bowman has been the big story this season. The Sooners lead all FBS teams with 17 interceptions. After ranking 98th in scoring defense (30.0 points per game) and 121st in total defense (461.0 yards allowed per game), OU has improved to 27th in scoring defense (19.8) and 68th in total defense (376.8 yards allowed) this season. In addition, the Sooners rank ninth in the nation this season in third-down conversion percentage defense (28.7 percent). That’s down from 87th and 40.9 percent a year ago.
BYU
The Cougars hope to have starting quarterback Kedon Slovis back for Saturday’s game. Slovis has missed the last two games with an injury. If he is unable to go, Jake Retzlaff will be at quarterback. LJ Martin handles most of the rushing duties, averaging 60 yards a game and nearly 5.0 yards per carry. The top pass-receiving threat is 6-foot, 4-inch Chase Roberts with 534 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Senior linebacker Max Tooley is arguably BYU’s best player on defense. He has a team-high 74 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Defensive back Jakob Robinson may be small in stature (5-foot-10, 170 pounds), but he is a big-time pass defender and a ball thief. He’s among the team leaders in tackles (53) to go along with four interceptions, four pass breakups and 10 passes defended. His four interceptions are tied with OU’s Billy Bowman for second in the Big 12.
BYU’s Ryan Rehkow leads the Big 12 in punting with a 48.8 average.
Prediction
Oklahoma is a 24.0-point favorite in the game, which seems a bit on the high side to me. The Sooners have a distinct advantage both in talent and statistically but have been very inconsistent in Big 12 road games this season. And Provo can be a very difficult place to play for visiting teams. The Sooners have more to play for and will win the game but not quite by the margin projected: Oklahoma 45, BYU 24.