Jason Witten’s play-calling debut has some Oklahoma fans believing again, and apparently, Vegas oddsmakers are also betting on Witten to keep the success going.
Despite the disappointing Sooners, who are 5-4, hosting an explosive top-20 Ole Miss team with one of the best quarterbacks in the country, Trinidad Chambliss, this weekend in Norman, FanDuel has the game basically as a toss-up. The Rebels were tiny 1.5-point favorites as of Monday evening.
Betting odds for Oklahoma vs. Ole Miss
Spread
-1.5 Ole Miss
+1.5 Oklahoma
Moneyline
-115 Ole Miss
-104 Oklahoma
Total (over/under)
+/- 49.5 points
Odds are courtesy of FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Yes, Vegas oddsmakers always give the home team a few extra points, but that still seems like an awfully small spread with how lackluster the Sooners have been all season, especially since South Carolina blew them out 42-25 in their last appearance at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium two weeks ago.
The Sooners recovered from that embarrassing loss with a 23-7 upset of then-No. 24 Florida on the road on Saturday. OU pulled off the win in the same week that Brent Venables fired offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and promoted Witten as interim OC.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, is coming off a 42-7 loss to Georgia that dropped the Rebels to 6-3 and dashed their CFP hopes. Still, Vegas usually doesn’t overreact to one outing, but maybe Witten’s debut was enough to convince oddsmakers that Witten can keep the Sooners within striking distance against anybody.
The more surprising part was FanDuel setting the over/under at 49.5 points. That number has usually hovered at 44.5 points for OU games this season because of the Sooners’ deficient offense that’s paired with an elite defense. That combo has created some rock fights.
The Sooners’ offense definitely looked more efficient with Witten in control against Florida, but OU still scored only 23 points. Witten complemented Venables’ defense flawlessly while controlling the clock, including a 20-play scoring drive that took 12:45 off the clock in the fourth quarter to drown the Gators.
Still, this OU offense won’t be lighting up any scoreboards this season, especially with that game plan. Ole Miss certainly can, though, averaging 33.8 points per game.
So far, every time the Sooners have gotten caught in a shootout, it’s ended in a blowout loss. Ole Miss has the ability to score against OU in the same way Georgia and South Carolina did. Witten, though, seems to be trying to prevent any game from turning into a shootout.
Without what we witnessed on Saturday in Gainesville, there's no doubt Vegas would also project a blowout for this matchup, no matter where it was played, if Arbuckle was still doing the same old thing. With Witten running OU's offense, though, Vegas believes the Sooners are on the same level as Ole Miss.
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