Who’s gonna win?
Another day, another video commentary.
You can watch it here or read below:
Oklahoma-Missouri was so good the first time, they’ve decided to do it again.
Sooners v. Tigers.
Stoops v. Pinkel.
Saturday.
This, my friends, is big. The Sooners will face the top-ranked Tigers in the Big 12 Championship game on Saturday. Everyone knows that, of course.
What we don’t know is who will win.
I have no crystal ball, but I do have my predictions. And after having seen Missouri up close last weekend against Kansas, I suspect my guess is as good as any.
Missouri is a better team than when they played in Norman back in October. That’s because its offense has improved. The Tigers were pretty darn good when the Sooners faced them before, rolling up 31 points, but they are clicking even more now.
Chase Daniel is the real deal. He might even end up being this year’s Heisman Trophy winner. He has a poise and confidence about him out there on the field that is fun to watch.
Because of the spread offense that the Tigers run, Daniel has to throw lots passes into tight coverages. And because he is slightly undersized, he has to find those seams not only in the defense but also between his blocking offensive linemen.
He’s got a task that seems like it’d be about as easy as Frogger crossing the street.
But Daniel makes it look easy.
And he is helped, too, by the return of Tony Temple. The Missouri running back was hobbled when last the Tigers played the Sooners. The run game isn’t a big part of Missouri’s offense, but Temple gives it another option. That keeps defenses a little more honest and makes Daniel that much more dangerous.
Bottom line, Missouri is going to move the ball and score some points on Oklahoma.
Thing is, the Sooners are going to do that same against the Tigers.
A week ago, Kansas rolled up 391 yards against Missouri. The Jayhawks managed just 28 points. Their first three trips inside the Tiger 20-yard line resulted in zero points.
If the Sooners have as many chances as the Jayhawks did, they’ll score more than 28 points. They would’ve gotten at least 10 or 14 points out of the opportunities that the Jayhawks missed.
I suspect OU will score between 35 and 45 points against Missouri. The Sooners were in that range the first time around, and I haven’t see anything out of the Tigers that makes me think that will change much.
And sure, Missouri is going to put up points. The Tigers scored 36 against Kansas. They may go way above and beyond that against the Sooners, but I just don’t see that happening. I could see the Tigers scoring 35 or maybe even 40, but not much more.
So, where does that leave us?
With a tight game, that’s where. It’ll be tighter than it was in Norman. There’ll be more nail biting and hand wringing and hair pulling.
But in the end, I say OU wins 38-35.
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hard to argue those points, J., except, more points!!! 56-53, for the Old Gold and Black…or the other guys!