College football kicks off this upcoming weekend, and fans across the nation will be delighted to see their favorite teams on display. Unlike previous seasons where the opening weekend was filled with cupcake matchups and hideous box scores, this year’s opening weekend features juicy matchups as teams are discovering the importance of strength of schedule instead of easy victories over inept opponents.
Kicking off Saturday’s noon action on September 3, the 15th ranked Cougars will host the third rank Sooners in what could potentially be the most exciting matchup of the entire weekend. In 2015, the Sooners averaged an astounding 43.54 points per game, while the Cougars counter with a similar insane total average of 40.43 points per game. Breaking down the totals more closely, the Sooners racked up 530.23 yards per game compared to the Cougars 484.58 yards per game. Offensively on paper both teams appear to matchup very nicely and this game could be a shootout. However, the Sooners averaged 308.15 passing per game along with 222.08 rushing per game, indicating the Sooners tend to pass the ball more. For the Cougars, they are more evenly split offensively as they averaged 248.58 passing yards per game along with 236.29 rushing yards per game. Houston’s offense is equally as dynamic compared to the Sooners, which should help them counter Oklahoma’s potent offense.
Defensively, both teams differ in their abilities to defend. For the Sooners, they allowed only 365.31 yards per game. Furthermore, Oklahoma only allowed 202.77 passing yards and only 162.54 rushing yards. The Cougars on the other hand were slightly better in allowing only 20.71 points per game. However, they gave up on average 274.71 passing yards, which is almost 72 more than the Sooners defensive squad. The Cougars defensive advantage comes from their rushing protection as they only allowed on average a ridiculous 108.86 rushing yards per game last season. That’s nearly a 54 rushing yard differential compared to the Sooners, which should boost the Cougars confidence entering this weekend.
In 2015, Oklahoma had an amazing season going 11-2, which culminated in winning the Big 12 where they nearly went perfect in conference play (7-1). Likewise, the Cougars had an equally impressive 2015 season by going 13-1 and ultimately winning the American Athletic Conference Championship over Temple. However, both teams ended the 2015 season on different notes. For the Sooners, the 2015 season came to a disappointing end of New Year’s Eve when they were obliterated by Clemson in the College Football’s semi-final Orange Bowl 37-17. Houston was able to cap off an incredible season by defeating Florida State in the Peach Bowl by a final score of 38-24.
Oklahoma and Houston have only met once before in the history of college football. Their last matchup came back in the 2004 season where the Sooners blew the Cougars out 63-13. Houston will look for revenge as they will field a more competitive team this time around verses Oklahoma.
Oklahoma’s Achilles heel in 2015 was their inability to win on the road. Their only two losses of the year came on the road, which shakes some of their confidence entering this weekend against a dangerous Cougars team. Quarterback Baker Mayfield should continue to blossom and is consider by many experts as the Heisman favorite entering the season. Nevertheless, Mayfield lost a potent wide receiver to the draft in Sterling Shepard, so replacing his production will be noteworthy to watch for in Saturday’s contest.
Houston enters this season with high aspirations as their ultimate goal is making enough noise to not only repeat as American Athletics Conference champions, but also be picked for a spot in the College Football playoffs. After last season’s run, many eyeballs will be on them this season, which will increase their odds of being selected as long as they are able to win in the Demarcus Ayers and defensive back William Jackson III. Despite these losses, Houston feels confident behind dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr, who is also making some ruckus in the Heisman preseason chatter among experts and fans. In 2015, Ward completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 2.828 yards and had a 17-6 touchdown to interception ratio. In addition, Ward was able to lead a potent rushing offense down the field, and should improve even more this season.
The Sooners were second in the nation in terms of scoring last season, finishing 17th in rushing and 18th in passing. Moreover, the Sooners defense finished the 2015 campaign 21st in points allowed. Houston counters with an equally impressive offense as they finished 2015 12th in the nation in scoring; the Cougars were 13th in rushing while ranked the 43rd best passing team. Houston also finished two spots ahead of the Sooners in points allowed, which indicates both teams are equally match not only on offense, but defense as well.
I believe this will be a closer game than expected and will be the most exciting game of the entire opening weekend. The Sooners will need to improve their play on the road while also countering losses on their offensive and defensive line’s. The Cougars are hungry to make a name for themselves nationally this season and will be playing at home behind an energetic fan base. Final score prediction: Houston 38, Oklahoma 35.