Oklahoma at TCU 10/24/20 - College Football Picks & Predictions
For the first time in almost a decade, the Big 12 no longer runs through Oklahoma. Off back to back losses, Oklahoma finally got a conference win in the Red River Rivalry. Surviving a late push from Texas, Oklahoma snuck away with a 53-45 win in 4 OTs to get back to .500 and 1-2 in conference play. Now the struggling Sooners have to travel on the road to a tough TCU team. TCU fell 21-14 their last time out to Kansas State and dropped to 1-2 on the year but have shown glimpses of potentially being a force in a wide-open Big 12 with a win over Texas and a 3 point loss to Iowa State.
Spencer Rattler came in as Lincoln Riley’s “chosen one” in a long line of star Oklahoma quarterbacks but has yet to live up to the hype, even being benched in the first half of the game versus Texas. Rattler is completing 71.3% of his passes for 1,186 yards and has tossed 13 touchdowns but has thrown 5 interceptions.
Rattler has done a great job of distributing the ball around to the plethora of weapons Oklahoma has and five players have reeled in double-digit catches already this season, freshman Marvin Mins has caught 15 passes for 196 yards and found the endzone 4 times already.
Oklahoma’s run game is anchored by junior runningback T.J. Pledger who is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and had a great game against Texas for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Seth McGowan has also been a nice asset for the Sooners run game averaging 5.3 yards per carry for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
The TCU Horned Frogs have found their quarterback of the future in sophomore Max Duggan who is completing 68.8% of his passes for 626 yards and three touchdowns to just one interception. Duggan isn’t going to be a Heisman contender, but he is a solid game manager and isn’t going to lose the Horned Frogs any games making bad decisions.
Duggan can also make plays with his legs as he leads the Horned Frogs in rushing with 132 yards and three touchdowns. Outside of Duggan, freshman Kendre Miller is the main workhorse in the backfield despite only getting 20 carries he’s averaging almost 6 yards per carry but has yet to find the endzone.
The Horned Frogs defense has been solid this season allowing 366.7 yards per game and allowing 29.7 points per game ranking 6th in scoring defense in the Big 12. TCU held Kansas State to just 289 total yards and was able to get off the field on ten of thirteen 3rd downs but just wasn’t able to score enough points. Oklahoma is allowing 29.7 points per game and opposing teams are totaling 342.5 yards per game but those numbers are deflated after holding FCS Missouri State to 135 yards and 0 points.
Betting Trends for vs
Oklahoma has gotten off to a disappointing start to its 2020 campaign and this year is looking to be a rebuilding year after three straight trips to the college football playoff. Rattler is young and will take time to develop and the Oklahoma defense has been known to have its struggles under Lincoln Riley. TCU hasn’t gotten off to a great start to the year but has been solid in pass defense which is Oklahoma’s strength. With TCU being a home-dog, I like Max Duggan and a decent TCU defense to keep this game close enough to cover the spread. Final score prediction, Oklahoma Sooners win but don't cover ATS 38-35.