Shane Beamer brings a hot South Carolina team back to Norman, where Beamer was the assistant head coach from 2018 to 2020. The Sooners are -150 at home, and I'm taking the Gamecocks to win it outright. Oklahoma's offense hasn't shown it can pull away from anybody. Outside UTEP, it has produced 10, 14, 13, 13, 13 and 23 points, and the 27 against Texas needed a blocked-punt return and a pick-six. Drives stall near the goal line: 4 touchdowns on 12 red-zone trips since UTEP, including 0-for-4 at Mississippi State. That leaves it to Tate Sandell, who is 10-of-16 and missed from 45, 45 and 41 last week. Malik Orsan is 10-of-12 for South Carolina, with makes from 51 and 52 and the 48-yard walk-off against Tennessee. In a game this close, that kicking gap can decide it. The Sooners also give the ball away: 15 giveaways in 7 games, a -7 turnover margin and 7 interceptions from John Mateer. The offensive line is unsettled again, too. Center Jake Maikkula is questionable, Ryan Fodje and Eddy Pierre-Louis are out, and if Maikkula sits, Oklahoma could start its 7th different line in 8 games. LaNorris Sellers is playing the best football in this matchup: 61-of-103 with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception over the last three games, plus 263 rushing yards. The most mobile quarterback Oklahoma has faced, Bryce Underwood, ran for 87 yards and beat them. Both teams also played Kentucky at home. South Carolina scored 27 in regulation and lost in overtime, while Oklahoma managed 13 and threw four interceptions. The risk is real. Oklahoma's defense is the best unit on the field, holding opponents to 21-of-89 on third down. South Carolina's pass defense gave up 365 yards at Alabama, and Isaiah Sategna III just went for 164. This ticket needs South Carolina to win, and a field-goal game could go either way. Also watch Mazeo Bennett Jr., who was logged hurt late against Tennessee but hasn't appeared on any report. If Bennett can't go, the edge thins. I see this as close to a coin flip, and at +126 that's a price worth taking. South Carolina wins it.
Shane Beamer brings a hot South Carolina team back to Norman, where Beamer was the assistant head coach from 2018 to 2020. The Sooners are -150 at home, and I'm taking the Gamecocks to win it outright.
Oklahoma's offense hasn't shown it can pull away from anybody. Outside UTEP, it has produced 10, 14, 13, 13, 13 and 23 points, and the 27 against Texas needed a blocked-punt return and a pick-six. Drives stall near the goal line: 4 touchdowns on 12 red-zone trips since UTEP, including 0-for-4 at Mississippi State. That leaves it to Tate Sandell, who is 10-of-16 and missed from 45, 45 and 41 last week. Malik Orsan is 10-of-12 for South Carolina, with makes from 51 and 52 and the 48-yard walk-off against Tennessee. In a game this close, that kicking gap can decide it.
The Sooners also give the ball away: 15 giveaways in 7 games, a -7 turnover margin and 7 interceptions from John Mateer. The offensive line is unsettled again, too. Center Jake Maikkula is questionable, Ryan Fodje and Eddy Pierre-Louis are out, and if Maikkula sits, Oklahoma could start its 7th different line in 8 games.
LaNorris Sellers is playing the best football in this matchup: 61-of-103 with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception over the last three games, plus 263 rushing yards. The most mobile quarterback Oklahoma has faced, Bryce Underwood, ran for 87 yards and beat them. Both teams also played Kentucky at home. South Carolina scored 27 in regulation and lost in overtime, while Oklahoma managed 13 and threw four interceptions.
The risk is real. Oklahoma's defense is the best unit on the field, holding opponents to 21-of-89 on third down. South Carolina's pass defense gave up 365 yards at Alabama, and Isaiah Sategna III just went for 164. This ticket needs South Carolina to win, and a field-goal game could go either way. Also watch Mazeo Bennett Jr., who was logged hurt late against Tennessee but hasn't appeared on any report. If Bennett can't go, the edge thins.
I see this as close to a coin flip, and at +126 that's a price worth taking. South Carolina wins it.
South Carolina Moneyline