I was personally hoping to get this game at 14, but anything over 10 and I am extremely confident. Actually I think Houston could win this game outright despite all the hype they are getting in the pre-season. Oklahoma is actually getting more hype which if you have followed this program under Bob Stoops you know that is not a good thing. They typically under achieve when they are expected to do big things.
First of all letâs talk about the coaching here in Bob Stoops vs. Tom Herman. I really like Herman, from the Meyer coaching tree, and an offensive guru. Todd Orlando returns as defensive coordinator for Houston (came over from Utah State a year ago), and so does their offensive coordinator Applewhite. Talk about unfinished business. Both guys are motivated to move on to be head coaches and that means a lot to me when handicapping these match ups. Oklahoma also has their guys returning in Mike Stopps, and Lincoln Riley.
I thought it was very interesting that Houston actually got a top 10 recruit in Ed Oliver, a 5 star guy who passed on Oklahoma. That has to say a lot about Herman and this program. They also get Duke Catalon, a 4 star guy coming over from Texas. Both teams have guys they are replacing in similar fashion, but return their best players as Houston returns Greg Ward, while Oklahoma has Baker Mayfield coming back. Houston has to replace a lot in their secondary, while Oklahoma is replacing nearly all of their LBâs. Both teams lean towards the run heavily at over 55% play calling with Houston at 60% a year ago. Stopping the run is very important and Houston has that ability ranking 10th a year ago. I think their front 7 is actually better than a year ago. While Oklahoma ranked 33rd, I have some huge questions marks about how they match up here.
Oklahoma struggles with dual threat QBâs, or running QBâs. Actually the QB just has to be athletic and it does not even matter if there is a passing game. Well Houston has Greg Ward who is 1 of 2 QBâs from a year ago who threw for more than 2,000 yards and ran for over 1,000 yards. The other guy Deshaun Watson destroyed Oklahoma in the college football playoff with 145 rushing yards and we know who lost that game. Oklahoma in another big game, arguably their second biggest game of 2015 against Texas in what is known as the âRed River Rivalry,â They opened up as huge favorites in that game, but Javon Heard took over in the 24-17 victory for Texas as the QB ran for 115 yards on 21 carries.
All Iâm saying is I donât trust Oklahoma with big expectations. I think Houston can really put a scare in Oklahoma and have a chance to win this game. I canât see them coming out flat in this game at NRG Stadium, 5 miles from campus. If you still need convincing.. Iâm not big on the Big 12 and havenât been for years. Oklahoma nearly lost to TCU at home last year. Which is not all that bad except for the fact that TCU was missing their star QB Boykin, and star WR Doctson.
