Saturday, December 12, 2020, Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia, noon ET
Sooners at Mountaineers Betting Preview: Sooners (-12.5), Mountaineers (+12.5)
Sooners
No. 11 Oklahoma was supposed to have a bye this week, but two weeks ago, COVID-19 issues with the Sooners (7-2, 6-2 Big 12) forced their game against the Mountaineers to be postponed. The teams will give it another try Saturday.
Coming off a 27-14 win over Baylor that clinched a spot in the Big 12 title game, Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said the focus is getting his team back in a rhythm following their shutdown two weeks ago.
Against Baylor, the Sooners’ defense played well but the offense was uncharacteristically sluggish.
“We’ve had so many bye weeks,” Riley said. “Having the facilities shut down that long in the middle of the season was a different deal. Just for us to play the quality of ball and to make the improvements that we need to make, we need to play.”
There has been plenty of offense in this series. With the exception of a 16-7 win in 2013, the Sooners have scored at least 44 points in each of those meetings and the Mountaineers have averaged better than 30 points.
The Sooners have averaged over 46 points a game during their six-game winning streak with two games in the 60s and another in the 50s.
Spender Rattler has done most of the damage for the Sooners. He has averaged passing for 279.1 yards a game with 24 touchdowns against only five interceptions. The Sooners have rushed for an average of 158.0 yards a game.
Mountaineers
West Virginia is coming off a 42-6 loss to Iowa State, the first blowout defeat of the season for the Mountaineers (5-4, 4-4 Big 12).
“Really this week it’s about us getting back on track and playing football like we have in the previous eight games,” Mountaineers coach Neal Brown said.
West Virginia has yet to lose a home game this year, winning all five outings at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Both teams figure to be well-prepared for each other. The Sooners had a half week of preparation in late November before the originally scheduled game was wiped out on the Wednesday before the game.
The Mountaineers had even more time, with a bye week scheduled a week before the Nov. 28 game with the Sooners.
“They’re probably tired of working on Oklahoma,” Riley said.
Even coming off last week’s blowout, Mountaineers linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo said his team was more confident this season.
“This year, I feel that we have established an identity,” Chandler-Semedo said. “We know exactly what we are capable of doing. We have seen the film. They have seen us. Best on best, at the end of the day that’s what it is.”
Sooners at Mountaineers Betting Pick for December 12, 2020
The Sooners lead the series with the Mountaineers 10-0 and with four wins in Morgantown. Last year the Sooners beat the Mountaineers 52-14 but Jalen Hurts, who passed for 316 yards and rushed for 75 in that game, is no longer around. Austin Kendall, who served as OU’s backup quarterback in 2017 and ’18, passed for two touchdowns for the Mountaineers against the Sooners last year.
Sooners at Mountaineers Betting Pick:
Sooners 31, Mountaineers 17
Sooners at Mountaineers Best Bet for December 12, 2020
The Sooners’ 27-14 win over Baylor last week marked the first time they had failed to get into at least the 30s in nine games this season. They posted a pair of 62-point games in their current six-game winning streak. With West Virginia leading the Big 12 in total defense and scoring defense and Oklahoma second in total defense and third in scoring, this game could be a low scoring affair..
Sooners at Mountaineers Best Bet: UNDER 58.5
