2015
Oklahoma Sooners
College Football
Betting Preview
Schedule and Odds
Oklahoma is coming off another disappointing season, which is usually the case any time the Sooners don’t win a National Championship. An 8-5 record wasn’t going to please many fans anyway, especially with high hopes heading into the year, and a 40-6 loss to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl didn’t help matters.
The Sooners are listed at odds of 40 to 1 to win the National Championship and 5 to 1 to win the Big 12. Those odds are listed at 5 dimes sportsbook where you can also bet on some of the Sooners early Games as well.
The problem for the Sooners, which was the case last year, is that they don’t have a solid quarterback. Trevor Knight was supposed to be that guy as a sophomore, but he ended up getting benched after finishing with 14 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He’s still in the race this year alongside Baker Mayfield and Cody Thomas and none of them separated themselves from the competition in the spring. That’s usually not a good thing. New offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley brings a bit of an Air Raid attack to the offense, so it’ll be interesting how the QB spot plays out.
The reason the Sooners can still compete is because of their running Game. Samaje Perine was a beast last year and will be one of the better backs in the country, while redshirt freshman Joe Mixon will be in the mix as well. Wide receiver will look much better this season after struggling to find guys a year ago. Sterling Shepard returns from an injury, while new guys DeDe Westbrook and Mark Andrews could both see large roles. OU ran so well in 2014 because of a great offensive line, but that group loses three starters. They will have some talent to work with, so it’s not like the line will be a weakness.
The Sooners defense was just not good enough last year against the best teams in the conference. And with a question at quarterback, the defensive side will need to pick up the slack.
The linebacker core will be the heart of the unit led by senior Eric Striker. Dominique Alexander and Jordan Evans are both expected to improve as well. So even with a questionable line, the linebackers can step up their Game. The secondary got roasted at times last year, but didn’t lose too much, returning safety Ahmad Thomas to lead the unit. They have a new secondary coach as well, which should help change things up.
Things won’t be as easy this season for Oklahoma in the non-Conference Schedule as they travel to Tennessee the second week of the season. Their Big 12 Schedule isn’t all that friendly either, especially toward the end of the season as they close with road Games at Baylor and Oklahoma State and a home Game against TCU between those. The Sooners will need to get out to a good start in Conference play, which means wins over West Virginia, Texas and possibly at Kansas State.
Without great quarterback play, this team is still a notch below the better ones in this conference. If they can’t get by the Volunteers early on, it could be another eight-win season for the Sooners.
2015 Oklahoma Football Schedule
Sept. 5 vs. Akron
Sept. 12 at Tennessee
Sept. 19 vs. Tulsa
Oct. 3 vs. West Virginia
Oct. 10 vs. Texas (Cotton Bowl)
Oct. 17 at Kansas State
Oct. 24 vs. Texas Tech
Oct. 31 at Kansas
Nov. 7 vs. Iowa State
Nov. 14 at Baylor
Nov. 21 vs. TCU
Nov. 28 at Oklahoma State