Oklahoma State
vs.
South Alabama
College Football Pick
9/8/17
Oklahoma State did everything it was supposed to in the opener, scoring 59 points with an almost ease against Tulsa, while also covering. It could be a similar result for Friday’s Game against South Alabama, as the Jaguars just lost 47-27 to Ole Miss, despite keeping the Game close in the first half. The Pokes opened as solid -27 point favorites at 5Dimes Sportsbook, with the Game being played at South Alabama.
While this is a road Game, that shouldn’t change much for Oklahoma State, who has one of the best offenses in the country. Mason Rudolph showed his stuff in the opener, completing 20-of-24 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. The Cowboys even got their ground Game going for 332 yards, which hasn’t been as successful in recent seasons. Justice Hill (132 yards) and company will look to have similar success, although the Rebels found some resistance against South Alabama in that first Game. Then again, USA still gave up 429 passing yards to the Rebs, so Rudolph and top receiver James Washington should be in for another huge outing.
The Jaguars maybe don’t have a terrible defense for Sun Belt standards, but they definitely don’t have what it takes to hold down OK State. To cover the 27 points in this Game, the Jags will need to Scorethemselves, similar to the Ole Miss Game.
South Alabama turned to junior Cole Garvin to start the season at quarterback and he was fine in the opener mainly because he didn’t make a mistake. The Jaguars are a team that want to run the ball and that was seen in their 37 carries for 170 yards against the Rebels. The good thing for them is that they may be able to do that again because OK State isn’t known for defense. Tulsa scored 24 points in that first Game mostly because of 244 rushing yards, while the passing Game didn’t do much.
The question for OK State all season will be what the defense can do. With the line close to 30 points, that means the Cowboys will likely have to surpass 50 points again if they want to cover. Of course, that’s more than likely for this offense, but it’s still not a guarantee the defense can stop South Alabama below 30 points.
As long as the Pokes don’t get flustered on the road for some reason, they’ll be the popular team to back for the Friday night Game. Rudolph should have his way with the South Alabama defense, which could lead to 400-plus yards for him and 200-plus yards for Washington. And if the running Game has similar success, that’s even more trouble for the Jags. Going against this offense, it’ll be tough for anyone to put money on South Alabama.
Our Pick – Oklahoma State -26.5