Iowa State will host the Oklahoma Sooners for their conference opener on Saturday afternoon. Oklahoma is expected to win the Big 12 Conference in 2018, while the Iowa State Cyclones are trying to pull off a huge upset. Iowa State went into Norman, Oklahoma last season and upset the Sooners last October.
The Oklahoma Sooners have been dominant so far in 2018 and come in with a 2-0 record. They defeated FAU, 63-14, in the season opener and dominated UCLA last weekend with a 49-21 victory. Iowa State had their season opener postponed, but fell to their in-state rival Iowa Hawkeyes last week, 13-3. The Sooners are a 17.5 point favorite on the road in this rematch game.
Kyler Murray Dominating For Sooners
Oklahoma lost Baker Mayfield to the NFL after last season, but Kyler Murray has stepped up in his absence. Murray has thrown for 515 yards and five touchdowns through two games this season. He has also scored two rushing touchdowns and is an early front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy. Murray leads an Oklahoma offense that has big-play potential every time they take the field.
The Sooners suffered a big blow in week two when Rodney Anderson was lost for the season with a knee injury. Anderson was averaging more than 10 yards a carry this season, and his absence will be felt in this game. Oklahoma will need to rely on their defense a little more in this game, but the Sooners defense has been inconsistent in 2018. The defense might be the only question mark for the Sooners this season.
Iowa State Looking For A TD
Iowa State failed to find the end zone in their loss to Iowa, but will face a weaker defense in this contest. The Cyclones put up 38 points in their upset win last season, and their aggressive passing attack should work in this contest. Iowa State might be without starting quarterback Kyle Kempt in this game due to an ankle injury. Without Kempt, the Cyclones would have little chance to pull off another upset.
Despite the loss, the Iowa State defense was impressive in their season opener against the Hawkeyes. Iowa State gave up just 271 yards of total offense and held Iowa to just 6 of 17 third-down conversions in the loss. The Cyclones will face a much tougher test against Murray and the Sooners in this game, but they have proved to be a solid unit.
Oklahoma Rolls To Victory
The Sooners will be motivated to get some revenge on the Cyclones in this game, and they have the talent to do it. Oklahoma will need to find a way to overcome the loss of Anderson, but they have plenty of weapons on offense. Look for Kyler Murray to have another big day in this game.
Iowa State will need Kempt to be healthy for this game, but it likely won’t matter either way. The Cyclones offense isn’t good enough to keep up with the Sooners, and this one could get ugly in a hurry. Look for Oklahoma to move to 3-0 with another blowout victory in this game. Bet Oklahoma -17.5 over Iowa State in this game.
