College Football Predictions: Arizona vs. Oklahoma State Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Wednesday, 07 September 2011 22:30

It’s time for another round of score predictions and this time we’ll preview the college football game between Arizona and Oklahoma State.

The Arizona Wildcats (1-0) and the #7 Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-0) each opened up their college football seasons with victories in week 1, and our predictions and preview will help you figure out which squad will leave Thursday’s game with their undefeated record intact.  The Arizona vs. Oklahoma State game has a start time of 8:00 PM ET and will be shown live on ESPN.

Arizona had no trouble taking out Northern Arizona 41-10 in their opener, with quarterback Nick Foles throwing for 412 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Although the Wildcats threw the ball well throughout, they only managed 75 rushing yards and a similar performance against better defenses will surely hinder their ability to score big points.  Arizona’s defense was very strong and they should be above average on that side of the ball this year.

Oklahoma State has just about everyone back on offense and it wasn’t a big surprise to see them put up 666 total yards in their week 1 61-34 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.  Quarterback Brandon Weeden threw for 388 yards and 3 touchdowns but also showed that he’s still capable of forcing the ball while throwing for 3 interceptions.  What was ultimately concerning was how poorly the Oklahoma State defense played after losing most of their starters on that side of the ball to graduation.  The Cowboys allowed 212 passing yards and 108 rushing yards to a team that they should have been able to stifle.

Part of our preview process takes into account previous meetings, and the Arizona vs. Oklahoma State game is actually a rematch of the 2010 Alamo Bowl.  Although the total yardage was extremely close, Oklahoma State walked away with a 36-10 victory as 4.5-point wagering favorites.  I believe that since that game Arizona is a tick worse on offense because of offensive line graduations, while their defense should be in line with last year.  Oklahoma State’s offense looks dominant and should score plenty of points, but they’ll be involved in plenty of high-scoring games because of the youth and inexperience of their defense.

The college football betting odds this time around have the home-team Cowboys favored by 13 with close to 65% of tracked bettors taking Oklahoma State.  Arizona has actually been bet down a tick from when the Cowboys opened as 14.5-point favorites, while the total has been up from 65 to 65.5 where it currently stands.  Make sure to bet on the Arizona vs. Oklahoma State game at Legends Sportsbook to get a 25% bonus.  Simply click the link we just posted and you’ll get the college football deal we’ve secured for our readers.

Predictions on the Arizona vs. Oklahoma State game call for plenty of points to be scored with the Wildcats doing enough to keep this close.  The Cowboys are going to score close to 50 points a contest this season but Mike Stoops and his Wildcats are extremely sound on defense.  Arizona still isn’t a complete offense but they are more than capable of using their complex passing schemes to confuse Oklahoma State here.  I think the Cowboys get the win in a close game and I’m making predictions on Arizona to cover the point spread odds.

Arizona vs. Oklahoma State Score Predictions:

Arizona 30

Oklahoma State 34