College Football Predictions: Oklahoma St. vs. Iowa St. Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Friday, 18 November 2011 16:40

It’s time to preview Friday’s college football game between Oklahoma State and Iowa State.

The #2 Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-0) are doing their best to get in the National Championship game, but they will have to get past Friday night’s road game against the Iowa State Cyclones (5-4) to accomplish that goal.  Our predictions will try to make sense of the Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State game, and we’ll preview the strengths and weaknesses of both squads.

5Dimes Sportsbook has the Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State odds favoring the road team Cowboys at -27 with a total of 69.  Oklahoma State won 34-8 on the road in 2009 in the last head-to-head meeting between these schools, and the Cowboys again were 59-17 winners at home in 2008.  2005 was the last game in which the Cyclones defeated Oklahoma State, winning 37-10 at home as 13-point favorites.

Oklahoma State’s Offense vs. Iowa State’s Defense:

The Cowboys are nearly impossible to stop on this side of the ball.  They average 51.7 points per game on 394.2 passing and 171.1 rushing yards each time out.  Quarterback Brandon Weeden (3635 yards, 73.1%, 31 TD, 9 INT) is considered the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, and the least amount of points the Oklahoma State offense has put up all season was 30.  Iowa State only allows 29.8 points per game, but they are not impressive at stopping the run or the pass.  The Cyclones are helped by the fact that they’ve faced plenty of poor offenses this season.  Baylor is the team that Iowa State has faced this season that runs an offense that is most similar to Oklahoma State’s, and the Cyclones gave up 49 in that game.

Iowa State’s Offense vs. Oklahoma State’s Defense:

The Cyclones do a decent job in the running game with 183.0 yards on the ground per game, and they should be able to move the ball decently against an Oklahoma State defense that gives up 186.1 on average in that department.  The problem that opposing teams run into when playing the Cowboys is that they are often so far behind that they have to abandon the easily exploitable hole in Oklahoma State’s defense.  Iowa State doesn’t pass all that well, but it’s possible that the Cyclones can hang with the Cowboys after watching Kansas State’s run-based attack put up 45 earlier this month.

Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State Score Predictions:

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Predictions here call for Oklahoma State to score a ton of points like they always do.  For Iowa State to keep up, they will have to strike early and make this game close when halftime rolls around.  I don’t believe their offense is strong enough to do this, and they don’t have the passing attack to keep the Cowboys honest.  Look for Oklahoma State to win this game handily, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Cowboys are held a bit in check as they resort to running the ball a bit more than usual to take advantage of Iowa State’s biggest defensive weakness.  I think the Cyclones can cover this huge point spread with a late score or two, and I'm recommending a bet on Iowa State..

Oklahoma State 48

Iowa 27