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1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 winners

1. Darryl Snell (350 PTS)
2. Nick Salter (350 PTS)
3. Vernon Baggenstoss (350 PTS)
4. Michael Terry (350 PTS)
5. Theresa Summergirl (350 PTS)

Overview:

On Saturday, October 21^st, the (5-1) Oklahoma State Cowboys will be on the road to take on the (3-3) Texas Longhorns.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Oklahoma State 33.8 – Texas 25.3 with an over/under of 59.1.

2017-18 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Oklahoma State 411.2 YPG > Texas 288.3 YPG

Rushing offense: Oklahoma State 199.5 YPG > Texas 169.7 YPG

Scoring offense: Oklahoma State 48.8 PPG > Texas 33.7 PPG

Scoring defense: Oklahoma State 24.3 PPG > Texas 24.7 PPG

Passing defense: Oklahoma State 222.7 YPG > Texas 264.8 YPG

Rushing defense: Texas 105.2 YPG > Oklahoma State 149.8 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Texas +0.2 > Oklahoma State 0.0

Strength of schedule:

Oklahoma State is (5-1) with wins over Tulsa, South Alabama, Pittsburgh, Texas Tech, and Baylor.  They were defeated by TCU.  Texas is (3-3) with wins over San Jose State, Iowa State, and Kansas State.  They were defeated by USC, Oklahoma, and Maryland.

Summary:

Oklahoma State crushed Baylor 59-16 on their home field.  Oklahoma State put up an astounding 747 yards of offense compared to just 387 for Baylor.   Mason Rudolph continued to make his case for the Heisman trophy going 19-31 for 459 yards and three touchdowns.  The Cowboys running game totaled 276 yards and five touchdowns on 38 carries (7.3 average).  James Washington had a monster game with 6 catches for 235 yards and a touchdown.  Oklahoma State had one of their better defensive performances of the season allowing 16 points and forcing three turnovers.  Oklahoma State ranks 1^st in total offense (611.0 YPG) and 2^nd in points per game (48.8).  The Cowboys rank 56^th in scoring defense (24.3 PPG).

Texas was very competitive but fell short in their 29-24 home loss to Oklahoma.  Oklahoma outgained Texas 518-428 in total yardage.  Sam Ehlinger was 19-39 for 278 yards and a touchdown.  Ehlinger also carried the ball 22 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.  The rest of the Longhorn ball carriers combined for just 29 yards on 19 carries (.66 average).  I thought the Texas defense looked solid holding Oklahoma under their season average point total.  Texas ranks 31^st in total offense (458.0 YPG) and 41^st in points per game (33.7).  The Longhorns rank 58^th in scoring defense (24.7 PPG).

Bottom Line:

Texas has become overly reliant on Sam Ehlinger to make every play on offense.  He has to get help from their playmakers to take some pressure off.  The Longhorns defense faces a tall task trying to stop Mason Rudolph and the second highest scoring offense in the country.  Texas has not fared well against the pass so I expect Rudolph to combine with James Washington on a few deep balls.  I’ll take the Cowboys to cover the spread.

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