Florida State Seminoles (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS), Week 2 College Football, 3:30 p.m. EST, Saturday, September 11, 2010, Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Okla.
by Ryno of Predictem.com
Point Spread: FSU +6.5/Okl -6.5
Over/Under Total: 58.5
The Seminoles and Sooners both knew that this was the game they were looking forward to. Their Week 1 matchups were just warm-up games to get them ready for this clash between two ranked teams. For one of these teams – Florida State – the warm-up game went well. It was a 59-6 win over Samford. But for Oklahoma, it was a little too close for comfort, as the Sooners barely hung on against Utah State, 31-24. The warm-up games are out of the way, though. Now, it’s the real battle, as the Sooners host the Seminoles on Saturday afternoon.
In Oklahoma’s narrow victory over Utah State, the Sooners got out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter but allowed the Aggies to score 17 straight points and get back into the game. But Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray took a handoff and ran 63 yards down the left side of the field for a touchdown to extend the lead to 11. The Aggies pulled with a touchdown with three minutes remaining, but the Sooners were able to run the clock out and hang on for the seven-point win.
Murray had a monster game for the Sooners with 35 carries for 218 yards and two touchdowns. The Sooners ran for 240 yards as a team. But QB Landry Jones had a subpar outing, completing 17-of-36 passes for 217, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was successful, though, when he threw the ball to wide receiver Ryan Broyles, who had nine receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns. The Sooners did a nice job against the run, holding Utah State to 80 yards on 38 carries, but they allowed the Aggies to throw for 341 yards, despite intercepting QB Diondre Bell three times. If it weren’t for the Sooners’ two turnovers, they would have been able to win the game handily.
In Florida State’s 59-6 win over Samford, the Seminoles held a 42-0 lead late in the first half on their way to an easy victory. Florida State QB Christian Ponder had a near perfect game, as he went 12-for-14 passing for 167 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Ponder was an interception and an incompletion from a perfect outing. The Seminoles also ran the ball exceptionally well, totaling 187 yards on 26 carries. Running back Ty Jones led the way with eight carries for 107 yards and a touchdown. Jermaine Thomas had eight carries for 31 yards and a touchdown. Taiwan Easterling, Chris Thompson and Bert Reed each had at least four receptions and at least 50 receiving yards for the Seminoles. The Seminoles had a fairly easy time against Samford, so they were able to put in the reserves for a large part of the game, but their passing game is where they excelled most. After all, Ponder is a potential Heisman Trophy candidate.
The key for FSU will be stopping the run and forcing Jones to take over the game. The Seminoles did a nice job stopping the run against Samford. For Oklahoma, the key will be the opposite – stopping Ponder and forcing the Seminoles to run the ball. The Sooners forced Utah State to complete less than 50 percent of its pass attempts and they picked off three passes, but they allowed too many big passing plays along the way.
Oklahoma is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games after allowing more than 280 passing yards in its previous game. The Sooners are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six games following a SU win and 1-5 ATS in their last six non-conference games. The under is 5-0 in Oklahoma’s last five September games, 6-1 in its last seven non-conference games, 5-1 in its last six games following an ATS loss, and 12-3 in its last 15 games overall.
Ryno’s Pick to Cover the Spread: I like Oklahoma to cover.
Don’t forget to check out our week 1 NFL football picks! They’re FREE too!