Houston vs Oklahoma Prediction College Football Picks 9/7/24

The Houston Cougars and the Oklahoma Sooners meet in week 2 college football action from  Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Houston vs. Oklahoma prediction.

Houston Recap

The Houston Cougars come into this one looking to bounce back with a massive upset after starting the year on the wrong foot with a 27-7 loss to UNLV last time out. After this game, Houston will play host to Rice in an in-state rivalry matchup.

Cougars Get Steamrolled At Home

Donovan Smith threw for 135 yards and 2 interceptions on 15 of 31 passing while Ui Ale threw for 74 yards on 7 of 8 passing with a touchdown. Parker Jenkins led the Cougars with 17 rushing yards while Mekhi Mews had a team-high 3 receptions for 57 yards. Stephon Johnson added 3 grabs for 32 yards, while Maliq Carr had 31 receiving yards and Joseph Manjack IV had the lone receiving TD for Houston in the loss. On defense, Jamal Morris and Michael Batton each had a team-high 7 total tackles with Keith Cooper Jr. adding a sack and A.J. Haulcy also added an interception in the losing effort.

Why the Houston Cougars will win

• Houston has won six of its last eight matches as an underdog when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• Houston has covered the spread in 10 of its last 11 matches as an underdog when playing with a rest disadvantage.

Oklahoma Recap

The Oklahoma Sooners come into this one looking to defend home field after ending up with a 51-3 win over Temple to start the year. After this game, Oklahoma will host Tulane before their SEC debut against Tennessee the following week.

Arnold Shines In Win

Jackson Arnold threw for 141 yards and 4 touchdowns on 17 of 25 passing while Taylor Tatum led the Sooner with 69 rushing yards and a touchdown. Sam Franklin added 45 rushing yards while Bauer Sharp and Jalil Farooq each had a team-high 47 receiving yards, with Sharp adding 5 receptions and a touchdown. Deion Burks added a team-high 6 catches for 36 yards and 3 touchdowns as well. On defense, Danny Stutsman had a team-high 6 total tackles while Markus Strong had a pair of sacks and Gracen Halton added 1.5 sacks. Ethan Downs and Kendal Dolby each had a sack as well while Jaydan Hardy and Kani Walker each had an interception as well in the victory.

Why the Oklahoma Sooners will win

• Oklahoma has won each of its last 16 games against non-conference opponents at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
• Houston has lost 12 of its last 13 games against AP-ranked teams.
• Oklahoma has covered the spread in seven of its last eight games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
• Houston has failed to cover the spread in six of its last eight games against AP-ranked teams.

Houston vs. Oklahoma Prediction

I’m on the Sooners here. It’s a huge number, but I saw nothing from Houston to make me think they can keep this game reasonably close here. The Sooners had some frustrating moments for their fan base in the opener, but at the end of the day, there’s a wide gap in talent between these two teams. Willie Fritz will turn Houston around as he has every other program he’s taken over, but it usually takes some time and it will here too. Give me Oklahoma in a beatdown.