Sooners Seeking Success in College Football Playoff

The Sooners will be making their third straight College Football Playoff appearance when they hit the gridiron on Saturday afternoon. Oklahoma has defeated four nationally-ranked opponents while compiling a 12-1 SU record, capped by a heart-stopping 30-23 win over No. 7 Baylor in this year’s Big 12 championship game that lifted them to No. 4 on the AP Top 25.

However, the Sooners have failed to match their success on the field at the sportsbooks, where they have been a massive disappointment in college football betting. Oklahoma has posted against the spread wins in just two of its past nine contests, and is a meagre 2-4 ATS in games away from Owen Field, including a stunning 48-41 loss to Kansas State as heavy 23.5-point chalk back in Week 5.

Defense has also been a concern at times for the Sooners, who have surrendered 31 or more points on four occasions this season, and have seen three of their past five victories come by a margin of four or fewer points. And despite trailing only Clemson and Alabama in all-time CFP appearances, the Sooners have enjoyed no success in college football’s recently expanded playoff format. Oklahoma has fallen to defeat in each of its three previous CFP semi-final appearances, including losses by double-digit margins in last year’s Orange Bowl matchup with the Crimson Tide, and to Clemson in the 2015 Orange Bowl.

Suspensions and injuries will also leave the Sooners shorthanded in Saturday’s Peach Bowl matchup. Three Oklahoma players have been suspended, including running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who racked up 515 rushing yards this season and led the team with 8.0 yards per carry.

Oklahoma will also be without safety Delarrion Turner-Yell, who ranks second on the team with 75 tackles but remains sidelined with a broken collarbone. That has done little to buoy the Sooners’ position on the CFP national championship odds, where they continue to lag as +1000 longshots.

 

LSU Favored Over Oklahoma on Peach Bowl Odds

The LSU Tigers will be aiming to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff national championship game when they take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday in the Peach Bowl as heavy 14-point favorites on the college football betting odds.

LSU clinched its first SEC championship since 2011 with a decisive 37-10 win over Georgia as 7-point chalk in this season’s SEC title game, which also improved the team’s unblemished straight-up record to 13-0 going into Saturday’s matchup at Mercedez-Benz Stadium.

One of three undefeated squads in this year’s College Football Playoff, the Tigers have closed out the regular season atop the AP Top 25 rankings, and they have also emerged as +115 favorites to claim this season’s national championship.

LSU has steadily gained momentum as the season has progressed. Since escaping with narrow victories in back-to-back meetings with Auburn and Alabama, the Tigers have discovered a higher gear. Led by this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Joe Burrow, the Tigers have marched to lopsided victories in each of their past four contests while averaging 50.25 points per game.

Despite racking up such lofty point totals the Tigers have been an uneven bet on the college football odds, going 2-1-1 against the spread in their past four outings, and they are also 2-1-1 ATS in four outings this season while favored by 14 or fewer points. In addition, the Tigers have surrendered big point totals when playing away from home this season, surrendering 33.4 points per game over five road outings while allowing 37 or more points in four of those contests.

However, LSU enjoys a lengthy history of success in dates with opponents from the Big 12, going undefeated SU and ATS in five meetings since 2003. That run includes a narrow 21-14 win over Oklahoma in the 2004 Cotton Bowl, and a 41-24 Cotton Bowl victory over Texas A&M in January 2011.

 

*Odds as of December 27, 2019

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