Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Tulane Green Wave Prediction: Who Wins, and Why
The pressure is on for Brent Venables and this offense to find some answers after a concerning effort last week and looking ahead to a bombshell SEC opener a week from now, as No. 15 Oklahoma welcomes Group of Five challenger Tulane in college football’s Week 3 action on Saturday.
Tulane is no slouch: despite a prominent coaching changeover this offseason, the program owns the nation’s longest active road win streak at 10 games, is 24-6 over the last two years, and nearly knocked off a ranked Kansas State team at home last Saturday.
Green Wave tailback Makhi Hughes eclipsed 100 yards rushing last week, and he pairs well with quarterback Darian Mensah, who has turned out a good showing in two games thus far.
Oklahoma pounded Temple in the opener, but played things much closer than expected against a Houston team projected to finish near the bottom of the Big 12, coming out with a 16-12 victory that had Venables suggesting his team may have deserved to lose the game.
What can we expect in the matchup? Here’s what you should watch for as Oklahoma and Tulane square off in this Week 3 college football game, with our updated prediction.
1. Green Wave on the attack. Mensah was overlooked during the preseason, but has earned the No. 1 spot with his play in two games, posting 547 yards passing with 4 touchdowns and coming off a 342-yard effort with 2 scores against K-State.
He can force the Sooners to spread out their defense, with some solid receivers like former OU transfer Mario Williams who could have the combined effect of opening interior running lanes for Hughes, who had 1,378 yards last fall, to move the chains and extend drives.
2. Sooners’ momentum. OU’s offensive line was an area of concern coming into the season after having to replace all five starters, and the offense failed to generate consistently behind it last week.
Oklahoma totaled just 252 yards and ran for 2.8 yards per touch against a Houston rush defense that allowed almost 200 yards on the ground in its opener. Injuries have played a role on the line and at receiver, but could find angles against a Tulane front allowing almost 5 yards per carry.
3. Going deep. Tulane has defended the pass admirably in two games so far, allowing only two catches of 20-plus yards to opponents, while Oklahoma is tied for the lead nationally with eight forced takeaways and is No. 1 in college football with a plus-7 turnover margin. Both of these defenses present a legitimate challenge when the ball is in the air.
Lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Oklahoma: -13.5 (-106)
Tulane: +13.5 (-114)
OU to win: -600
Tulane to win: +430
Over 45.5 points: -118
Under 45.5 points: -104
Expect this to be a game in the fourth quarter, as the Green Wave does present a credible obstacle defending against the pass, combined with what appears to be a legit, multi-varied offensive attack.
But when it comes to being more physical on the line, the Sooners’ defensive front should hold the decisive advantage. It had 7 tackles for loss and held Houston to 1.7 yards per carry.
Maybe the Sooners won’t be that successful against some decent Tulane gainers led by Mensah and Hughes, but turning Tulane’s offense to one dimension will be the final piece in this puzzle.
College Football HQ picks …
More … Oklahoma vs. Tulane score prediction by expert football model
When: Sat., Sept. 14
Time: 2:30 p.m. Central
TV: ESPN network
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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