Oklahoma

2024 College Football picks Week 4: Back Michigan, Oklahoma State to cover

Published

1 year ago

September 18, 2024

Press Room

2024 College Football picks Week 4: Back Michigan, Oklahoma State to cover

Geoff Schwartz

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

The college football season seems to be flying by already, right?

Here we are, in Week 4, and we’ve already got some huge games on tap.

It’s mainly due to conference realignment, but still.

In addition, USC will make their Big Ten debut this Saturday as they face Michigan in the big house.

Utah @ Oklahoma State (4 p.m. ET, Saturday, FOX and FOX Sports app)

You will not find a bigger fan of the Utah program who did not attend than me. I covered Utah for six seasons on Pac-12 radio with a co-host who played for the Utes.

I love everything head coach Kyle Whittingham’s program has become. Tough, physical, gritty and a pain in the ass for every team they play. With that being said, we have to discuss the elephant in the room.

Utah has not won a big road or neutral-site game since the Utes beat 17th-ranked Arizona State in 2019. That Sun Devil team finished less than .500 in conference play for the rest of that season.

Quarterback Cam Rising’s home and road win-loss record drives the point home even further.

He’s 13-0 when starting a game at home; he’s 7-6 when starting a game on the road or at a neutral site. There are two Rose Bowl losses in the six overall, with Rising not being able to finish those games. There are two road losses to ranked teams, including Oregon and UCLA in 2022. There’s the Florida loss that can be pinned on a poor defensive performance and a late Rising interception as Utah looked to take the lead.

The final road loss was at Oregon State in 2021.

It’s difficult to come up with concrete reasons why Utah has struggled on the road compared to at home. The Utes do the things one would think are important on the road. They are excellent in the trenches and play good defense. Cam Rising throws a tad more interceptions, but it’s not anything eye-popping.

The reason I believe Utah struggles on the road is its inability to generate explosive passing plays, which is something you need against a quality opponent in a road setting. Cam has only nine touchdown passes in his six road losses. Playing the dink and dunk game on offense takes too long and leaves you vulnerable to making mistakes on offense.

Utah may catch a break with Oklahoma State’s defense, though. The Pokes have allowed the third-most plays of 10 yards or more through three weeks of the season. They are 125th in plays allowed over 20 yards. My point is that this Pokes defense can be had, but Utah has not shown the ability over the years to be consistent in throwing down the field.

I have worried about the Utes’ run defense as they’ve had more defensive linemen and linebackers go to the NFL. It just hasn’t been as good, and on paper, Oklahoma State should be able to run the ball. However, it has been a poor rushing squad so far this season. Ollie Gordon is averaging only 3.5 yards per attempt compared to 6.1 last season. It’s an issue for the Pokes, and it’s difficult to know whether they can just go back to rushing the ball well this weekend.

That being said, I have to take the points with Oklahoma State in this game with Utah’s track record of playing away from home with Cam Rising as the quarterback. It’s not a small sample size either.

Give me Oklahoma State +1.5

PICK: Oklahoma State (+1.5) to lose by fewer than 1.5 points (or win outright)

Lincoln Riley talks USC-Michigan, Miller Moss’ development

USC @ Michigan (3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, CBS)

How does the saying go? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Well, I must feel no shame because I’m going back to Michigan this weekend after the Wolverines did not cover against Texas or Arkansas State in their last two games.

Michigan is the right side, even if it’s ugly. The Wolverines benched Davis Warren in favor of Alex Orji because Warren could not stop throwing the ball to the other team. While Orji may not be the passer that Warren was supposed to be, this does not mean the offense won’t be able to function with Orji taking over.

Michigan may turn its offense into an RPO, QB-run and play-action pass squad. USC’s run defense has not been challenged this season, and Michigan has the bulk upfront to possibly make this game ugly by running the ball.

The Trojans offense has been crushing it with Miller Moss through two games, and they’re off a bye.

SC will have something for Michigan, and if the Trojans start fast, it may be over for the Wolverines because they do not have the ability to come back from a large deficit. However, I’m not sure USC is ready to face a Michigan defense that’s this physical.

That physicality bothered USC last season, and without circus plays, I don’t know if SC can move the ball that well against UM.

Finally — and this is one of the toughest parts about handicapping a game — you have to consider the emotions of college football players.

Everyone is “out” on Michigan after getting blown out by Texas and narrowly beating Arkansas State. This is the time to buy in on Michigan. The Wolverines still have talented players and a coaching staff that still knows how to coach. I like Michigan to cover.

PICK: Michigan (+5.5) to lose by fewer than 5.5 points (or win outright)

Geoff Schwartz is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma storms bring widespread damage, tornadoes in Purcell and Shawnee

Published

35 seconds ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma storms bring widespread damage, tornadoes in Purcell and Shawnee

8:45 p.m. Tornado Update from NWS Norman:

EF1 (high end) at Purcell
EF0 near Lake Thunderbird (south of Stella/northwest of Little Axe)
EF1 west and near the Shawnee Twin Lakes
EF1 in north Shawnee.
There are other areas of damage that we will continue to investigate.

Original story:

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Storms moved through parts of Oklahoma on Thursday morning, with at least five tornado warnings issued and two tornadoes that touched down in Purcell and Shawnee, leaving behind damage.

A line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved through central and eastern Oklahoma early Thursday that producing tornadoes, damaging winds, and power outages.

Preliminary information from the National Weather Service in Norman shows that at least EF-1 damage was found in Purcell. Survey teams are continuing to assess the damage that was left behind from the morning storms.

Officials also reported that widespread power outages occurred in the city, along with downed trees and powerlines, with nine homes having damaged roofs, and a semi-truck rollover accident on I-35 with one injury.

Shawnee also suffered some damage Thursday morning, which includes downed fences and partial roof loss at the Holiday Inn Express. As of Thursday evening, NWS officials confirm that a tornado did touch down in the northern portion of Shawnee; however, a preliminary rating hasn’t been given at this time.

According to Comanche County Emergency Management, damages related to the storms were reported across the City of Lawton, with roof damage at Sheridan and Lee, along with power pole and power line damage.

Lawton Fire Department responded to a rooftop fire at MacArthur High School on Thursday morning, caused by wind damage to AC units.

Lightning strikes in Edmond were reported to have caused a transformer fire near Covell and Kelly, with another lightning strike having caused a tree to fall on top of a vehicle near Covell and Broadway, resulting in one person being injured.

Straight-line winds were also reported to have destroyed a barn north of Guthrie, while structures were damaged in south Wynona, including a shop building that was devastated and a mobile home that was damaged.

Damage assessments are said to be ongoing at this time. News 4 will provide updates as we learn more.

According to NWS Norman officials, the last time the department issued a tornado warning in January was on January 10, 2020. However, Thursday’s reported tornado was not the earliest for a tornado to occur in Oklahoma. Tornadoes happened in Osage, Mayes, McIntosh, Ottawa, and Sequoyah Counties back on January 2, 2023.

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Oklahoma

Neighbors sift debris, help each other after suspected Purcell tornado

Published

12 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Neighbors sift debris, help each other after suspected Purcell tornado

PURCELL — Jennifer Fox had just fed the pigs behind her house early in the morning Thursday, Jan. 8, and began getting ready for work before she and her two sons heard something hit her bedroom window.

“I said, ‘Is it hailing?” she said. “My oldest looked out the window and he saw our awning across the back. He said, ‘Mom, the awning’s gone.”

Fox looked out the window and saw debris everywhere. She said she didn’t hear tornado sirens, but she and her sons immediately took shelter in a closet. By that time, the suspected tornado had already passed through her neighborhood off of Johnson Avenue in Purcell.

At first, Fox didn’t think there was a tornado and attributed the damage and debris to strong winds.

But just one street over, the roof of one house had been destroyed. When she looked at the house behind hers, Fox said she knew a tornado had hit her neighborhood.

“I was thankful at the time,” she said. “I told my kids, I said, ‘It could’ve been a lot worse.’ We weren’t prepared, obviously. I really felt like it just barely missed us.”

Severe weather passed through central Oklahoma early Thursday morning, bringing reports of damage from a possible tornado in Purcell. The National Weather Service in Norman reported on social media that survey teams have found at least EF1 tornado damage in the Purcell area.

The Purcell Fire Department reported a tornado touched down in the city, causing roof damage to nine homes, a semi truck rollover accident on Interstate 35 with one injury and widespread power outages, downed trees and powerlines.

On Norte Street in Purcell, the suspected tornado wiped out the roof of a newly-built home, throwing debris onto the road, including a Christmas tree and blue ornaments. The houses across the street and next door were untouched.

Community members and local high school students gathered pieces of trash, plywood, insulation and other debris and hauled them off.

Next door to Fox, a man and a woman removed debris from their yard that appeared to have blown over from Fox’s house. Like a puppy, a tall brown horse followed the man as he picked up each piece of trash. Across the street, cattle laid in the middle of a field and watched as one person after another drove into the neighborhood to lend a hand.

About five miles northeast of Fox’s house, the suspected tornado knocked over a few powerlines near Purcell’s football stadium. A tree fell onto a small white house and took the tin roof off a large warehouse.

Ron Musgrave, the warehouse’s owner, lives six miles north of Purcell. He said he learned his property was damaged through a local news broadcast.

“They had the people out front and they had the helicopters, so I could see it,” Musgrave said. “They were flying over here. There’s a football field, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. If that’s the football field, that’s my warehouse.”

The retired home builder and property owner said he keeps building supplies in his warehouse and a black and white cat who’s in charge of exterminating any trespassing mice.

The cat was happy to see Musgrave as he surveyed the water damage inside of the warehouse. Though there was some wet spots, the roof took most of the impact.

“It’s a project,” Musgrave said with a smile. “I am down for it.”

Severe weather damage reported in Shawnee, Norman

Tree damage was reported in Cleveland County at 156th Street and East Tecumseh Avenue, according to Alyse Moore, Cleveland County communications director, along with damage to a car port and barn at 800 Moffatt Road north of Lexington.

Storm damage was also reported in Shawnee. Social media posts show damage to the Holiday Inn Express and Walmart Supercenter off of Interstate 40.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners add transfer portal offensive lineman to the roster

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Sooners add transfer portal offensive lineman to the roster

The Oklahoma Sooners made an under-the-radar transfer portal addition on Wednesday, bringing back a player who spent two seasons in Norman before transferring out last year.

Former Central Oklahoma offensive lineman Kenneth Wermy will be returning to play for OU out of the portal. Wermy played for the Sooners in 2023 and 2024 before spending 2025 at the NCAA Division II level with the Bronchos. He’ll add depth to an offensive line group that is in need of it after recent portal departures.

Wemry is a local product from Cache, Oklahoma, and he stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 315 pounds. The Sooners have been busy adding big names in the transfer market, but with a week and a half left until the portal closes, the focus may soon turn to retention and building back depth on the roster.

Oklahoma had a busy portal day on Wednesday, adding Wermy and former Michigan linebacker Cole Sullivan. However, Oklahoma also lost three players to the portal, in linebacker Sammy Omosigho, defensive back Jaydan Hardy, and wide receiver Zion Ragins.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X@Aaron_Gelvin.

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