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
–
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.
–
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams
Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks
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.
For more local news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter by clicking here.
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.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.
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.
Follow
NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.
Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
Follow
-
Culture2 minutes agoPoetry Challenge Day 4: What The Stars Can Teach Us About Love
-
Lifestyle8 minutes agoThe Japanese Designers Changing Men’s Wear
-
Education14 minutes agoOpinion | Yale Has Come Up With a Surefire Way to Make a Terrible Situation Worse
-
Technology20 minutes agoThe Iranian women Trump ‘saved’ from execution are simultaneously real and AI-manipulated
-
World26 minutes agoFormer Mexican beauty queen found shot dead as investigators examine possible family involvement: reports
-
Politics32 minutes agoManhattan DA’s office employee charged with sexual abuse after alleged incident on Queens subway
-
Health38 minutes agoRed hair may be increasing as study points to surprising evolution trend
-
Sports44 minutes agoTrump envoy asks FIFA to replace Iran with Italy in 2026 World Cup: report