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Should Oklahoma Really be a Touchdown Favorite Over Ohio State?

+4 HS
buckeye phi's picture
July 9, 2016 at 2:39pm
73 Comments

Wanna feel better about the Buckeyes' chances at Oklahoma this September?  Well, then read this.

Ian Hartitz of landgrantholyland.com has done an excellent job highlighting some of the reasons Oklahoma's 2015 season may not have been quite as impressive as it might have looked at first glance. 

Several 11Wers have pointed out how Ohio State could pose some of the same match-up problems for the Sooners Clemson did.  A game the Tigers won 37-17, by the way.  But Hartitz provides some backstory on how some of OU's victories in '15 actually came about - as well as their losses. 

He also details a fairly direct link between running back, Samaje Perine's rushing numbers and Oklahoma's chances of having a good day offensively.  Of course, that kind of link is often the case with many teams.  But it could expose a match-up problem for OSU. 

Many 11Wers have expressed their concerns over the Buckeyes' depth at defensive tackle.  That concern is confirmed through another article on the same site Hartitz refers to, here

So, it's not all good news.  But most of it reads that way.

Here's a particularly succinct passage from his summary: 

Offseasons are long, and we tend to forget smaller aspects of the season in return for more broad conclusions. “Oklahoma won the Big 12”, replaces “Oklahoma won the Big 12 after both Baylor and TCU lost their Heisman contender quarterback.” Samaje Perine ran over everybody...except three of the better defenses he faced all season.

It's a well-researched and interesting read -

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