With Baker Mayfield at the helm, it’s hard to see Oklahoma losing this matchup, despite the amount of talent Houston has on its roster.
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No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 13 Houston will open the 2016 season on September 3 in the Advocare Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans. UH quarterback Greg Ward Jr. was 15 of 28 for 257 and a touchdown in the first half. The Sooners beat Colorado, 29-7, in the 2002 Big 12 Championship Game to earn OU’s first-ever berth in the Rose Bowl.
Although cornerback Dakota Austin appeared to win the starting job opposite Jordan Thomas relatively early on in camp, he struggled mightily against Houston Saturday.
Even though Greg Ward, Jr. has reportedly grown a lot as a passer during the off-season, don’t expect Houston to attack down the field too often. He slimmed down in the offseason, so he may be capable of more long-distance damage. Campus Insiders has employed its staff to offer predictions for this game that could very well be a preview of future Big 12 members. Demarcus Ayers, the team’s leader with 98 receptions, 1,222 receiving yards and six touchdowns, also is gone. Joe Mixon can be equally as risky, if not more so, when he totes the pigskin.
Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley and quarterback Baker Mayfield have repeatedly said before this season that things would be more spread out than they were a year ago when Sterling Shepard was the clear No 1 receiver.
Houston has given Oklahoma everything it wants on Saturday at NRG Stadium. Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine will run the ball. Mayfield also helped the Sooners score a Big 12-best 44.0 points per game in conference play, as well as tally an incredibly balanced 592.9 yards of total offense (299.9 rushing, 293 passing) over the final seven regular season games.
Houston landed one of the best defensive line recruits in the country this year in Ed Oliver. They can definitely give the Sooners fits if they aren’t careful. Read on for our Oklahoma vs. Houston prediction. Not its blocking or rushing. Houston’s replacing most of its secondary, and through camp OU has been talking about the ability of some new receivers to make plays deep. The team’s two losses came in games against Texas and Clemson.
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Can anybody forget the Ohio State’s offense crumbling after Herman’s departure last season? The next week, the Sooners travel to TCU. While Ward has a habit of getting away from defenders, he usually gets away by only a few inches, and the defenders actually had a chance to get him more often than not. He torched it. But he didn’t do it the way mobile quarterbacks, like Johnny Manziel and Deshaun Watson, have traditionally beaten the Sooners. However, there’s no doubt it’s a game the Sooners must come out of with a victory. The run was about 109 yards and put the Cougars up 26-17. Last season Houston had huge success here, with a +21 turnover margin. The playoff has only been around for two years and there hasn’t been a test case yet for the selection committee.
