Oklahoma is in a peculiar place, but not one it isn’t used to.
The Sooners first loss of 2020 is the earliest Oklahoma has lost a game in a season since 2016 when Houston and Ohio State handed the Sooners losses in two of the first three games. Oklahoma was upset for the second-straight year by Kansas State last Saturday in a shocking 38-35 loss.
Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma have suffered losses in each season since his arrival to the Sooners in 2015, but have prevailed. They’ll be looking to do the same this week on the road at Iowa State.
The Cyclones are 1-1 after suffering a loss to Louisiana in their first game and then bouncing back in their Big 12 opener against TCU in a 37-34 win. Iowa State will be a home underdog on Saturday, but it won’t be by much—Oklahoma is a seven-point favorite according to BetMGM.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Sooners have been this low of favorites in a game before, but it was a good while back. The last time was Nov. 23, 2018, on the road at West Virginia. Oklahoma closed as a three-point favorite and won 59-56.
Before that? Oklahoma was a seven-point favorite in 2018 OU-Texas part I when it lost 48-45. The Sooners were also a seven-point favorite in the 2017 Big 12 Championship game against TCU and a six-point favorite in the regular season game that year against TCU. Oklahoma was a two-point favorite against Auburn in 2016.
In the last 30 games of being a seven-point or fewer favorite, which dates back to 2008, Oklahoma is 20-10 in those games and are 17-12-1 against the spread. Since Lincoln Riley arrived in 2015, the Sooners have played in 11 such games. OU is 9-2 in those games and 8-2-1 against the spread.
Oklahoma beat Iowa State in 2019 on a game-winning interception on a two-point conversion on one of the last plays of the game to escape 42-21.
The Sooners and Cyclones kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday.
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