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Updated look at the ESPN Matchup Predictor after Sooners’ bye week

How did the ESPN Matchup Predictor shift Oklahoma’s win probabilities after week 7 action?

The bye week is behind us, and the second half of the season is underway. The Oklahoma Sooners are 6-0 and 3-0 in Big 12 play. It was a good time to have a bye, coming off an emotional win over the Texas Longhorns.

The remainder of the schedule has its challenges. Road trips to Lawrence, Stillwater and Provo will prove difficult regardless of how well the home teams are playing.

As we get deeper into the season, teams that seemed to struggle through the first six weeks are starting to figure some things out. It’s hard to know just how good each team the Sooners will face actually is, which isn’t a bad thing. The Sooners will go into each game expecting to get their opponent’s best shot and will be less likely to underestimate them.

After the Week 7 action, let’s take a look at how the ESPN Matchup Predictor has moved Oklahoma’s win probability for each of their remaining six games.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Oklahoma State, Iowa State make moves after Week 7 wins

The Oklahoma State Cowboys picked up their second big win in a row and saw a big bump in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

One thing is certain about the 2023 college football season. Nothing is certain.

With the way the Big 12 season has played out to this point, it’s hard to get a read on which teams are, in fact, good this year.

A quick look at the standings shows the Oklahoma Sooners in first place with their undefeated record. Following OU are Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Kansas State and West Virginia with one conference loss each. It’s not really a surprise to see the Longhorns in contention for a Big 12 title berth. However, it is surprising to see Iowa State, Oklahoma State and West Virginia in the top six of the standings.

After another wild week of Big 12 play, let’s take a look at this week’s power rankings.

5 games to watch during the Oklahoma Sooners bye week

The Oklahoma Sooners are on a bye this week, but there are several big time matchups in week 7. Here are five to watch.

It’s a bye week for the 6-0 Oklahoma Sooners. The first-place, undefeated, and Red River Rivalry winner Oklahoma Sooners get a Saturday to rest.

They bye week falling smack-dab in the middle of the season and coming right after your biggest game of the season is pretty perfect. The Sooners get an opportunity to rest and recuperate for the second half of the season. It’s time to get guys healthy in order to get back to the Big 12 title game and possibly more.

While the Sooners are off, there are some big-time college football matchups to take in as neutral observers and one game in which Sooners fans will be incredibly interested in.

Here are five games to watch this week during Oklahoma’s bye week.

Big 12 football power rankings following Texas’ loss to Oklahoma

We have a new No. 1 atop our Big 12 power rankings.

The Oklahoma Sooners (6-0) dismantled the Texas Longhorns (5-1) in the Cotton Bowl. Texas is no longer in the top spot in our Week 7 power rankings.

Oklahoma’s 34-30 win was nightmarish from the get-go. Sooners defensive back Gentry Williams, who has emerged as a true impact player for his team, intercepted Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on the game’s second play. From there, save for a blocked punt for a touchdown, Oklahoma dominated the first quarter. It wasn’t the last period of dominance for the team.

The Sooners made nearly all the critical plays. It held Texas out of the end zone on four tries by the goal line. It prevented Texas from getting a first down with the game tied at 27 with just over a minute left. Finally, the Sooners drove down the field in five plays after being given the ball with 1:17 left.

While they possess a lower ceiling than the Longhorns, Oklahoma is maximizing its talent while Texas lags ever-so-slightly behind. The Sooners’ maximization helped them make the winning plays. They move up in our rankings.

Let’s look at how the rest of the Big 12 field ranks after a wild day of college football.

Updated look at the ESPN Matchup Predictor after the Sooners win over Texas

How did the win probabilities change for the Oklahoma Sooners after their win over the Texas Longhorns in week 6?

The Oklahoma Sooners are in the midst of a dramatic turnaround. From 6-7 a year ago to 6-0 to start the 2023 season, OU is on track to be one of the best stories in college football.

There’s a great deal of work still to be done by the Sooners heading into their bye week, but with the Texas Longhorns out of the way, Oklahoma has a shot to get back to the Big 12 title game and maybe more.

After the 34-30 win over Texas, here’s a look at how the Sooners’ win probabilities changed for each of their matchups for the rest of the season according to the ESPN Matchup Predictor.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Sooners take top spot, upsets shuffle rankings after Week 6

Several upsets marked week 6 in the Big 12 and there’s a new No. 1 in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

It was a wild week in the Big 12. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns played an instant classic in the Cotton Bowl with the Sooners coming out on top.

Elsewhere, several games upset the apple cart in the conference. The two teams that represented the Big 12 in the title game a year ago, TCU and Kansas State suffered losses.

The Horned Frogs took their second loss in conference play and look to be sliding back to the pack after their loss to Iowa State. The Wildcats took a stunning loss to Oklahoma State on Friday night.

Here’s a look at how the league stacks up in this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings after Week 6.

Updated look at the ESPN Matchup Predictor after Oklahoma’s 50-20 win over Iowa State

Oklahoma moved to 5-0 with their win over Iowa State, but how does ESPN’s Matchup Predictor view the rest of the Sooners schedule.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a great start in the 2023 season. They’re 5-0 heading into the Red River Showdown. Sure, there are things that they can continue to improve on, but you can’t ask for a better start to the season than that.

They’re winning by an average margin of 36.6 points per game. The Sooners have only allowed 20 points one time this season. Their closest margin of victory through five games is 14 points. And that was in a game where they didn’t allow a touchdown.

The defense is allowing just 10.8 points per game this season, which is fifth in the nation in scoring defense. The offense is scoring 47.4 points per game this season, good for third in the nation behind USC and Oregon.

The Sooners are the only team in the nation in the top five in scoring offense and defense in 2023.

That’s a big reason why the ESPN Matchup Predictor likes the Oklahoma Sooners so much. They’re plying good football on both sides of the ball. But let’s take a look at how the ESPN Matchup Predictor sees the rest of the Sooners’ schedule playing out.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Red River Rivals stay undefeated, setting up Cotton Bowl Clash

Big 12 Power Rankings. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns stayed unbeaten after week 5 setting up an undefeated showdown in Dallas.

The result that everyone hoped for came to pass. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns will meet in the Cotton Bowl undefeated next Saturday.

Their big wins over the weekend provided the precursor for the Sooners and Longhorns to have another highly-anticipated and epic showdown in Dallas.

The game will play host to ESPN’s College GameDay.

Though it’s early in the Big 12 season, OU and Texas have separated themselves as the class of the Big 12 at this point. Though there’s a long way to go and both programs still have a lot to prove, next Saturday’s Red River Showdown will provide a strong measuring stick for both teams.

Elsewhere, the West Virginia Mountaineers have been the surprise of the Big 12 this season and improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play after beating the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth. The Mountaineers were voted to finish last in the conference. Neal Brown and West Virginia seem to have taken that personally.

Let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.

By the numbers: No. 3 Texas Longhorns vs No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks

Taking a look at the numbers between No. 3 Texas and No. 24 Kansa as they face off as ranked teams for the first time ever.

No. 3 Texas will host No. 24 Kansas on Saturday in front of another sold out crowd. Continue reading “By the numbers: No. 3 Texas Longhorns vs No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks”

Best Week 5 games in every time slot including Texas and Kansas

Conference play heats up with these big games, including No. 3 Texas and No. 24 Kansas.

Conference play is fully underway heading into Week 5. The Texas Longhorns have one of the biggest conference matchups of the week.

No. 3 Texas and No. 24 Kansas clash in a monumental game that could decide each team’s postseason fate among college football’s best. For Kansas, it’s a chance to assert itself as the top dog in the Big 12 conference. And as silly as that may sound, it’s a well-coached, technically sound team that maximizes opportunities.

Kansas gets both Oklahoma and Kansas State at home later in the season. A win over Texas could set the Jayhawks up for a memorable season. The Longhorns have other plans.

Texas enters the game ranked in the Top 4 of the AP Poll for the third straight week. The Longhorns are competing to be in the Top 4 of the initial College Football Playoff poll when it is first released.

Here’s a look at games in each time slot you might want to keep an eye on with Big 12 and national ramifications.