#24 BYU Cougars vs. #3 Oklahoma Sooners – Take the Safe Bet

NCAAF: #24 BYU Cougars vs. #3 Oklahoma Sooners

Game-day: 9/5/2009

Kick-off: 7:00 pm EST

Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and the Oklahoma Sooners begin their quest for the BCS Championship this Saturday when they welcome the BYU Cougars to the new stadium in Arlington, Texas for the first game of the 2009 College Football Season for both teams.

The Sooners aren’t too happy that they have to give up a game in Oklahoma to break in the new Dallas Cowboy’s stadium, but that’s the way it goes when you’re a football powerhouse. As far as Oklahoma is concerned, massive changes along their offensive line, they have four new starters, and in their wide receiver corps, they have three new wide-outs, means that quarterback Sam Bradford could have a more difficult time than usual under center.

BYU has new starters on their offensive line as well. Their quarterback, Max Hall, believes that the Cougars should win a lot of games this year. That could very well happen, but opening up against the #3 ranked team in the nation might not be the best way to start a season.

Here is the BetOnline online betting line for this game.

BYU Cougars +22 -110 +1000 O 67 ½ -110

Oklahoma Sooners -22 -110 -1800 U 67 ½ -110

Here are a few online wagering trends for this game.

• The BYU Cougars are 4 and 1in their last five September games.
• The BYU Cougars are 1 and 7 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
• The Over is 12 and 2 in the Oklahoma Sooners last 14 games overall.
• The Over is 4 and 1 in the BYU Cougars last 5 games overall.

When I first looked into this game, I really believed that the BYU Cougars had a shot. Then, I studied some of the film from last year and realized that the Cougars’ offensive line last year wasn’t exceptional. So, with four new starters in 2009, how good will that offensive line be?

The truth is that there is only one wager to make in this game and that’s on the BetOnline Total. What should bettors be looking for in regards to the BetOnline Total? Besides the strong trends, there’s the fact that BYU’s defense probably isn’t close to being ready to handle the Sooners’ attack. When Oklahoma faces Texas, things could be different, but in this game, Oklahoma’s offense should march up and down the field with abandon.

But, I’m still not sure about giving up 22 points. So, I’ll just go with the trends and hope that BYU’s offensive line protects Max Hall just enough for them to get some points on the board.

I’m betting over the BetOnline Total of 67 ½ points at -110 in the sportsbook.