NCAAF Odds – Two Hot Teams Collide As Air Force Meets Oklahoma

The Air Force Falcons and Oklahoma Sooners are both coming off huge victories in week two. We’ll see who retains momentum in week three.  

Air Force Falcons @ Oklahoma Sooners 

Saturday, September 18th – 3:35 PM ET 
Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK 
Broadcast: Regional Cable 
NCAAF Odds: Air Force +17, Oklahoma -17  

It was a very good weekend for both Air Force and Oklahoma. The Falcons – who were usually tormented by Brigham Young over the course of that rivalry in the Western Athletic Conference and then the Mountain West Conference – said goodbye to BYU by rocking the Cougars 35-14 in what was BYU’s last Mountain West game against the Academy. Air Force and BYU will continue their series when BYU plays as an independent, but beating BYU in the last year of the Cougars’ Mountain West era was very sweet for the Falcons and head coach Troy Calhoun. 

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For Oklahoma, the outlook is similarly positive after a very encouraging and easy 47-17 win over Florida State this past weekend. After stinking up the joint in a very tenuous 31-24 win over Utah State – a game that ever so easily could have gone into overtime – OU responded in a big way against the post-Bobby Bowden Seminoles. Landry Jones, the same quarterback who completed under 50 percent of his passes against Utah State, came alive against Florida State by hitting 19 of his first 23 passes en route to an eye-popping 30-of-40 afternoon in which he threw for 380 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. 

We’ll see what happens as Air Force’s wishbone goes up against OU’s spread passing offense. 

NCAAF Odds: What Air Force Has To Do To Win 

There are few secrets in this game, which matches strength against strength and identity against identity. Air Force likes to run the ball and Oklahoma wants a balanced attack in which it alternates straightforward running with vertical passing in appreciably large chunks (at least 13 to 15 yards per throw). The key, then, for Air Force is really simple: keep the ball away from Oklahoma by executing the wishbone to perfection. The Falcons – beginning with iconic head coach Fisher DeBerry in the previous two decades – have been a wishbone program for quite some time, and Calhoun has continued that modus operandi in Colorado Springs. Quarterback Tim Jefferson needs to be at his best on Saturday, making the right reads and ball handling decisions without fail. If Air Force can generate three touchdown drives of more than five minutes, there’s a definite chance that this game could be close, despite Oklahoma’s status as a heavy favorite. 

NCAAF Odds: What Oklahoma Has To Do To Win

The centrality of the wishbone offense in the Air Force scheme makes OU’s path to a victory an equally similar one. If the Sooners can stop the wishbone, the Falcons do not have the passing game that can keep up with Oklahoma. Coach Bob Stoops has to get his players to play assignment football and be responsible for both the quarterback and the pitch man in the wishbone framework Air Force employs. Aside from shutting down the wishbone, the only other huge key for OU is to avoid turnovers. By taking care of the ball and shutting down the wishbone, OU will prevent Air Force from playing keep-away, which is the Falcons’ only real shot at pulling off the upset.

NCAAF Odds: Outlook & Pick 

Oklahoma might struggle for the first one and a half quarters in its attempt to contain the wishbone, but Air Force is going to have a very difficult time stopping the Sooners’ revitalized offense, which found its footing against Florida State. True, Air Force’s defense is better than Florida State’s, but not enough to make a difference. Oklahoma should cover the number and play a very high-level football game this weekend. 

NCAAF Odds Pick: Oklahoma -17