Chip Kelly’s UCLA debut didn’t go exactly as planned – and there’s a good chance that the Bruins head coach is headed for an 0-2 start as he leads his team into Norman for a daunting date with the powerhouse Oklahoma Sooners. UCLA came out hot but couldn’t sustain it in a humbling 26-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats over the weekend, and now has to contend with a loaded Sooners team that showed national contending form en route to a 63-14 thrashing of Florida Atlantic. UCLA did well to limit the Bearcats to 110 yards through the air in the loss but will find things much tougher against Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray, who had 209 passing yards and two touchdowns in less than two quarters of action against FAU. This is the third meeting between the teams, and the first since 2005; the home side has won both previous head-to-head encounters, averaging an unbelievable 50 points in those two victories. There is no spread or total listed at the moment.
- The total has gone OVER in five of Oklahoma’s last six games at home in September.
- UCLA is 1-6 ATS in its last seven games on the road.
- The total has gone UNDER in UCLA’s last four games.
More Road Woes Bruin for UCLA
It’s bad enough that the Bruins laid an egg in front of a boisterous crowd at the Rose Bowl – but now, UCLA will look to do the improbable and knock off an Oklahoma side that has rolled to wins in 13 of its previous 15 home games. The Bruins have been one of the worst road teams in the country over the past season-plus, having dropped 10 consecutive road games while losing by an average margin of nearly 15 points. That includes four games in which UCLA was a favorite – and the only three times the Bruins covered in that span were when they were receiving at least 10 points. Yet, due to a strange scheduling quirk, the Bruins have actually fared much better if you isolate September road games, where they’ve won seven of their previous 10. Of course, the list of opponents in that stretch includes Brigham Young, UNLV and Colorado – not exactly national powerhouses.
Oklahoma Can’t be Beat in Week 2
It can be hard for bettors to put a lot of stock in results from the Sportsbook week of the college football season. Certainly, there is plenty of overreaction to go around after Week 1 – but things tend to normalize somewhat in Week 2. And when it comes to the Sooners, that second game has been an automatic win for more than two decades. Oklahoma comes into its second game of the 2018 season having won an incredible 19 consecutive Week 2 games. And while the list of vanquished teams does include a few lesser lights, three of Oklahoma’s past seven Week 2 victories have come against ranked teams – specifically, a 23-13 victory over No. 5 Florida State in 2011, a 31-24 double-overtime win over No. 23 Tennessee in 2015 and a 31-16 triumph over No. 2 Ohio State last season. Their last Week 2 defeat: a 51-31 loss to San Diego State way back in 1996.
Big Spread? No Problem for Sooners
Betting the Sooners to cover takes a strong stomach most of the time. After all, they’re almost always giving away points – and more often than not, those spreads are considerable. But Oklahoma has been a sensational cover option, having gone 6-1 ATS in its past seven regular-season games. Four of those covers came on spreads of 19 or more points, with the only non-cover in that span coming when Oklahoma defeated Kansas 41-3 last October as a 38.5-point favorite. The Sooners have been even better at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, going a red-hot 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games there. Six of those covers have come with the spread at 20 or more points. And the offense has been the catalyst in the vast majority of those games, with Oklahoma surpassing 40 points 13 times over that stretch.
