Oklahoma-Houston Preview: Staff Picks

The Sooners On SI staff makes their picks for Saturday's game between the Sooners and the Cougars.

Sooners On SI Staff /

John Hoover

Look for progress from the Oklahoma offensive line, even if right tackle Jake Taylor is limited and center Branson Hickman isn’t back yet. Also, look for better play from the OU wideouts, particularly if J.J. Hester and Brenen Thompson get another chance to show what they can do. OU will improve upon the few maladies the team showed in last week’s win over Temple, and they’ll cruise to another easy victory — the kind of victory that continues to build depth for SEC play. The SEC has made an art out of scheduling down in non-conference games to boost everyone’s image in the conference, and OU will make the most of that with an emphatic victory over the Cougars. Expect more deep balls from Jackson Arnold (especially to Thompson), and expect a little more pressure from defensive coordinator Zac Alley, which will force Houston QB Donovan Smith into some catastrophic turnovers.

Final: Oklahoma 48, Houston 13

Ryan Chapman 

Houston is a step up in competition from Temple, but that doesn’t mean the Cougars should trouble the Sooners on Saturday. Willie Fritz had to clear house as he took over the program, and that was on full display in Houston’s opener against UNLV. The Cougars struggled to move the football behind an awful offensive line, and allowed the Rebels to rush for 4.1 yards per carry. Oklahoma’s defense should be in strong position to overwhelm its competition yet again on Saturday night, and a healthier OU offensive line will take a step forward from an underwhelming performance against the Owls to help the Sooners move the ball more consistently all night long.

Final: Oklahoma 54, Houston 10

Randall Sweet

After allowing 27 points to UNLV last week, Houston will see an even better offense on Saturday when the Cougars line up against Jackson Arnold and company. If Arnold has time to throw again, the former 5-star prospect should have no issue driving down the field against Willie Fritz and company. The Sooners' defense should dominate again, playing another offensive line who will be overwhelmed by Oklahoma's power and size up front. Houston should provide more resistance than Temple, but OU will still roll against the Cougars.

Final: Oklahoma 41, Houston 10

Bryce McKinnis

It’s hard to believe Houston is a three-touchdown loser to UNLV. The Cougars should find something that resembles their stride after a disappointing 27-7 loss where they were favored to beat the Rebels. But the differences between this Houston team and the one that defeated Oklahoma 33-23 at NRG Stadium in 2016 are too vast. Rolling off its thwarting of Temple, this Oklahoma team is far different, too. The game plan doesn’t change for the SEC’s second favorite newcomer: Gain big, score quickly and dominate all three phases of the game.

Final: Oklahoma 45, Houston 10

Dekota Gregory 

The Sooners will likely give up their first touchdown of the season on Saturday, but that's probably about it. Houston scored only seven points against UNLV in Week 1, and no disrespect to the Rebels, but this OU defense is just flat out better. The Cougars will look better than they did last week with Willie Fritz figuring things out with basically a whole new roster in his first year, but even an improved Houston will struggle to get points on the board against an SEC defense. 

Final: Oklahoma 45, Houston 10

Ross Lovelace

Houston is going through growing pains with a brand new head coach. The Cougars lost a lot through the portal after going through a season-long rough patch in its first year in the Big 12. Oklahoma’s suffocating defense won’t be forgiving against Houston’s subpar offense that only managed to score seven points against UNLV. Quarterback Donovan Smith will be on a short leash after throwing two interceptions in Houston’s blowout loss against the Runnin’ Rebels. This game will be a great opportunity for Oklahoma to establish the line of scrimmage and work out miscommunications in the ground game from a week ago. If last week was any indication, Houston should be completely outmatched against an experienced Oklahoma team. This will be a tune-up game for the Sooners’ real test coming up in two weeks — Tennessee. Oklahoma should roll convincingly and the backups should see the field relatively early.

Final: Oklahoma 52, Houston 13