Oklahoma at Texas Tech: Our Picks
John Hoover
Oklahoma wants to extend its streak of winning seasons to 24. To guarantee that before the bowl game, they’ll need to win in Lubbock. Past OU teams haven’t had much trouble on the road at Texas Tech, but this OU team has proven over and over that it’s not tied to any past trends or history. Everything is on the table in 2022. Tech is missing talented edge rusher Tyree Wilson, but OU is missing starting center Andrew Raym. Oklahoma’s defense has been better lately, but West Virginia isn’t good and Oklahoma State’s offensive line is dreadful. If the Sooners can replicate the kind of fanatical defensive effort they showed last week in Bedlam, they’ll have a chance. If not, it’s become starkly clear that the OU offense isn’t capable of carrying this team.
Final score: Texas Tech 34, Oklahoma 28
Ryan Chapman
The Sooner defense has been much improved over the past two weeks, but they’ll face a familiar foe again this Saturday — fourth down attempts. Texas Tech leads the country with 45 conversion attempts on fourth down, and the Red Raiders are converting 60 percent of those chances. However, quarterback Tyler Shough is Tech’s least-dynamic athlete to take the snaps in Lubbock this season, giving OU’s defense an easier target to track down in the pocket. With the pressure off to make a bowl game, Oklahoma’s offense should be able to take advantage of the Texas Tech defense missing star pass rusher Tyree Wilson, and Brent Venables will be sure to manage the clock correctly late after near disaster in Bedlam.
Final score: Oklahoma 34, Texas Tech 27
Josh Callaway
As has been the case a lot more than usual this season, this game feels largely like a coin flip. Texas Tech has been a really good home team this year, only dropping one game in Lubbock all season. In this final home game of the year, the expectation has to be that the Red Raiders faithful is going to be up for this one even more than normal as they attempt to make the Sooners uncomfortable throughout the night. If Dillon Gabriel and the OU offense can find some rhythm and the Oklahoma defense can come even close to replicating what they did last weekend in Bedlam, this could wind up being a relatively easy Sooners win. But those are very big ifs. After an explosive first quarter that saw them get in the end zone four times last week, Oklahoma did largely nothing offensively the rest of the way. And while the OU defense performed at a very high level a week ago, it is hard to expect them to do it again after what we have seen most of this season. All that being said, the Sooners defense offered enough encouraging signs last week — and really for the better part of the last month — to think that they can do enough to get in and out of Lubbock with a win. If OU can find a way to get a turnover or two and cash in for points, the Sooners should be in good shape on Saturday.
Final score: Oklahoma 31, Texas Tech 27
Ross Lovelace
Before last week’s Bedlam battle, Oklahoma’s defense was putting up some eye-popping numbers. I think Brent Venables’ unit will carry the momentum into a big road game to end the season and hold the Red Raiders in check offensively. It looked like the Sooners were better prepared formation-wise a week ago, and if that’s the case again, players will be in the right place to make plays. Oklahoma’s defense intercepted Spencer Sanders four times, and the number could’ve been even higher if the Sooners’ defense had held onto a few more catchable passes. Lebby and Gabriel need a positive offensive week, and controlling the clock is a great place to start. Controlling the clock will also be key in keeping the crazy crowd in Lubbock out of the game.
Oklahoma 28, Texas Tech 17
