Can Sooners Keep Up First-Half Dominance? Ryan Aber's Three Bold Predictions for Oklahoma-Temple

From first-half shutouts to turnover struggles to breaking free in the run game, here are three bold predictions for Oklahoma's matchup at Temple on Saturday.

Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas (32) hopes to help the Sooners continue their defensive dominance Saturday at Temple after a stellar showing vs. Michigan. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 13th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners take on Temple at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Both teams are 2-0, though the Sooners’ wins — at least one of them — are much different than the Owls’ victories.

Oklahoma has beaten Illinois State and Michigan while Temple’s victories have come over Howard and UMass.

The Sooners opened their 2024 season last year with a 51-3 win  over the Owls.

But while Temple’s victories this season have come against a MAC team that hasn’t won more than four games since jumping back to FBS in 2012 and an FCS team, the Owls have shown some improvement from last season, when they finished 3-9.

Temple is 2-0 for the first time since 2019 and coming off a 329-yard rushing performance.

So there are plenty of wild scenarios of what could happen Saturday when the teams square off.

Here are three bold predictions for the Oklahoma-Temple matchup:

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Sooners shut out Temple in the first half

I’m on record saying the Owls are going to score in this one, but it won’t happen in the first half.

Oklahoma jumps out to a big lead early thanks to both strong defense and an offense that, while it isn’t perfect, has shown an ability to string together long drives that eat a lot of clock.

So for the third consecutive game, a Sooners’ opponent heads into the locker room without having scored a point.

It would be the first time the Sooners have three consecutive first-half shutouts to start the season since 1972.

Tory Blaylock rushes for 100 yards

Tory Blaylock, a freshman, has been the Sooners’ best runner so far.

This game could be the perfect one for a breakout.

The Sooners can build a big lead, allowing them to lean heavily on their running backs, and they won’t want to put John Mateer in much danger of taking big hits in the running game.

Though this won’t stop the questions about the effectiveness of Oklahoma’s ground game, Blaylock is able to break a couple long runs that help put him over the century mark.

Sooners finally force turnovers

About the only thing missing from OU’s defense so far has been forcing turnovers.

The Sooners have yet to create a takeaway so far.

But while Temple has yet to turn the ball over themselves, the dam finally breaks and Oklahoma is able to force multiple turnovers against the Owls.

The Sooners’ defense is too good to go three games without a takeaway, and Temple must try to push the ball downfield in order to have a chance to pull off the upset.

That could create ideal conditions for turnovers in the passing game, and the Sooners will need to be aggressive on the pass rush, creating even more opportunity to pop the ball free.

OU avoids its first three-game stretch without a turnover since 2019, when they went five consecutive games without a takeaway.

After Oklahoma's struggles in the running game over the first two weeks, freshman Tory Blaylock could be the Sooners' runner who breaks out when OU takes on Temple on Saturday. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images