Bowl season rolls on Wednesday night with the Alamo Bowl between the no. 14 Oregon Ducks and the no. 16 Oklahoma Sooners. Both teams are surely disappointed with how their regular season ended but can make up for it with a win in a major bowl game. The Sooners are currently listed as 6.5-point favorites, with the over/under set at 60 points.
The Ducks looked like a College Football Playoff contender for most of the season. However, they lost to Utah late in the season and were beaten soundly again by the Utes in the Pac-12 Championship Game. On top of that, head coach Mario Cristobal left, making the Ducks a program in transition.
Oklahoma has a similar story, starting the season 9-0, only to lose two of three games to finish the regular season. Those losses caused the Sooners to miss out on the Big 12 Championship Game, snapping a six-year conference title streak. That was followed by Lincoln Riley leaving, bringing Bob Stoops out of retirement to coach the Alamo Bowl.
Out of Sync Sooners
After some late-season quarterback drama, freshman Caleb Williams is OU’s unquestioned starter, with Spencer Rattler transferring. Of course, Williams had some trouble late in the season, completing less than 50% of his passes over his final three games with four touchdown passes and three interceptions. While the Sooners have run the ball effectively for most of the season, they need Williams to show some improvement after getting some extra practice time.
On the other side of the ball, the Sooners had plenty of issues during the season. In 12 games, Oklahoma allowed at least 30 points five times and allowed at least 21 points in each of the team’s last eight games. When playing with a lead, the Sooners have the personnel to get after the quarterback, although they were gashed on the ground late in the season.
Flying in a New Direction
The Oregon offense met its match against Utah late in the season, although the Ducks were effective at running the ball for most of the season. Travis Dye took the reins after CJ Verdell was hurt and averaged 5.8 yards per carry while rushing for over 1,100 yards on the season. However, quarterback Anthony Brown is mostly a game manager with some athleticism, as he can struggle when asked to win games with his arm.
Defensively, one could argue that Oregon underachieved this year based on the talent the Ducks had on that side of the ball. Including the Pac-12 title game, the Ducks gave up over 29 points per game over their last seven games. While plenty of talent remains on that side of the ball, the Ducks will be without defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, depriving the Ducks of one of their biggest difference-makers.
Remember the Alamo
Both teams have good reasons to lack motivation in this game, which makes it tough to call. But Oklahoma will be closer to home and will have a legend like Stoops to motivate the Sooners.
Also, the Ducks didn’t even look motivated in the Pac-12 Championship Game, so look for Oregon to be flat, allowing Oklahoma to win and cover in the Alamo Bowl.
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