The No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners (2-0) will face the Tulane Green Wave (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 2:30 p.m. (CT). This will be a huge test for Oklahoma after Tulane took the Kansas State Wildcats to the limit in week two. OU is currently a 13.5 point favorite, but this is a game that many Sooner fans are worried about, especially with the lingering injury issues on offense.
What to watch for:
Oklahoma defense faces biggest test yet
The defense has been Oklahoma’s strength after two weeks, but this Tulane offense is by far the best they have faced yet. It will be interesting to see how the secondary looks against a quarterback that can sling it around. Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah did some damage last week, throwing for 342 yards and two touchdowns.
On top of that, running back Makhi Hughes torched the Wildcat defense for 128 rushing yards on 21 carries (6 yards per carry). With the way OU’s offense has looked, it will be crucial for the defense to keep the momentum going and maybe force a turnover or two.
Will the offense find any sort of momentum?
This was a main question last week, and the offense did not find any momentum, narrowly avoiding an upset with a 16-12 victory over Houston. The issues are definitely concerning. I know a lot of the blame is being placed on quarterback Jackson Arnold. The issues are far beyond that. The Sooners are plagued with injuries on the offensive line and at wide receiver, but they are going to have to figure it out quickly.
First and foremost, OU is going to have to be able to run the ball. Oklahoma didn’t have one rushing attempt that went for more than 13 yards last week. We will see if it will change against a Tulane defense that allowed 215 rushing yards to Kansas State last week. If they are able to run the ball effectively, that definitely makes Arnold’s job easier.
Final thoughts
This is such a big game for Oklahoma, and fans are dying to see a dominant win on both sides of the ball before SEC play starts and the Tennessee Volunteers come to town. I am going to predict an Oklahoma win, but I’m not going to predict them to cover the spread. Oklahoma 28, Tulane 17.
