The Oklahoma Sooners host the Utah State Aggies on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 7:00 EST. The Sooners are certainly looking to avoid a repeat of last year’s opener, where they lost their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Sam Bradford and fell to unranked BYU 14-13.

That loss virtually ended all national title hopes for Oklahoma, and they were never fully able to recover.

Certainly, their chances of losing to the Aggies are much slimmer considering college football odds makers have listed Oklahoma -33.5 over Utah State with a total set of 58 points.

Many of Oklahoma's losses came by seven points or less. In fact, they lost to both BYU and Miami by a single point and also to BCS Championship runner-up Texas by three.

This is an offense that returns a lot of talent and should put up a lot of points this season.

Oklahoma scored 31.1 points per game last year, and that number should increase this season with quarterback Landry Jones, running back DeMarco Murray, and receiver Ryan Broyles all returning.

Jones got plenty of experience replacing Bradford last season, and that should help him make a smooth transition from the get-go in 2010.

He threw for a career-high 418 yards in their 31-27 win over Stanford in the Sun Bowl.

If Murray can stay healthy, then he’s a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Murray has rushed for nearly 2,500 yards in his career at Oklahoma. The offensive line was a bit unstable last year, and it appears to have more questions this season.

Defensively, the Sooners were stout last season while allowing just 14.5 points (seventh in the country) and 272.6 total yards per game (eighth in the nation).

Six starters are back on defense, including three of the front four, so they should be able to replace Gerald McCoy without a problem.

Defensive end Jeremy Beal is certainly a top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year honors in the Big 12.

Utah State has lost 26 straight games to ranked opponents, with their last win coming against No. 25 Fresno State back in 1991 by a final of 20-19.

These teams met up when Oklahoma was ranked No. 3 in 2007, and the Sooners blew them away 54-3. That improved the Sooners to 4-0 against the Aggies all-time, outscoring Utah State 230-27 in the process.

Oklahoma will have to contend with an explosive Aggies offense, though. Utah State put up a school-record 5,272 yards last season and eight offensive starters return, led by quarterback Diondre Borel, who threw for 2,885 yards and 17 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions a year ago.


Jack’s Free Prediction: Oklahoma Sooners -33.5 – Certainly, Utah State does have a solid offense returning. But they’ll be up against one of the best defenses in the country as they step out of the lowly WAC and into a formidable Big 12 opponent.

Utah State gave up 205.5 rushing yards per game last season, ranking as the 11th-worst team against the run in the FBS.

Murray should have a huge game and the Sooners will likely score almost every time they touch the ball. I have the Sooners putting up at least 45 points and holding the Aggies to 10 or less in this one.

Lay the points with Oklahoma.  If you want to know my opinion on other games this weekend, take a look at our latest college football articles.

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