Oklahoma's Near Upset Loss to Tulane Should Worry Fans and Bettors
We were SO CLOSE to seeing what likely would have been the biggest upset of the college football season right out of the gates.
The Oklahoma Sooners closed as 32-point favorites at WynnBET over the Tulane Green Wave in what was supposed to serve as a warmup game for the Big 12 powerhouse team. That turned out to be far from the truth.
The Sooners barely escaped with the win, beating the Green Wave by a final score of 40-35.
Oklahoma hangs on against Tulane!
— BetSided (@BetSided) September 4, 2021
The Sooners win 40-35.
The closing line had them set as 32-point favorites. ?
Tulane had a chance to win the ball game, as it recovered the ball on an onside kick with 2:18 left on the clock, down only five points. Unfortunately for fans who wanted to see an upset, the Tulane offense finally stalled and were unable to get a first down.
Oklahoma managed to get the win, but what does this mean for the rest of its season?
Oklahoma was regarded as one of the top teams in the country heading into Week 1. The Sooners were ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, and WynnBET had them tied with Ohio State for the third shortest odds to win the National Championship at +700.
Not only that, but quarterback Spencer Rattler was the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at +450. His odds will certainly drop after a one touchdown, two interception performance against a team from the American Athletic Conference.
To be fair, he did complete 30 of 39 passes for 304 yards, but his two interceptions will be a glaring detractor on his Heisman resume.
Despite the near upset loss and the not-so-promising performance from Rattler, what concerns me the most about Oklahoma is its defense. The Oklahoma defense was rumored to be much improved this season, and many people thought it could be good enough to finally lead them to a National Championship.
Does this look like a national championship winning defense? Yikes.
“Oklahoma’s defense is different this year” pic.twitter.com/KAXGfH4YpV
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 4, 2021
We’ll see what the odds look like once Week 1 wraps up, but there’s plenty of reasons to worry if you’re backing the Sooners with your money.
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