Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Oklahoma Sooners Odds & Game Pick (2021)

The Oklahoma Sooners scared the world last Saturday with a shaky defeat of the Kansas Jayhawks, 35-23. The Jayhawks led 10-0 at halftime and even had the lead late in the third quarter but couldn’t prevail. It was a nice second half performance from Oklahoma, but if the Sooners come out flat against any other opponent, it’s not going to be as easy coming back.

On the other hand, Texas Tech will travel to Oklahoma without head coach Matt Wells. He’s been fired after putting together a 13-17 record, and Sonny Cumbie will now be the interim head coach.

Texas Tech ending up losing to Kansas State, 25-24, at home, and that was the end for Wells. It was a game where Texas Tech led all game and then randomly ended up losing. It was absolutely a head-scratching loss for Texas Tech.

With two disappointing showings from both teams, what can we expect this week between the Red Raiders and Sooners?

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Details

• Opening Line: Oklahoma -19.5, O/U 68.5
• Current Line: Oklahoma -20, O/U 66.5
• Last meeting: October 31, 2020, Oklahoma 62, Texas Tech 28

Overview 

The Oklahoma Sooners are undefeated and 8-0 on the season. However, they’ve had their pains just as much as Texas Tech has this season. The Sooners just have too much talent on their roster to lose, even when they struggle.

Oklahoma benched quarterback a Heisman candidate in Spencer Rattler earlier this season with Caleb Williams and almost lost to Kansas on the road. It’s been an embarrassing month for Oklahoma, yet, here they are, still 8-0 and in playoff contention.

The offense averages 41.8 points per game with 469 yards of offense per game. Meanwhile, the defense has allowed 385.3 yards per game this season. The Sooners have struggled in coverage but have had a really nice pass rush that has kind of minimized damage in the secondary. Oklahoma also has plenty of missed tackles this year, and that hasn’t been great for this defense, which is allowing 24.6 points per game.

However, Caleb Williams has shined at times for Oklahoma on the offensive end and seems to have a solid football IQ after making a very nice fourth down play, grabbing the ball for his teammate to gain the first down against Kansas in a crucial part of the game.

Texas Tech, on the other hand, have a really solid offense with tons of playmaking ability. However, the offensive line hasn’t stepped up as much as the Red Raiders would like. Still, Texas Tech is scoring 34.3 points per game. That hasn’t been the problem.

The problem is the defense. The Red Raiders are allowing 30.6 points per game on just 385.4 yards per game. These stats are incredibly weird by the ninth week of the season. The Red Raiders don’t do much well on the defensive end, but they’re at least above average in the passing game and rushing defense. They just need to be taught on proper tackling technique, in all honesty.

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Trends 

• Under is 5-0 in Red Raiders last 5 games following a straight up loss.
• Over is 6-1 in Red Raiders last 7 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.

Bottom Line 

With the way Oklahoma struggled last week against Kansas, I’m going to have trouble taking the over in this spot. Texas Tech might have a little pride in them with a new coach taking over, and the defense really hasn’t been nearly as bad as it seems.

The Texas Tech defense has struggled tackling but are mostly in the right spots for most plays. There’s a couple here and there that are breakdowns and the tackling, again, is an issue, but overall, Texas Tech is allowing 30.6 points on just 385.4 yards per game. That’s got to dip as the season progresses.

Therefore, I’ll grab the under at 66.5 in this matchup. This could be an inspiring performance from Texas Tech, and with the way Oklahoma looked against Kansas, I’m not afraid to take an under between two usually insane offenses.

Pick: Under 66.5 (-110)

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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.