Oklahoma Sooners v #19 Stanford Cardinal
Sun Bowl, El Paso Texas
Football: United States, NCAA Football
Friday, 31st December 2009 - Kickoff 3pm ET / 7pm GMT

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Preview

The Oklahoma Sooners lost star QB Sam Bradford after 1 game to a season ending shoulder injury and it has affected both his draft position for the NFL and also the Sooners' season as a whole.

Bradford had won the Heisman Trophy last season but decided to come back for one more year of College football before moving into the NFL. His injury meant the Sooners for unlikely to return to the Championship game for a 2nd year in a row.

Oklahoma will rely on their strong rushing defence, ranked at 8th in the nation, and their overall defence which is ranked 7th overall. The defence is led by many players that are expected to make themselves eligible for the NFL draft this season, which can sometimes lead to reduced playing time.

The Sooner offence has struggled this season a little for obvious reasons. They have also had less production from their rushing team which has caused a few more issues for Landry Jones at QB.

Stanford will put a lot of their faith in Toby Gerhart, their running back who finished 2nd in the Heisman Trophy voting this season in what was the closest run event in 75 years, losing by 5 first pick votes.

Gerhart has rushed for more yards and more touchdowns than anyone else in the nation this season. This has led to Stanford being ranked in the top 20.

Season Statistics

Oklahoma finished their season 7-5, but were 5-6-1 against the spread. The Sooners have won 4 of their last 6 matches. They are 3-3 against the spread over that same period.

Stanford finished 2nd in the Pac-10 conference with a 8-4 record. The Cardinals were 7-5 against the spread in those matches. They did finish the season strongly with 4 wins from their last 5 matches, including against USC and Oregon, both of whom for ranked in the top 11 at the time. The Cardinals have lost their last 2 against the spread after winning 3 in a row.

Oklahoma have lost 5 of their last 6 Bowl appearances.

Prediction

Oklahoma are the favourites for this match thanks largely to their defence. This has led to many believing that they will be able to keep Gerhart in check. The Sooners will also be hoping that their QB can limit his mistakes as short fields will surely be punished by Stanford.

Stanford will look to Toby Gerhart to help open up the passing game against a tough defence. They have proven their ability to score points already this season but will also know that Gerhart needs a big game to make this happen.

I feel the points given to Stanford is far too much and I also feel it is possible for Stanford to win this match outright. I will play the Cardinals with the points as my big bet but will also have small stakes on Stanford to win straight up.

The Pick :

Oklahoma Sooners 20-24 Stanford Cardinal

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Stanford Cardinal WIN (Small Stakes)

HANDICAP BETTING :

Stanford Cardinal +10 points (main bet)