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King of The Game: OSU vs. South Alabama

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Our competition series, King of the Game, is back for another week!

If you don’t know the rules, here you go:

Each week five people will make predictions about the upcoming game. The predictions will vary each week. Plus, each contestant get’s the opportunity to earn bonus points by making a wild prop bet. Our contestants will consist of myself, Kyle Cox, Nick Welch, someone from the enemy’s side, and an OSU fan contributor.

This week our picks from the enemy come from Adam Luckett who covers the Sun Belt for SBNation site Underdog Dynasty. He’s already offered some great insight into the Jaguars of South Alabama, so I thought it would be good to let him test his knowledge.

As for the fan vote, we’re welcoming Jeremy Norbury this week. He won after this post in the comments section of the King of the Game Recap post:

“You should pick me because I live overseas in Bahrain and had to wake up at 0230 in the morning to stream the game from an offshore site. I will also pay for a membership…” – DaNorb.

Waking up at 2:30 a.m. to watch OSU football is real devotion. Also, the bribery didn’t hurt.

This week, Oklahoma State hits the road for the first time this season, to Mobile, Alabama to face the Jaguars of South Alabama. This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Here are this week’s bets:

  • Bet Against the Spread: OSU -26.5
  • More Return Yards: Tyron Johnson or South Alabama
  • Over/Under: +2.5 made field goals for Matt Ammendola
  • King of the Game: Secondary (OSU or South Alabama)
  • Prop Bet

Without further adieu…


Phillip Slavin

Bet Against the Spread: South Alabama
This line feels like a trap. 26 points? I realize OSU scored at will on Tulsa, and probably could have put up 70 points if they had wanted, but this is a road game. The Jaguars put up 27 points on Ole Miss on Saturday. I get the feeling the Jags get some points on the OSU backups in the second half and make the final score closer than it should be.

More Return Yards: Tyron Johnson
Last week, Johnson had 29 return yards on one kick return. Meanwhile, on one punt return and two kick returns, the Jags totaled 16 yards. So, I’ll go with Johnson.

Over/Under: Under
Maybe I’m overreacting, but I Ammendola’s missed 33 yard field goal attempt against Tulsa doesn’t give me confidence that he’s more reliable than Ben Grogan.  The other issue is whether or not he even gets three attempts. I hope not.

King of the Game: Ramon Richards
I’m going all in and picking OSU’s riverboat gambler to have a big game. I was surprised he didn’t nab an interception last week, so I’ll pick him to nab his first this Friday. He had a solid first quarter, with back-to-back tackles. I think he continues to find himself at the safety position.

Prop Bet: OSU grabs four or more interceptions
I feel like there’s always one non-conference game each year where OSU forces an insane number of turnovers. I’m going to guess that South Alabama tries to air it out to keep up with OSU and Tre Flowers and Ramon Richards reap the benefits more than the Jags receivers.


Kyle Cox

Bet Against the Spread: OSU
I’ll take OSU to cover. I doubted whether the Cowboys would dominate a lesser opponent in Week 1 and I was pleasantly surprised. I think this team is ready to run over, past and around some folks.

More Return Yards: Tyron Johnson
I’ll take Tyron and here’s why. Against Ole Miss, the Jaguars returned two kickoffs for a total of 16 yards and didn’t return the one punt its defense forced. By deduction, I’ll assume Sinor does a better job if he does get a chance to show off his directional lawn-dart launcher and Ammendola will put most of his kickoffs in the end zone. So basically one play from Tyron could do it. And this feels like a game where #BagYear cashes in a punt return for six.
Over/Under: Under
Under simply because I don’t expect OSU to settle for many. A decimated Ole Miss roster with a pretty green QB hung 47 on South Alabama last week. That would allow for another head-scratcher from Ammendola while he gets it figured out.
King of the Game: A.J. Green
I like A.J. Green to have another good game. He finished with five tackles and didn’t look overwhelmed. South Alabama has to replace 81 percent of its receiving yards and 87 percent of its receiving TDs from a year ago. In Week 1, no one emerged as the top target either with its three top receivers logging, 43, 42 and 41 yards respectively. Should be good practice for the young guys.
Prop Bet: I’ll say OSU’s defense scores twice.

Nick Welch

Bet Against the Spread: South Alabama
I think South Alabama has proven they can compete with solid Power 5 squads.

More Return Yards: Tyron Johnson
I think he will have plenty of return opportunities this game.

Over/Under: Under
I’ll take less than 2.5. I don’t know how many we will attempt but I don’t think it will more than two. Not sure I love his accuracy yet.

King of the Game: Ramon Richards
I think he nabs a pick-six in this game. The Jaguars have a decent QB, he has only thrown one pick in his career and has average 130 QB game rating through two season. I just think Rudolph won’t make mistakes in a stress-free road environment.

Prop Bet:  I’ll say OSU gets at least one defensive or special teams touchdown.


Enemy: Adam Luckett

Bet Against the Spread: South Alabama
Oklahoma State is the better team and they should have a comfortable lead most of the night. However, four touchdowns is just a lot of points to be laying on the road and we’ve seen some crazy things happen on weeknight football. Pokes get out to a huge lead. But the Jags get a couple of fourth quarter touchdowns to make this one seem closer than it actually was.

More Return Yards: South Alabama
Xavier Johnson has been one of the best kick returners in the Sun Belt for awhile now and he has a legitimate shot to bust a big return with each touch. With the amount of times Oklahoma State is going to score on Friday night, the Jags return team is going to get plenty of chances.

Over/Under: Under
I think the Jags are going to have a hard time keeping the Pokes out of the endzone whenever they get into scoring range. USA just does not have any answers for Oklahoma State’s talented receivers outside and Mason Rudolph will shred them up all night. However, last week the Jags were able to get two redzone stops in the first half to force Ole Miss field goals.

King of the Game: Ramon Richards
The Oklahoma State safety had a monster season as a sophomore and I believe he’ll cause at least one turnover and make some big plays across the middle or at the line of scrimmage. I believe Reaves is the best defensive back in this contest but he won’t make enough impact to make a real difference in the game.

Prop Bet: Ramon Richards scores on a pick-six.


Fan: Jeremy Norbury

Bet Against the Spread: OSU
Vegas will soon learn.

More Return Yards: South Alabama
OSU will score too often and will give South Alabama a chance for a TD return.

Over/Under: Under
Under at 2 for the game including one miss.

King of the Game: Tre Flowers
South Alabama will have to pass, resulting in two interceptions by Tre Flowers.

Prop Bet: Four different OSU running backs will finish with 75+ yards.

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