Oklahoma heads back to Norman in Week 3 needing a reset, and the betting market already says the Sooners should have room to breathe.
Caesars opened Oklahoma as a 21.5-point favorite over New Mexico on Sunday afternoon. The matchup is set for Saturday at Owen Field, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
The Sooners enter at 1-1 after their first loss of the season, a 17-10 defeat to Michigan that exposed plenty on offense in their first major test. Oklahoma was blanked in the first half, then clawed back to tie it after the break, but turnovers and uneven play kept it from finishing the job. John Mateer threw a fourth-quarter interception that led to Michigan’s go-ahead touchdown midway through the period, one of two giveaways that swung the game.
The numbers told the story of an offense that never settled in. Oklahoma managed just 100 rushing yards, and Mateer carried 13 times - the same total as the Sooners’ running backs combined.
Through the air, he went 17 of 33 for 189 yards, one touchdown and the costly interception, with accuracy issues and overthrows showing up throughout the afternoon. Protection was a problem too, as Oklahoma allowed 17 total pressures and three sacks.
Even with the offensive struggles, the defense did enough to keep Oklahoma in it for most of the day. Missed tackles remained an issue, but the unit was largely solid enough to win on the road. In the second half, Michigan was held to 75 total yards, and the only points the Wolverines scored after halftime came after Mateer’s late interception handed them a short field.
New Mexico comes in at 2-0 after hammering FCS opponent Mercyhurst 70-7. The Lobos had already opened the season with a 38-7 win over Central Michigan.
Saturday’s game will be only the third all-time meeting between Oklahoma and New Mexico, and the first in the modern era. The Sooners won both previous matchups in Norman, rolling 47-0 in 1930 and 25-0 in 1935.
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Oklahoma Recruiting Just Got Interesting After One Top Safety's Latest Trend
The Sooners have already made Oklahomas 2028 recruiting board feel a little more real, and safety Drake Coellner is right in the middle of it. He has been to campus multiple times, which matters this early because the staff is clearly trying to establish familiarity before the cycle gets crowded, and recruiting services already view him as one of the more notable defensive prospects in the class.
Oklahoma is not limiting its attention to one name, either. The staff has also offered defensive lineman Brynnen Thompson and safety Terence Parsee, while another safety, Jaelyn Easterling-Flores, is set to be on campus for the Red River Rivalry game. For a program trying to build its next wave of defensive talent, the early turnout around that group suggests this race is only beginning to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
John Mateer Just Fueled An Oklahoma Quarterback Debate
John Mateers Oklahoma debut gave the Sooners a first real look at what their offense can be, and what still needs work. He finished 17 of 33 for 189 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 17-10 loss to Michigan, but the larger story was how uneven the operation looked around him. The reshuffled offensive line made it harder for Oklahoma to settle into a rhythm, and the passing game never quite found its footing.
Mateers arm talent was evident at times, but the accuracy and timing issues were hard to ignore, especially on a few critical incompletions. The fourth-quarter interception only sharpened the conversation about who should be driving this offense as the Sooners move deeper into the season, because the first impression left plenty of room for debate. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Suddenly Has A Season Long Question It Can't Ignore
A rough Saturday rippled through college football, and Oklahoma was part of the shockwave. While Ohio State and Oregon each had their own problems in losses that turned on missed chances and uneven coaching, the Sooners left the day with a far more familiar concern hanging over them: the passing game never found a real rhythm against Michigan.
For Oklahoma, that is what makes the result sting beyond one bad afternoon. A loss can be survived in September, but the inability to throw the ball with confidence is the kind of issue that follows a team from one week to the next, and now it sits there as a season-long question the Sooners cant avoid. [Read more 🡒]