by Patrick Walsh '24 on November 12, 2023
Sports Staff
Sports
This game could not come sooner. It did not take long to lock in this pick as one of my favorite plays for Saturday. This game might not be the most appetizing one on Saturday’s slate, but why not start off your weekend with a coffee, a bagel, and a lot of points? Kickoff is at 12 p.m. eastern time between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Cincinnati Bearcats. This game is going to be a shootout, as senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel leads his squad into Cincinnati to take on a Bearcat team that was stunned last week against Miami of Ohio in overtime. I am hammering the over 60.5 total points and see this line moving up at least two points throughout the week. Last week, Cincinnati was stunned in a game they were favored to win by 14 points, which they should have won at home. They managed to score 24 points in a game that their quarterback struggled in, tallying no touchdowns and two picks. Gabriel and his offense have been routing opponents all season long and may have a bid for the College Football Playoff if they can keep rolling. The Oklahoma Sooners average over 55 points per game, and for a team that is trying to go the distance, every point and play matters for them. They have only given up about 10 points per game, however, their opponents have been subpar and this Cincinnati team is coming off their best season of all time by making it to the Final Four. I expect them to make some adjustments on both sides of the field, but there is no stopping this Sooner offense. Their only chance to win this game is to somehow outscore them, but safer play is the over.
The weekend comes in two days, and there are 16 more weeks of Sunday funday. My focus is on one of the two divisional matchups this week. The game between the New England Patriots and New York Jets will not be the most interesting game on the slate, but it will be one of the most profitable. The Patriots will go into New York to play their first road game of the season. The line for this matchup is currently -2.5 in favor of the Patriots. Jets fans thought they may have had a chance to finally get their shot at Bill Belichick and his army, but with Rodgers going down, it’s just the same old boring Jets. Zach Wilson has the reins to this offense once again and Jets fans could not be less excited. Wilson, now in his third season, has struggled to find success; he is 8–15 over in his career with 17 touchdown passes to 22 interceptions. He is 0–4 against the Patriots, and they have picked him off seven times in those four games. New England has suffered two agonizing losses at home in primetime to start the year. However, it is not all bad for this team, as their defense is still dominating and making clutch plays when necessary, while their offense has been revived due to Bill O’Brien coming in to call the plays. I would love to say this is going to be a dogfight, low-scoring coaching battle but Belichick and the hungry Patriots have had the Jets number for quite some time now, and with a must-win week for New England, this one should be over quickly. The only chance the Jets have is if their defense can pick off Mac Jones every other drive, and still, who knows if Wilson can even get his squad into the redzone? This game does not seem puzzling to me. It is easily Patriots -2.5 as they look to bounce back from two heartbreaking losses at home.