Insight Bowl: Iowa vs. Oklahoma Predictions, Odds, & Analysis 12/30
December 26th, 2011 by | Posted in College FootballOf all of the games the 2011-2012 college football bowl schedule, there isn’t a game that looks like it is going to be more lopsided than the duel between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Check out how we are breaking down the Insight Bowl odds this year.
Insight Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Oklahoma Sooners
Insight Bowl Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ
Insight Bowl Date/Time: Friday, December 30th, 10:00 p.m. (ET)
Insight Bowl Television Coverage: ESPN, ESPN3.com
Click Here For The Rest Of The 2011-12 Bowl Game Schedule And Other Bowl Game Previews
Key #1: The Sooners have to want to be here in Tempe
Oklahoma had itself a heck of a season this year. There were many thoughts, especially after beating the Florida State Seminoles on the road early in the season that this was going to be a special year. However, the Sooners suffered three losses, the worst of which came right on the last day of the season against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Bedlam. Now, instead of playing at University of Phoenix Stadium for the Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma is stuck playing in the Insight Bowl before New Year’s Day. The team just can’t be all that excited about this situation, and we have seen the Sooners fall flat on their faces in games like this one before, just like they did in the Fiesta Bowl against the Boise State Broncos at the start of their questionable bowl results. Iowa is a team that is always excited to play in bowl games no matter where the games are played, so we know that the Hawkeyes are going to have the Sooners all that they want. The question is whether Oklahoma is going to get the job done or not.
Insight Bowl Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Iowa Hawkeyes +13.5
Oklahoma Sooners -13.5
Over/Under 58
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Key #2: Oklahoma needs some skill players to set up to replace the ones not playing in this game
This offense has already taken a bit of a shot from WR Ryan Broyles when he tore his ACL. His season was over in the beginning of November, and Oklahoma has been beaten twice in three games since that point. Add in the fact that RB Dominique Whatley has had a season ending ankle injury and WR Jaz Reynolds has a kidney injury that will probably keep him out of this one, and there is a real problem for QB Landry Jones. RBs Brennan Clay and Brandon Williams are rather raw, but they are going to be the backs that have to step up to run the ball effectively in this game if RB Roy Finch can’t get the job done. WR Kenny Stills is likely going to be the only man on the field for the Sooners that picked up more than 370 receiving yards this year in spite of the fact that Jones threw for 4,302 yards on the campaign. There is a lot of depth on this team in terms of talent, but that talent doesn’t always get onto the field. It’s a good thing that there are a few weeks of practice for this team, but there is still only so much that can be done to help this team out without real game experience.
Key #3: Marvin McNutt has to be a star
There is always a ton of pressure on RB Marcus Coker and McNutt, as they both dominate their respective facets of the game. When opponents shut them down, Iowa has nothing left to turn to. Save for runs by QB James Vandenburg, most of which has come when he has to get out of the pocket and out of trouble, Coker had 280 of the team’s 337 rushes. McNutt had 78 of the 217 receptions, and Coker had 21 of those as well. That being said, this offense came up with 4,550 yards in total this season. Coker had 1,541 of those yards (1,384 on the ground), while McNutt had 1,327 (1,269 as a receiver). That’s 63 percent of the entire Iowa offense. Coker has been suspended for this game for conduct issues, and that is going to leave a very, very big void for the Hawkeyes to try to fill.
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